Cienfuegos (), capital of Cienfuegos Province, is a city on the southern coast of

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. It is located about from

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. Since the late 1960s, Cienfuegos has become one of Cuba's main industrial centers, especially in the energy and sugar sectors. The city is dubbed ''La Perla del Sur'' (Pearl of the South). Despite being known as an industrial city of factories and various nuclear/electrical plants, and the name ''Cienfuegos'' literally translating to "one hundred fires" (''cien'', "one hundred"; ''fuegos'', "fires"), the city actually takes its name from the surname of Asturian-born José Cienfuegos Jovellanos, Captain General of Cuba (1816–19). Between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the city was settled by many Spaniards, mainly

Catalans Catalans ( Catalan, French and Occitan: ''catalans''; ; ; or ) are a Romance ethnic group native to Catalonia, who speak Catalan. The current official category of "Catalans" is that of the citizens of Catalonia, a nationality and autono ...

and

Asturians Asturians () are a Romance ethnic group native to the autonomous community of Asturias, in the North-West of the Iberian Peninsula. Culture and society Heritage The Asturians have Celtic ( Astures) and Latin cultural origins, most notably f ...

who amassed fortunes as businessmen in different branches, other few of them obtained in the sugar industry, they became rich during their stay in Cuba, and they commissioned many of the most emblematic buildings of Cienfuegos that remain today (See also: ''

Indiano ''Indiano'' was the colloquial name for the Spanish diaspora, Spanish emigrant in Americas, America who returned enriched, a social typology that had become a Motif (narrative), literary cliché since the Spanish Golden Age, Golden Age. The name ...

''). Other well known residents were the Irish-born John O’Bourke, he had ten children on the island, three of whom were Cuban independence fighters from the Spanish crown, the mestizos Juan O'Bourke y Palacio, Rafael O’Bourke y Borroto, and Don Miguel O’Bourke y Ramos. There were also artistic personalities born in Cuba who have contributed in the cultural history of the city. In 2005,

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

inscribed the '' Urban Historic Centre of Cienfuegos'' on the

World Heritage List World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

, citing Cienfuegos as the best extant example of early 19th century Spanish Enlightenment implementation in

urban planning Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...

. The downtown area contains six buildings from 1819–50, 327 buildings from 1851 to 1900, and 1188 buildings from the 20th century.

History

The area where the city lies was identified as ''Cacicazgo de Jagua'' by early Spanish conquistadors. It was originally settled by

Ciboney The Ciboney, or Siboney, were a Taíno people of Cuba, Jamaica, and the Tiburon Peninsula of Haiti. A Western Taíno group living in Cuba during the 15th and 16th centuries, they had a dialect and culture distinct from the Classic Taíno in th ...

( Taino) indigenous people. ''Cacicazgo'' translates from the Taino language as "chiefdom". Cacicazgo de Jagua was therefore the chiefdom of Chief Jagua. The city was later settled by French immigrants from

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

and

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

led by Don Louis de Clouet on 22 April 1819. The settlers named the city ''Fernandina de Jagua'' in honor of King

Ferdinand VII of Spain Ferdinand VII (; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was Monarchy of Spain, King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as ''el Deseado'' (t ...

and local

an-Chief Jagua. The settlement successively became a town (''villa'') in 1829, renamed for Asturian-born José Cienfuegos Jovellanos, Captain General of Cuba (1816–19), and a city in 1880. Many of the streets in old town reflect French origins in their names: Bouyón, D'Clouet, Hourruitiner, Gacel, and Griffo, for instance. Cienfuegos port, despite being one of the latest settlements established during the colonial era, soon grew to be a powerful town due to the fertile fields surrounding it and its position on the trade route between

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

and South American cities to the southeast and the hinterland provincial capital of Santa Clara to the northeast. Its advantageous trading location on the historically eponymous Bay of Jagua was used by the Cuban sugar oligarchy when a railroad was built between both cities between 1853 and 1860. Near Cienfuegos was the scene of a

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

during the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

on 11 May 1898, between American

Marines Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...

attempting to sever underwater Spanish communication lines and the Spanish defenders. Between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the city was settled by many Spaniards, mainly

and

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...

, the city saw an uprising against

Fulgencio Batista Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (born Rubén Zaldívar; January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician who played a dominant role in Cuban politics from his initial rise to power as part of the 1933 Revolt of t ...

and was bombed in retaliation on 5 September 1957. The city later became a key industrial center, part of the revolutionary government's "anti-urban" planning policy, with industrial projects including the never-completed Juraguá nuclear power plant, the "Camilo Cienfuegos" oil refinery named for

Camilo Cienfuegos Camilo Cienfuegos Gorriarán (; 6 February 1932 – 28 October 1959) was a Cuban revolutionary. One of the major figures of the Cuban Revolution, he was considered second only to Fidel Castro among the revolutionary leadership. The son of An ...

, and the "Carlos Marx" cement factory. In 1969 and 1970, a

flotilla A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' ( fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. Composition A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same cla ...

