Guanajay is a town and municipality in
Artemisa Province
Artemisa Province is one of the two new provinces created from the former La Habana Province, whose creation was approved by the Cuban National Assembly on August 1, 2010, the other being Mayabeque Province. The new provinces came into existen ...
in western
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
, located about southwest of
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. . The town lies among hills.
Guanajay is the twin town of
Axtla De Terrazas
Axtla de Terrazas is one of the 58 municipalities in San Luis Potosí in central Mexico. The municipality was founded 1826, its name comes from Nahuatl (astlan) and is interpreted as: "Place of white herons", it was added de Terrazas in honor of ...
Overview
In colonial times it was an acclimatization station for newly arrived troops from Spain, and subsequently became well known as a health resort. Founded in 1650, it was part of the province of
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 R ...
until 1976. It was then included in
La Habana Province
La Habana Province , formerly known as Ciudad de La Habana Province, is a province of Cuba that includes the territory of the city of Havana, the Republic's capital. Between 1878 and 2010, the name referred to another province that covered a m ...
until that was divided in two in 2011.
The country surrounding Guanajay is a fertile
sugarcane and
tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ch ...
region, and historically it has been an important distribution point in the commerce of the western end of the island. Guanajay was an ancient
pueblo
In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...
of considerable size and importance as early as the end of the 18th century.
Demographics
In 2004, the municipality of Guanajay had a population of 28,429.
With a total area of ,
it has a population density of .
Gallery
File:San Hilarion Guanajay, Pinar del Río, Cuba.jpg, San Hilarión Parrish c. 1930
File:Río Capellanias Guanajay, Pinar del Río, Cuba.jpg, Capellanias River in Guanajay c. 1930
See also
*
Municipalities of Cuba
The provinces of Cuba are divided into 168 municipalities or ''municipios''. They were defined by Cuban Law Number 1304 of July 3, 1976Fifth United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names, Vol. II, published by the United ...
*
List of cities in Cuba
This is a list of cities in Cuba with at least 20,000 inhabitants, listed in descending order. Population data refers to city proper and not to the whole municipality, because they include large rural areas with several villages. All figu ...
*
Guanajay Municipal Museum
Guanajay Municipal Museum is a museum located in the 61st street in Guanajay, Cuba. It was established as a museum on 13 February 1981.
The museum holds collections on history and weaponry.
See also
* List of museums in Cuba
References
...
References
:*
External links
{{Authority control
Populated places in Artemisa Province
Populated places established in 1781
1781 establishments in New Spain
1780s establishments in the Spanish West Indies
1780s in Cuba