Artemisa (Spanish pronunciation:[aɾteˈmisa]) is a municipality and city in Cuba, formerly part of La Habana Province. According to a law approved by the Cuban National Assembly in August 2010, Artemisa became the capital city of the newly formed Artemisa Province, which comprises eight municipalities of the former La Habana Province and three from Pinar del Río.[3] It has an area of 642.0 square kilometers and a population of over 86,444 inhabitants (2022).[4]
Due to its coffee crops in the past and the bucolic local landscape, it has received the nickname "Jardín de Cuba" (Garden of Cuba) and is also known as the "Villa Roja" (Red Village) due to the color of its soils.
The municipality is home to the University of Artemisa, which trains professionals in agricultural sciences, high school and higher education teachers, business sciences, among others. There is also the Faculty of Medical Sciences of Artemisa, which trains doctors, dentists and other health professionals.
History
The town was founded in 1818. It arose as a result of a fire that occurred on 25 April 1802, in the Jesús María and Guadalupe neighborhoods in the city of Havana, which left many families homeless and pressured the Royal Consulate of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce to approve the creation of populations in extramural areas. In 1818, thanks to the donation of Don Francisco de Arango y Peñalver, the construction of the church began, which was inaugurated on 22 December 1825. The origin of the name of Artemisa is uncertain. It has been argued to have originated from the Greek goddessArtemis (Diana, in the Roman version) or that it refers to the name of Ragweed in Spanish, Artemisia (Ambrosia artemisifolia), abundant at the time.
The municipality is founded on 9 June 1878, by royal decree in which this city is assigned as the head. On 1 January 1879, the first meeting of the City Council is held.
Although Artemisa did not participate in the first War of Liberation against Spain in 1868–78 (Guerra de los Diez Años), since it did not reach the West of the country, it did in the one of 95 in which more than 200 children of that region joined the Mambi forces, of which 135 survivors were discharged. Among them, important figures stand out such as Manuel Valdés (the first Artemiseño martyr, messenger of the Mambi forces), Colonel Federico Nuñez, General Alberto Nodarse Bacallao (who was part of General Antonio Maceo's staff when he fell in San Pedro) and the parish priest of the Church of Artemisa, Guillermo González Arocha.
The territory of Artemisa suffered in that period from the "Reconcentration" policy of Captain General Valeriano Weyler, a direct precedent of the Nazi concentration camps, who in an attempt to cut off the support of the liberating troops among the Cuban rural population, forced it to concentrate in urban places.
Artemisa was an important source of fighters supporting Fidel Castro's Revolution during the attack on "Cuartel Moncada" in Santiago de Cuba (1953) and Sierra Maestra Guerrilla (1956–1959). Ramiro Valdés Menéndez, Vice President of the Council of State of Cuba, who was also a combatant alongside Che, is a native of Artemisa. Two other Artemiseños also stood out in the Revolution as members of the leadership of two other organizations: Eduardo García Lavandero of the Revolutionary Directorate 13 March and Carlos Rodríguez Careaga of the Popular Socialist Party. The Martyrs Mausoleum (Mausoleo de los Mártires) in Artemisa is a National Monument of Cuba.[5]
The Artemisa municipality is located in the center of the Artemisa Province, bordering to the north with the Mariel and Guanajay municipalities; to the east with the municipalities Caimito and Alquízar; to the south with the Ensenada de Majana and to the west with the municipality of Candelaria.
Wards (consejos populares) of the municipality include Cayajabo, Centro, Corojal, La Matilde, Las Cañas, Lavandero, Lincoln, Reparto Nuevo, and Todelo.
Demographics
In 2022, the municipality of Artemisa had a population of 81,209.[2] With a total area of 690km2 (270sqmi),[1] it has a population density of 130/km2 (340/sqmi).
Economy
During the 19th century, the town evolved with great economic prosperity based on the boom in coffee first and tobacco and sugar later.
Artemisa came to have approximately 47 coffee plantations. The most renowned was "Angerona", considered the second largest coffee plantation in Cuba. El Pilar and Andorra, both, have been closed at the beginning of the 21st century. The sugar industry has ceased to have a leading role in the municipality.
Economic development was favored by the arrival of the railway in 1864 and, later, the construction of the Central Highway of Cuba, these were decisive factors in the rise of the municipality, which became an important destination between Pinar del Río and Havana.
The current economy of Artemisa is based on agriculture (fruits, various crops, rice, sugar cane), pig farming, the cement industry and other construction materials, tobacco manufacturing, textile manufacturing, and pesticides.
Places of historical importance include the Cafetal Angerona (named after Angerona, the goddess of silence and fertility, and protector of Rome), which is currently in ruins. Its remains evoke a period of great abundance, business development, love affairs, and slavery. The cafetal belonged to the German entrepreneur Cornelio Souchay who fell in love with the black Haitian, Úrsula Lambert. The couple lived their romance in secret due to the taboos of the period.