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

naval vessels visited the city, which included two barges used to store and transport nuclear waste and a submarine maintenance vessel. Their presence was detected by U-2

reconnaissance aircraft A reconnaissance aircraft (colloquially, a spy plane) is a military aircraft designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence (including using Aerial photography, photography), signals ...

of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

that were sent out to monitor the Cuban coastline after a suspicious Soviet request to renegotiate the terms of the Kennedy–

Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...

agreements of 1962 that were made in the aftermath of the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis () in Cuba, or the Caribbean Crisis (), was a 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when American deployments of Nuclear weapons d ...

, with many American intelligence analysts concluding that the

Soviet Navy The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare Military, uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with t ...

was planning to construct a

submarine base A submarine base is a military base that shelters submarines and their personnel. Examples of present-day submarine bases include HMNB Clyde, Île Longue (the base for France's Force océanique stratégique), Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, N ...

in Cienfuegos. This was interpreted by some to be in violation of the 1962 agreements between Kennedy and Khrushchev. However, because of a

détente ''Détente'' ( , ; for, fr, , relaxation, paren=left, ) is the relaxation of strained relations, especially political ones, through verbal communication. The diplomacy term originates from around 1912, when France and Germany tried unsucces ...

between the Soviet Union and the United States since 1962, no major military or diplomatic confrontation ensued, and the Soviets agreed to withdraw their ships after American National Security Advisor

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (May 27, 1923 – November 29, 2023) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 56th United States secretary of state from 1973 to 1977 and the 7th National Security Advisor (United States), natio ...

informed Soviet ambassador to the United States

Anatoly Dobrynin Anatoly Fyodorovich Dobrynin (, 16 November 1919 – 6 April 2010) was a Soviet Union, Soviet politician, statesman, diplomat, and politician. He was the Ambassador of Russia to the United States, Soviet ambassador to the United States for more ...

that the United States government believed the presence of these naval vessels to be a violation of the agreements made eight years before. In 2005, Hurricane Dennis made its second

landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...

near Cienfuegos at about 1:00PM AST (17:00 UTC) with winds of 232 km/h (144 mph) and gusts reaching 285 km/h (177 mph).

Geography

Near the entrance to Cienfuegos Bay is Castillo de Jagua (full name: ''Castillo de Nuestra Señora de los Angeles de Jagua''), a

fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...

erected in 1745 for protection against Caribbean

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

s. Cienfuegos, one of the chief seaports of Cuba, is a center of the sugar trade as well as coffee and tobacco. While

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

is the chief crop, local farmers also grow coffee.

Climate

According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Cienfuegos has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

, abbreviated "Aw" on climate maps.

Demographics

In 2004, the municipality of Cienfuegos had a population of 163,824. With a total area of , it has a population density of .

Sports

Cienfuegos fields a team in the

Cuban National Series The Cuban National Series (, or SNB) is a domestic baseball competition in Cuba. Formed after the dissolution of the Cuban League in the wake of the Cuban Revolution, the National Series is a part of the Cuban baseball league system. For most ...

, the Cienfuegos Elefantes. Since joining the league in 1977–78, the best finish the ''Camaroneros'' have achieved is a 3rd place showing in the 2010–11 Cuban National Series. Despite finishing with the best record at 59–31, the Elefantes lost the semifinals in six games to the eventual champions, the Pinar del Río ''Vegueros''.

Attractions

* Castillo de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles de Jagua – fortress *City Hall of Cienfuegos *Arco de Triunfo – the only Triumphal arch in Cuba * Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción – cathedral with stained glass work, built 1833–1869 *Delfinario – dolphins and sea lions in a saltwater lagoon *

Jardín Botánico de Cienfuegos Jardín (), is a town and Municipalities of Colombia, municipality in the Southwestern Antioquia, southwest region of Antioquia Department, Antioquia, Colombia. It is bounded by the Andes, Antioquia, Andes, Jericó, Antioquia, Jericó, and Támesi ...

– 97 hectares of botanic garden *Museo Provincial – furniture and porcelain museum * Palacio del Valle – built 1913–1917 in

Moorish revival Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of Romanticism, Romanticist Orientalism. It reached the height of its popularity after the mi ...

style *Palmira Yorubá Pantheon – museum of religious afro-catholic syncretism *Parque José Martí – park in Plaza de Armas *Teatro Tomás Terry – colonial style theater * Palacio Ferrer * Malecón de Cienfuegos *Paseo del Prado – longest street in Cuba, full of colorful buildings * Quintero (cigar) cigar factory * University of Cienfuegos "Carlos Rafael Rodríguez" (UCF) – the province's high education institution *Rancho Luna Beach *El Nicho *Laguna del Cura - an authentic fishing boat lagoon.

Transportation

The city is served by Jaime González Airport, which, as of 2024, has only one scheduled flight to Toronto.

Notable people

* Melissa Vargas, volleyball player, member of Cuban, later Turkish women's national team; born here * José Abreu,

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

* María Conchita Alonso, Cuban-Venezuelan-American singer; born here * Yordany Álvarez,

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanctioned by the United ...

player for

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Fou ...

