Mayarí is a municipality and town in the

Holguín Province Holguín () is one of the provinces of Cuba, the third most populous after Havana and Santiago de Cuba. It lies in the southeast of the country. Its major cities include Holguín (the capital), Banes, Antilla, Mayarí, and Moa. The provinc ...

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 ...

History

The origins of the city date back to 1757 in

Spanish Cuba The Captaincy General of Cuba () was an administrative district of the Spanish Empire created in 1607 as part of Habsburg Spain's attempt to better defend and administer its Caribbean possessions. The reform also established captaincies general ...

, when the first farms were established here by immigrant colonists. On 19 January 1879 the city became the seat of Mayarí Municipality.

Geography

The municipality is divided into the

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city delimited by functional (e.g. residential, comm ...

s and hamlets of Barajagua, Cabonico, Cajimaya, Chavaleta Norte, Chavaleta Sur, Guayabo, Juan Vicente, Mateo Sánchez, Punta de Tabaco, Río Frío, Sae-Tía, San Gregario Norte, San Gregorio Sur and Santa Isabel.

Birán Birán is a village in Holguín Province of Cuba, hamlet and ''consejo popular'' of Cueto, best known as the birthplace of Ramón, Fidel, Raúl and Juanita Castro. Their father Ángel Castro y Argiz owned a plantation there. History Unti ...

, the birthplace of Fidel and

Raúl Castro Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz ( ; ; born 3 June 1931) is a Cuban retired politician and general who served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, the most senior position in the One-par ...

, was part of Mayarí until the 1976 reform, when it became part of the neighboring Cueto municipality. Among other barrios or neighborhoods in this municipality are: Felton (on Cajimaya Bay, once the seaport for the Bethlehem Cuba Iron Mines Company -Bethlehem Steel-), Guaro,

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

(on

Nipe Bay Nipe Bay () is a bay on the northern coast of Cuba in Holguín Province, part of the former Oriente Province.''Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary'', Third Edition, p. 830. It is part of the municipalities of Mayarí and Antilla. Overview I ...

, previously named Preston and a central sugar mill operated by the

United Fruit Company The United Fruit Company (later the United Brands Company) was an American multinational corporation that traded in tropical fruit (primarily bananas) grown on Latin American plantations and sold in the United States and Europe. The company was ...

Nicaro-Levisa Nicaro-Levisa, also Levisa-Nicaro, is a Cuban town and ''consejo popular'' ("people's council", i.e. hamlet) of the municipality of Mayarí, in Holguín Province, formed by the settlements of Nicaro and Levisa. With a population of about 20,000, ...

(on Levisa Bay, originally named ''Lengua de Pajaro'' which translated into English means bird's tongue -as viewed from an air ride-), El Purio, Santa Rita, La Italiana, Mandinga. The last two being on the road to the open mines named Mina Martí where nickel and cobalt exploitation started in the beginnings of the twentieth century by Bethlehem Cuba Iron Mines Company (Bethlehem Steel) and Nicaro Nickel Company.Infos on archive.org
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Demographics

In 2022, the municipality of Mayarí had a population of 92,792. With a total area of , it has a population density of .

Main sights

The

Sierra Cristal National Park Sierra Cristal National Park () is a national park in Cuba. It is located in the municipalities of Mayarí Mayarí is a municipality and town in the Holguín Province of Cuba. History The origins of the city date back to 1757 in Spanish Cuba, ...

() is partly located in the Mayarí Municipality and partly in neighboring Sagua de Tánamo Municipality. Other attractions include

Cayo Saetía Cayo Saetía (also spelled Sae-Tía) is a cay (island) in Holguín Province, Cuba. It belongs to the municipality of Mayarí. Overview It is located southeast of Holguín between the Bay of Nipe & the Atlantic Ocean. The landmass is connected ...

, a scenic

cay A cay ( ), also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island on the surface of a coral reef. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans, including in the Caribbean and on the Grea ...

with beaches located within the municipality on the

Bay of Nipe Nipe Bay () is a bay on the northern coast of Cuba in Holguín Province, part of the former Oriente Province.''Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary'', Third Edition, p. 830. It is part of the municipalities of Mayarí and Antilla. Overview I ...

, north of the Mayarí city.

Popular culture

The city's name Mayarí is in the 1940s song "''Voy para Mayarí''" ("I'm going to Mayarí"), by

Compay Segundo Máximo Francisco Repilado Muñoz Telles (18 November 1907 – 13 July 2003), known professionally as "Compay Segundo", was a Cuban trova guitarist, singer and composer. Biography Compay (meaning ''compadre'') Segundo, so called because he was a ...

, and in his song "

Chan Chan Chan Chan (), sometimes itself called Chimor, was the capital city of the Chimor kingdom. It was the largest city of the pre-Columbian era in South America. It is now an archeological site in the department of La Libertad west of Trujillo, P ...

" on the Buena Vista Social Club album. It also appears in the song “''Las Mujeres de Mayarí''” (“The women of Mayarí”) in the same album.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayari Cities in Cuba Populated places in Holguín Province Populated places established in 1757 1750s establishments in Cuba 1750s establishments in the Spanish West Indies 1757 establishments in the Spanish Empire Fidel Castro