Santa Clara is the capital city of the Cuban province of Villa Clara. It is centrally located in the province and Cuba. Santa Clara is the fifth-most populous Cuban city, with a population of nearly 245,959.
Tamarind, Santa Clara's tree and foundation-of-city monument
Santa Clara was founded by 175 people on 15 July 1689. 138 of them represented two large families already living in the area, who owned land next to the new city. The other 37 came from seven other families and included a priest and governor, all originating in the coastal city of San Juan de los Remedios.
The population of Remedios had to choose between leaving their city, constantly being besieged by pirates, or staying. While most decided to stay, 37 people traveled south to the interior. On 1 June 1689, they arrived at a hill, joining two other families already present at the site. According to tradition, a mass was celebrated under a tamarind tree and Santa Clara was founded. Since then, the place under the tree has been known as Loma del Carmen (transl.Carmen's hill). A second-generation church was built in a park along the plaza. A monument commemorating the event is surrounded by a fourth-generation tamarind tree.
The settlement was originally called Cayo Nuevo, which was changed to Dos Cayos, Villa Nueva de Santa Clara, Pueblo Nuevo de Antón Díaz, Villa Clara, and finally Santa Clara.
Construction of the city began near Loma del Carmen. Following the Spanish standards, a perfect squared layout with a central plaza (Plaza Mayor, today known as Parque Vidal) was developed. The first buildings erected were the cabildo (city council) and a palm tree church. The latter building was replaced in 1725 with a brick one. It remained at the center of the Parque Vidal as Catedral de Santa Clara de Asís until 22 August 1923. It was demolished so that the plaza could be expanded and a new church built nearby. This decision by the mayor is still criticized to this day. Although the church was not of the finest architecture, it was one of the oldest colonial structures in the city and a part of its fabric. After the expropriation by the mayor and city council, religious officials complained and the court awarded 77,850 pesos in fines as a settlement to the church.
Soon after the city was founded, a theater, a chamber of commerce, meeting clubs, public libraries, and dance halls were erected as well. Positioned nearly in the center of the country, the city became a popular travelers' stop and a prominent transport hub; these conditions supported its steady growth. By the 19th century, Santa Clara was bigger and more populated than nearby towns, including what was once Remedios. As a necessary stop between Havana and the east of the country, the city became the capital of Las Villas province.
Two well-known figures are associated with Santa Clara: Marta Abreu de Estévez, a beloved native daughter known as "the Benefactress of the City", and Ernesto Che Guevara, a political activist and leader of the Cuban Revolution. Guevara is buried here, where he waged the final battle of the revolution that toppled the Fulgencio Batista government in 1958.
Abreu is notable for the numerous projects she and her family promoted through their philanthropy, intended to enhance the life of the citizens of Santa Clara. Abreu and her husband Luis Estévez, who became the first vice president of the young republic in 1902, were well-known sympathizers and contributors to the Cuban rebels' cause during the War of Cuban Independence against Spain. (This was the initial phase of the Spanish–American War; the US became involved in supporting some forces seeking independence.)
Abreu's legacy includes institutions all over the city: an electric plant building, several schools, an asylum, public laundry stations by the Belico River (two still exist, although in poor condition), the fire station a block off the Parque Vidal, and the train station near Loma del Carmen.
The most notable building is the Teatro La Caridad (a theater named in honor of the patron saint of Cuba, La Virgen de la Caridad – Our Lady of Charity). The theater can be seen from one of the corners of the Parque Vidal. Abreu was the project's sole financial sponsor. She supervised the design and construction of the theater. Although it is not as grandiose as the Teatro Tomás Terry in Cienfuegos city, the proceeds of the theater have been designated to support two schools that Abreu founded for the city's poor children. The schools, one for girls and one for boys, were located just behind the theater. Teatro La Caridad is one of the seven major theaters still standing from the colonial era in Cuba. Abreu also donated her own palace to the city; it was used as a provincial government palace and later adapted for use as a public library. Today, it houses the Biblioteca Martí (Martí Library), also located on the Parque Vidal. It is an example of neoclassical architecture and has highly decorated interiors. Santa Clara's university is named after Abreu. She is buried in the Colón cemetery of Havana.