* Joe Azcue,

player for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

, and

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

* Luis Posada Carriles, Cuban anti-Castro activist believed to be responsible for the Cubana Flight 455 bombing; born here * Yoán Moncada,

player for the

Benny Moré Bartolomé Maximiliano Moré Gutiérrez (24 August 1919 – 19 February 1963), better known as Benny Moré (also spelled Beny Moré), was a Cuban singer, bandleader and songwriter. Due to his fluid tenor voice and his great expressivity, he was ...

, Cuban singer * Olance Nogueras Rofes, Cuban journalist * Gina Pellón, Cuban painter; lived in exile in Paris * Yasiel Puig,

player for the

; born here * Robeisy Ramirez, professional boxer and two-time Olympic Gold medalist * Osmel Sousa, Cuban-Venezuelan entrepreneur and former president of the

Miss Venezuela Miss Venezuela (Spanish: ''Organización Miss Venezuela'') is a Venezuelan beauty pageant operated by the Cisneros Group. Founded in 1952, it currently selects Venezuelan representatives to Miss Universe, Miss World, and Miss International. ...

Organization * José Tartabull,

player for the

Cristóbal Torriente Cristóbal Torriente (November 16, 1893 – April 11, 1938) was a Cuban professional baseball outfielder and pitcher in the Negro leagues and the Cuban League with multiple teams. He played from 1912 to 1932 and was primarily a pull hitter, t ...

, Cuban-born Hall of Fame baseball player

Sister cities

Cienfuegos has the following

sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is International relations, a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there ar ...

: *

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

, United States * Etzatlán, Mexicohttp://www.sre.gob.mx/coordinacionpolitica/images/stories/documentos_gobiernos/rai/jal/jal40.pdf
/ref> *

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

, United States *

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

, Canada (2005) *

Bahía Blanca Bahía Blanca (; English: ''White Bay''), colloquially referred to by its own local inhabitants as simply Bahía, is a city in the Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires province of Argentina, centered on the northwestern end of the eponymous Blanc ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Oc ...

, France *

Contagem Contagem () is a city in the center of the state of Minas Gerais, in Brazil. It is only from the capital, Belo Horizonte, and forms part of a metropolitan area with a population of 4.8 million. Over time, the city's geographic boundaries were lo ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Gallery

File:Catedral de la Purisima Concepcion - 2008 - panoramio.jpg, Cienfuegos Cathedral and

Medici Lions The Medici lions are a pair of marble sculptures of lions: one of which is Rome, Roman, dating to the 2nd century AD, and the other a 16th-century Pendant painting, pendant. By 1598 both were placed at the Villa Medici, Rome. Since 1789 they ...

File:Jagua 5839.JPG, Castle of Jagua File:RoutedeCienfuegos.JPG, The Promenade of Cienfuegos File:Cienfuegos (Hotel La Unión and Old Tram).jpg, The central Calle D'Clouet with the "Hotel La Unión" (left) and the railtrack remains of the former urban

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

way File:Cienfuegos Teatro Tomas Terry -Fassade 1.jpg, Teatro Tomás Terry in Cienfuegos File:Cienfuegos - Teatro Terry (2).jpg, Teatro Tomás Terry, postcard of 1915. File:A long way (47873908291).jpg File:Cienfuegos - Cuba (38985096560).jpg, Kiosko File:Tennis club cienfuegos.jpg, Old Yacht Club building, inaugurated in 1920. File:Cienfuegos - Yacht Club.jpg, Rear facade of the Old Yacht Club building, photo of 1925. File:Le club nautique de cienfuegos.JPG File:Cienfuegos palacio ferrer 2.JPG, Palacio Ferrer. José Ferrer Sires, a wealthy Catalan settled in Cienfuegos, he commissioned renowned Cuban architect Pablo Donato Carbonell to design the luxurious palace for his family. Construction lasted between 1917 and 1920. File:2020-12-30 Cienfuegos 01.jpg File:Cienfuegos -Calle D'Clouet.jpg, Postcard showing the Calle D'Clouet, Cienfuegos, in 1905. File:Cienfuegos - Glorieta.jpg, The Kiosko Glorieta, Cienfuegos, in 1921. File:Cienfuegos - Rio Arimao.jpg, Arimao River, Cienfuegos, postcard of 1915. File:Colegio de Los Dominicos, Cienfuegos, Cuba, photo of 1921.jpg, College Church of Los Dominicos, was inaugurated in 1906, postcard of 1921. File:Cienfuegos, Cuba, 1909.jpg, Cienfuegos, 1909 File:Cuba 2013-01-25 (8536555505).jpg

References

Bibliography

External links

*
Cienfuegos City Council

Guide of Cienfuegos

Photo collections with most of the city's landmarks
on

Flickr Flickr ( ) is an image hosting service, image and Online video platform, video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was previously a co ...

{{Authority control Cities in Cuba Populated places in Cienfuegos Province Port cities and towns in Cuba World Heritage Sites in Cuba Populated places established in 1819 1819 establishments in New Spain 1810s establishments in the Spanish West Indies