Remedios, Cuba

Remedios on the map of Cuba

Remedios is a city and municipality in the Cuban province of Villa Clara. The town is Remedios also known under the name of San Juan de los and is just 5 kilometers from Cuba's north coast. The municipality covers an area of ​​589.98 km ² and has 45 621 inhabitants, of which 31 174 live directly in the city. The degree of urbanization is 68.3 percent.

Geography

Location

Remedios is located less than 5 kilometers from Cuba's north coast, in the province of Villa Clara. It lies between the Municipalities at Caibarién, Cabaiguan and Placetas.

Climate

In Remedios prevails, as in most areas of Cuba, tropical to subtropical climate. The annual average temperature is between 25 and 26 degrees Celsius.

History

In the area of ​​today Remedios the village of Santa Cruz de la Sabana was founded in the 16th century by the Spanish conquistador Vasco de Figueroa Porcallo. Previously, there was already a settlement of the indigenous population. Estimates of the exact date of foundation of the city vary 1513-1524, enforced has June 24, 1514. Remedios This is to Baracoa (1511 ) and Bayamo ( 1513) along with Trinidad 's third oldest city in Cuba.

During the establishment phase, the city had to fight because of their location near the coast with pirate attacks and freshwater scarcity, yet experienced Remedios due to large land grants a constant growth. Agriculture and livestock were among the main economic pillars of the city from the 16th to the 18th century. Around the turn of the century to the 18th century, the sugar industry began to take hold in the area. In the 18th and 19th century, the cultivation of coffee, cocoa and tobacco gained a great importance for the region.

During the Cuban Revolution drew the eighth column Ciro Redondo, commanded by Ernesto Che Guevara, on December 26, 1958 in Remedios, and thus drove the remnants of the Batista administration of the city. The historic city center with its colonial villas, some of which date back to the 17th century, was declared a National Monument in Cuba in 1980.

Culture and sights

Center of the historic old town is the former after the Spanish Queen Isabel II named Plaza Martí with the coming of the 16th century church Iglesia Mayor.

The city is further known for their local Christmas Festival Las Parrandas de Remedios, which takes place every year between the 16th and the 26th of December. The tradition of Parrandas dates from the 18th century.