Santa Clara was the site of the last battle of the Cuban Revolution in late 1958. Two guerrilla columns attacked the city; one was led by Ernesto Che Guevara and the other by Camilo Cienfuegos. Guevara's column first captured the garrison at Fomento. Using a bulldozer, Guevara's soldiers destroyed railroad tracks and derailed a train full of troops and supplies sent by Batista. At the same time, Cienfuegos's column defeated an army garrison at the Battle of Yaguajay not far from town. On 31 December 1958, the combined forces of Guevara and Cienfuegos (along with other revolutionaries under William Alexander Morgan) attacked Santa Clara. The battle was chaotic, and the defenders became demoralized. Some fought; others surrendered without a shot. By the afternoon, the city was captured. This victory for Castro's troops is seen as the decisive moment in the Cuban Revolution, as Batista fled Cuba less than 12 hours later.
There are 18 wards (consejos populares) of Santa Clara. They include Centro, Caprio, Santa Catalina, Vigía, Sandino, Hospital, Escambray, Chambery, Virginia, Condado Norte, Condado Sur, Abel Santamaría, and José Martí are a part of the Urban area. Camacho Libertad, Antón Díaz, Aereopuerto, Univerisidad, Manajanabo, Sakenaf, Hatillo-Yabú, and Camilo Cienfuegos are part of the Semi-Urban area and San Miguel is in the Rural Area. [6]
In 2022, the municipality of Santa Clara had a population of 245,959.[3] With a total area of 514km2 (198sqmi),[2] it had a population density of 480/km2 (1,200/sqmi).
Attractions
Panoramic view of Parque del Carmen, surrounding the Iglesia del Carmen (2012)
Parque Vidal is located at the center of the city, taking up an entire square block. In the park, there is a statue of Marta Abreu, who is admired by the people of Santa Clara. Bordering the park is the Santa Clara Libre (formerly the Santa Clara Hilton), Gran Hotel, Teatro La Caridad (a National Monument of Cuba[8]), Plaza del Mercado Central, the former city hall, and the Colonia Española de Santa Clara center of dance, exhibiting the most attractive and unique traditional customs of hinterland Cuba.
Parque Vidal is one of the most quintessential Cuban places in Cuba. During the afternoons, people, especially singles, visit the park to meet others. Although not widely practised in recent times, the custom was to walk around the park. The women walk along the inner part of the park, while the men walk along the outer side. Another lost custom is for locals to set up a platform and perform improvisations with their guitars on late Sunday afternoons. They dressed for that day with their guayaberas and highly polished shoes.
Santa Clara is home to a mausoleum that houses the remains of Che Guevara and sixteen of his fellow combatants killed in 1967 during the Bolivia campaign. There is also a reconstruction of Guevara derailing the train during the Battle of Santa Clara.
Prior to 1 January 1977, Santa Clara was located in Las Villas Province. On that date, as part of a general administrative reordering of Cuba's provinces, Las Villas Province was reordered into the provinces of Villa Clara, Cienfuegos, and Sancti Spíritus. Santa Clara is in the province now known as Villa Clara.
Santa Clara is crossed by the Carretera Central highway (CC) and Autopista A1 motorway. The Santa Clara Beltway serving the city is directly linked to the motorway. The main railway station, Santa Clara railway station, is part of the principal line of the country, the Havana-Santa Clara-Camagüey-Santiago. Abel Santamaría Airport, located 11km (6.8mi) to the north, is the city airport, serving flights to Italy, Canada, France, and Poland, along with domestic and other flights.
The Santa Clara beltway connects the city with other roads going to the other municipalities in the province, these include:
The university offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees and boasts the graduation of 35,000 engineers, licensees, architects, medics, and veterinarians, of which 1,000 are foreigners from 47 countries. Additionally, it has educated more than 310 doctors and more than 1600 magisters. The university collaborates with institutions from Germany, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Spain, Peru, Mexico, and Venezuela.
The Santa Clara Libre hotel across Parque Vidal was the tallest building outside Havana during the 1950s and 1960s.
The Marta Abreu train station is located across Martyrs' Park. At the center is the truncated pillar monument dedicated to the martyrs of the Colonial Independence War.
Carmen Church, which is the oldest church in the city.