The Hotel Campoamor, built by Asturiano Fernando González-Campoamor, has played an important role since it was finished in 1911. Many important figures visited the place, including Rita Longa, Ernest Hemingway, Juan Marinello, Gabriela Mistral, and Ignacio Villa "Bola de Nieve." Centrales azucareros (Sugar mills) Pilar and Lavandero are landmarks of the city, as well as the mansion of sugar magnate, Julio Lobo.
Artemisa's patron saint is Saint Mark the Evangelist. The church of Artemisa is located in The Park (el Parque). The building was renovated due to efforts made by Father Antonio Rodriguez Dias, the hard work and cooperation of many Artemiseños, and generous monetary donations from German brethren.
Important personalities in the history of Cuba were born or lived in Artemisa. Among them Magdalena Peñarredonda[es], a poet and journalist, appointed as captain of rebel forces during the war of independence, Father Guillermo González Arocha, born in Regla, but whose significant contribution to the independence of Cuba was carried out while a priest in Artemisa, is considered an adopted son of the city. This priest also founded a school and had the cemetery of the city built. Legendary trumpet star Arturo Sandoval was also from Artemisa before his defection to the U.S. in 1990.[6]
Administratively, Cuba is divided into 15 provinces and one special municipality. The current structure has been in place since August 2010, when the then-La Habana Province was divided into Artemisa Province and Mayabeque 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. The province's territory is the seat of the superior organs of the state and its provincial administration.
The Pinar del Río Province is one of the 15 provinces of Cuba. It is at the western end of the island of Cuba. The capital and largest city is Pinar del Río.
Pinar del Río is the capital city of Pinar del Río Province, Cuba. With a population of 191,081 (2022), it is the 10th-largest city in Cuba. Inhabitants of the area are called Pinareños.
Guanajay is a town and municipality in Artemisa Province in western Cuba, located about 58 km (36 mi) southwest of Havana. The town lies among hills.
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Fútbol de Cuba is the top football division in Cuba. Currently, it is contested by 16 clubs and is divided into two tournaments – "Apertura" and "Clausura", with the last being the championship tournament. The champion of each tournament, decided via a playoff match ("Final"), are qualified to Supercopa Nacional de Fútbol de Cuba. The league currently has a fixed membership with each club being a representative of a Cuban province, which makes it one of the football leagues that does not have a promotion and relegation process.
The provinces of Cuba are divided into 168 municipalities. They were defined by Cuban Law Number 1304 of July 3, 1976 and reformed in 2010 with the abrogation of the municipality of Varadero and the creation of two new provinces: Artemisa and Mayabeque in place of former La Habana Province.
Candelaria is a municipality and town in the Artemisa Province of Cuba. Before 2011 it was part of Pinar del Río Province. It was founded in 1809, and established as a municipality in 1880.
Caimito is a municipality and town in Artemisa Province of Cuba. The town was founded in 1820. The municipality of Caimito del Guayabal was created in 1910, based on the previously existing (1879–1902) municipality of Guayabal in the Pinar del Río Province. Since 1976, the official name is Caimito.
Manicaragua is a municipality and mountain town in the Villa Clara Province of Cuba. It is located in the Escambray Mountains at the southern part of Villa Clara, bordering the provinces of Cienfuegos to the west and Sancti Spíritus to the east.
Sierra del Rosario is a mountain range in the provinces of Pinar del Río and Artemisa, western Cuba. It is located in the eastern part of the Guaniguanico range and, along with the Sierra de los Órganos, is part of it.
Wajay is a ward of the city of Havana, the capital of Cuba, belonging to the municipal borough of Boyeros. In 2011, it had a population of 47,954.
Mayabeque Province is one of 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 Artemisa Province. The new provinces came in to existence on January 1, 2011.
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 existence on January 1, 2011.
The road network of Cuba consists of 60,858 km (37,815 mi) of roads, of which over 29,850 km (18,550 mi) are paved and 31,038 km (19,286 mi) are unpaved. The Caribbean country counts also 654 km (406 mi) of motorways (autopistas).
El Habanero is a Cuban daily newspaper. It is published in Spanish and is located in Havana. The name honors the homonymous newspaper created and published in 1824–1826 by Felix Varela (1787–1853) a Cuban patriot, priest and writer.
Havana Province was one of the provinces of Cuba from 1976, when the nation's provincial structure was revised, through the end of 2010. On January 1, 2011, the province was divided into two new provinces, Artemisa and Mayabeque. La Habana Province had 711,066 people in the 2002 census. The largest city was Artemisa (81,209), as the much larger city of Havana was structured in a different province, Ciudad de La Habana Province.
The Battle of Las Taironas was a battle of the Cuban War of Independence that took place on January 17, 1896 at Pinar del Río between Cuban forces led by Major General Antonio Maceo and the Spanish led by lieutenant colonel Ulpiano Sanchez Echevarria who was a Cuban native.
The Battle of San Pedro was a battle of the Cuban War of Independence that took place on December 7, 1896 within the vicinity of the farm of the same name. The battle occurred near the town of Punta Brava on the outskirts of Marianao, La Habana Province.
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