Colón is a municipality and city in the Matanzas Province of

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 ...

. The municipality has an area of and a population of about 71,000. The city proper, with a population of about 44,000, is the third-largest of its province.

History

The town was founded in 1836 under the name ''Nueva Bermeja''. The

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

, arrived nearby the town still in 1843, reached it in 1851. In 1852, Fernando Diago, the owner of the sugar mill Ponina, inaugurated the first public school in town. In 1859, it achieved the status of ('town') with the name Colón, after

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

( in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

). The founder's name is don Martín José Zozaya, who founded the town in the former hacienda named ''La Bermeja''. The deed to establish the town was signed in the city of Matanzas in 1836. At the time, don Martín set apart land for a

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

and a church. Until the 1977 administrative reform, the municipality was divided into the campos of Agüica, Este, Guareiras, Jacán, Laguna Grande, Oeste and Palmillas.

Geography

Colón borders the municipalities of

Corralillo Corralillo is a municipality and town in the Villa Clara Province of Cuba. It was founded in 1831 and established as a municipality in 1879. Geography Corralillo is located on the northern coast of Cuba, in the north-western corner of the Villa ...

(in

Villa Clara Province Villa Clara is one of the provinces of Cuba. It is located in the central region of the island bordering with the Atlantic at north, Matanzas Province by west, Sancti Spiritus Province by east, and Cienfuegos Province on the South. Villa Clar ...

), Los Arabos, Calimete,

Jagüey Grande Jagüey Grande, simply known as Jagüey (), is a town and municipality in the Matanzas Province of Cuba. It is located east of the Zapata Peninsula, north of the Bahia de Cochinos, along the A1 motorway in the center of the province. History T ...

, Perico and Martí. Its territory includes the villages of Agüica, Banaguises, Guareiras, La Panchita, México, René Fraga, Río Piedras, San José de los Ramos, Santa Gertrudis, Segio González and other minor rural localities.

Demographics

In 2004, the municipality of Colón had a population of 71,579. With a total area of , it has a population density of .

Architecture

The city of Colón since its founding has gone through different architectural styles, some of them on specific buildings and others that were emblematic in different stages, but which left a very strong imprint that identifies the villa. Styles range from Neoclassicism to balloon-frameconstruction,

Eclecticism Eclecticism is a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories i ...

, Art Nouveau,

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

, and

Rationalism In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification".Lacey, A.R. (1996), ''A Dictionary of Philosophy ...

. Different styles of buildings can be seen along the streets. The peak of Neoclassicism can be admired in the Catholic church founded December 8, 1872, and the town hall. In the late 1880s, the atypical Quinta de Tirso Mesa was built, an irrefutable example of the introduction of balloon-frame construction and different cultural influences in the city's architecture. The building no longer exists, but has left a mark on the population and is still remembered for its beauty. The introduction of Eclecticism to the city's architecture took place with the construction of the School of Arts and Crafts, built between October 16, 1911, and November 28, 1912, although it does not reject some Neoclassical aspects. In the same style are other buildings such as Ferrolana and Provincial Agricultural College (now Mario Muñoz Polytechnic Institute of Health). The period 1930–1959 was important to the city for two main reasons: the opening in 1930 of the section of the Carretera Central highway between

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.

and Santa Clara, and the rise to mayor of José Manuel Gutiérrez Planes (1927–1933), under whose mandate several notable buildings appeared, such as the Hotel Nuevo Continental (1937), resulting in a new architectural style in the city, Art Deco, with the Teatro Canal as its finest example. Between 1948 and 1959, Rationalism made its entrance in the city, and the best examples can be seen in the Santiago-Havana and Gran Caridad hotels.

Economy

Colón's economy is centered around

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

( sugarcane,

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 ...

citrus fruit ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is native to ...

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

(spaghetti factory), and

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animal ...

raising. It is also an important

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

center.

Gallery

File:Colón Liberty Park.jpg, Colón Liberty Park, founded in 1892 File:Iglesia Bautista de Colón (Cuba).jpg, Iglesia Bautista de Colón File:Parque De La Libertad en La Ciudad de Colón circa 1940.jpg, Liberty Park, circa 1940 File:Santiago-Havana Hotel in Colón, Matanzas Cuba.jpg, Santiago-Havana Hotel File:Street in Colón, Cuba (2013).jpg, Hotel Nuevo Continental, European-style building File:Hotel Caridad de Colón.jpg, Caridad Hotel File:Liceo Cubano de Colón - Cuban Lyceum of Colón.jpg, Cuban Lyceum on Ricardo Trujillo Street. Founded in 1926. File:Luz y Caballero Middle School.jpg, Escuela Luz y Caballero in Calixto García File:Colón trainstation, Cuba (2013).jpg, Colón train display model at Gonzalo de Quesada Street File:Hospital Docente Regional Mario Muñoz in Colón City.jpg, Hospital Docente Regional Mario Muñoz File:School of Arts & Trades in Colón, Matanzas Province, Cuba.jpg, School of Arts and Trade on Gonzalo de Quesada Street File:Areces Bank.jpg, Areces Bank on Real and Camilo Cienfuegos Street – Art Nouveau balcony File:Teatro Cine Canal.jpg, Canal Theatre File:Casa Consistorial o Ayuntamiento Municipal in Colón, Matanzas Cuba.jpg, Municipal government building File:Lion Bronze Statue and part of Christopher Columbus Statue Monument.jpg, Bronze lion statue File:Another Lion Bronze Statue at Liberty Park in Colón.jpg, Bronze lion statue and part of Christopher Columbus monument File:Colón Main street, Cuba (2013).jpg, Diago Street File:Classic automobiles in Colón, Cuba (2013).jpg, Classic automobiles in Colón File:Downtown Colón, Cuba (2013).jpg, José Martí Street

Notable people

Paul Casanova Paulino Ortiz Casanova (December 21, 1941 – August 12, 2017) was a Cuban professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1965 to 1974 for the Washington Senators and Atlanta Braves. Minor league career Paul C ...

(1941–2017), baseball player * José Miguel Fernández (born 1988), baseball player *

Oscar Nunez Oscar Nunez (born November 18, 1958), sometimes credited as Oscar Nuñez, is a Cuban-American actor. He is best known for his role as the Dunder Mifflin accountant Oscar Martinez on NBC's ''The Office''. He was a member of The Groundlings and l ...

(born 1958), Cuban-American actor and comedian * Mario Quintero (1924–2017), basketball player * Félix Ramos y Duarte (1848–1924), educator and writer

References

*''Colón: en el 150 aniversario de su fundación'', published in Cuba in 1986.

External links

Colón webpage on Guije

Colón webpage
on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...

Colón webpage
on Yucayo.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Colon Cities in Cuba Populated places in Matanzas Province Populated places established in 1846 1840s establishments in the Spanish West Indies 1840s in Cuba 1846 establishments in the Spanish Empire