Teatro La Caridad
Iglesia La Divina Pastora
Related Research Articles
Villa Clara is one of the provinces of Cuba. It is located in the central region of the island bordering on the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Matanzas Province to the west, Sancti Spiritus Province to the east, and Cienfuegos Province to the South. Villa Clara shares with Cienfuegos and Sancti Spiritus on the south the Escambray Mountain Range. Its main cities are Santa Clara, Remedios, Sagua La Grande, Camajuani, Caibarién, Ranchuelo, Placetas, and Manicaragua.
Parque Vidal is a park located in the center of Santa Clara, Cuba, covering an entire square block of the city. Due to its surrounding architecture, combining eclectic neo-classical and colonial-style buildings, as well as the large number of historic monuments dating from different historical periods, the park was designated as a National Monument in a ceremony in 1998.
Caibarién is a municipality city in the Villa Clara province of Cuba.
Antonio Núñez Jiménez was a Cuban geographer, speleologist, archaeologist, scientist and revolutionary.
The Battle of Santa Clara was a series of events in late December 1958 that led to the capture of the Cuban city of Santa Clara by revolutionaries under the command of Che Guevara.
Remedios, also known as San Juan de los Remedios, is a city and municipality located 3 miles (4.8 km) from the northern coast of Cuba, in the center of the island. It is the oldest Spanish settlement in the former Las Villas province. It is now part of the province of Villa Clara.
Parque del Carmen is a park in Santa Clara, Cuba, which honors the city's founding. It is located in the ward (reparto) El Carmen, not too far from Martyr's Park and the railway station.
Parque de los Mártires is a park in Santa Clara, Cuba. It is a few blocks from Parque del Carmen in front of Santa Clara railway station.
The Catedral de Santa Clara de Asís is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in the city of Santa Clara, Cuba. It lies on Calle Marta Abreu, one of the city's main arteries, only two blocks from Parque Vidal and next to the cultural centre "El Mejunje".
Camajuaní is a municipality and town in the Villa Clara Province of Cuba.
Yaguajay is a municipality and town in the Sancti Spíritus Province of Cuba. It is located in the northern part of the province, and borders the Bay of Buena Vista to the north. The Caguanes National Park is located in Yaguajay.
Marta Abreu de Estévez was one of the most influential figures of her time in central Cuba, especially in her birth city and province of Santa Clara. For her constant aid to the poor, her donations to the city and the independence war, she won the title of "the great benefactor".
Teatro de La Caridad or Teatro La Caridad, located in Santa Clara, is one of the few remaining colonial theatres in Cuba. It is a National Monument of Cuba.
Santa Clara is the main railway station of the city of Santa Clara, seat of Villa Clara Province, Cuba. It is owned by the state company Ferrocarriles de Cuba (FFCC) and is located in front of Parque de los Mártires. It is one of the most important stations of Cuba and, along with Havana Central, Santiago and Camagüey, is a network's divisional headquarters.
Zulueta is a Cuban village and consejo popular of the municipality of Remedios, in Villa Clara Province. It is considered the Cuban birthplace of football and, with a population of ca. 10,000 is the most populated village in the municipality after Remedios.
The Villa Clara Provincial Museum, also known as Abel Santamaría Provincial Museum, is a museum located in the Cuban city of Santa Clara, capital of Villa Clara Province.
Calabazar de Sagua, also shortened as Calabazar, is a Cuban village and consejo popular of the municipality of Encrucijada, in Villa Clara Province, Cuba. In 2011 it had a population of 7,912.
Armando Acosta Cordero,, known as Captain Erasmo Rodríguez, was a commander of the Cuban Rebel Army. From a very young age he participated in the struggle, with the Popular Socialist Party. He joined the Rebel Army in the Sierra Maestra and later joined Column 8 Ciro Redondo with which he contributed to liberate, different towns as well as his hometown.
The Camilo Cienfuegos Military Schools System are a type of boarding school in the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces. Founded 1966, it has 20 campuses in many cities, and is an official military high school. They provide pre-military training to students aged 11 to 17. They forge of more than 70% of officers and 50% of the generals and colonels in the FAR. It is named after Camilo Cienfuegos, a Cuban revolutionary who, along with Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Juan Almeida Bosque, and Raúl Castro, took part in the 1956 Granma expedition. Unlike the Russian Suvorov Military Schools, they are co-educational, modeled on United States military high schools and preparatory pre-college institutes.
References
↑ Guije.com. "Santa Clara" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2007-10-09.
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