Pinar del Río

Pinar del Río is the capital city of Pinar del Río Province, Cuba. With a population of 139,336 (2004) in a municipality of 190,332, it is the 10th-largest city in Cuba. Inhabitants of the area are called ''Pinareños''.

History

Pinar del Río was one of the last major cities in Cuba founded by the Spanish, on September 10, 1867. The city and province was founded as ''Nueva Filipinas'' (New Philippines) in response to an influx of Asian laborers coming from the Philippine Islands to work on tobacco plantations.

Pinar del Río's history begins with the Guanahatabey, a group of nomadic Indians who lived in caves and procured most of their livelihood from the sea. Less advanced than the other indigenous natives who lived on the island, the Guanahatabey were a peaceful and passive race whose culture came about largely independently of the Taíno and Siboney cultures further east. The Guanahatabey were extinct by the time of the Spanish arrival in 1492; little firsthand documentation remains of how the archaic Guanahatabey society was structured and organized, although some archeological sites have been found on the Guanahacabibes Peninsula.

Post-Columbus, the conquistadors left rugged Pinar del Río largely to its own devices, and the area developed lackadaisically only after Canary Islanders started arriving in the late 1500s. These Canarians became the tobacco farmers of the region. It was originally called Nueva Filipina (New Philippines), but the region was renamed Pinar del Río in 1778, supposedly for the pine forests crowded along the Río Guama. Tobacco plantations and cattle ranches quickly sprang up in the rich soil, along with open grazing land that typifies Pinar. Farmers who made a living from the delicate and well-tended crops were colloquially christened ''Guajiros'', a native word that literally means 'one of us'. By the mid-1800s Europeans were hooked on the fragrant weed, and the region flourished. Sea routes opened up and the railways was extended to facilitate the shipping of the perishable product. Pinar del Río is known as "the Mecca of tobacco".

Geography

The municipality borders San Luis, San Juan y Martínez, Viñales and Consolación del Sur. The villages included in the municipality are Briones Montoto, Cayo Conuco, La Coloma, La Conchita and Las Ovas.

Climate

Pinar del Río has a warm tropical climate, more specifically a tropical monsoon climate (''Am'') according to the Köppen climate classification scheme.

Demographics

In the 2002 national census, the following statistics were recorded:
*Area: 70.7 km² (city); 708 km² (municipality)
*Population: 189,221 (total); 152,200 (city); 30,417 (surrounding rural area)
*Density: 270,4 /km²

In 2004, the municipality of Pinar del Río had a population of 190,532. With a total area of , it has a population density of .

Economy

The city is located in a major tobacco-growing area and is a centre of the cigar industry. The main farming animal in this province is the carabao.

Sport

The local baseball club is Pinar del Río, nicknamed ''Vegueros'', and the association football one is FC Pinar del Río. Both the clubs have their home ground in the Capitán San Luis Stadium. The ''Vegueros'' are the Serie del Caribe 2015 champions. Also Major League Baseball and Hall of Famer for the Minnesota Twins Tony Oliva is from Pinar del Rio.

Transport

The city is served by the Carretera Central highway and by the A4 motorway. Pinar del Río Airport is abandoned, and La Coloma Airport has no scheduled flights. There is a railway station on the line to Havana.

Education

The main post-secondary education institution is the University of Pinar del Río.

Notable people

* Danys Báez – Major League Baseball pitcher
* Mario Bencomo – painter
* René Capo – Olympic Judoka
* Willy Chirino – singer-songwriter
* Sen Dog – member of Cypress Hill
* Yunieski Gonzalez – boxer
* Dagoberto Valdés Hernández – religious leader/writer
* Carlos Luna – artist
* Mijaín López – three-time Olympic Greco-Roman Wrestling champion
* Yunesky Maya – pitcher for the Washington Nationals
* Polo Montañez – singer/songwriter
* Dolan Mor – writer
* Pedro Pablo Oliva – painter
* Tony Oliva – Outfielder for the Minnesota Twins and Major League Baseball Hall of Famer.
* Rudy Pérez – composer
* Alexei Ramírez – infielder for the Chicago White Sox
* Yoel Romero – Mixed Martial Artist, Olympic wrestler
* Gonzalo Rubalcaba – pianist
* Eduardo Zamacois – Spanish novelist
* Paulina Pedroso- leader in the Cuban War of Independence.

Gallery

File:Fruti Cuba.JPG, The historical building "Fruti Cuba (Fruit Juices)", located in the city centre
File:Teatro Milanés Pinar del Rio.JPG, Milanés Theatre
File:Catedral Pinar del Rio.JPG, Cathedral
File:Casa de cultura Pedro Junco Pinar del Rio.JPG, Culture house "Pedro Junco"
File:Tobacco field cuba1.jpg, Tobacco plantation
File:Hoyo de monterey.jpg, Cigar factory

See also

* Filipino Cuban
* List of cities in Cuba
* Municipalities of Cuba

References

External links

Pinar del Río.cu

Pinar del Río
on EcuRed

Pinar del Río on guije.com
(historical infos)


(historical infos)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinar Del Rio

Cities in Cuba
Populated places in Pinar del Río Province
World Heritage Sites in Cuba
Populated places established in 1774
1770s establishments in Cuba
1774 establishments in the Spanish West Indies