Ciego de Ávila City () is a city in the central part 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 ...

and the capital of

Ciego de Ávila Province Ciego de Ávila () is one of the provinces of Cuba, and was previously part of Camagüey Province. Its capital is Ciego de Ávila, which lies on the Carretera Central (central highway), and the second city is Morón, further north. The provinc ...

. The city has a population of about 497.000, in a municipality of 756,373.

Geography

Ciego de Ávila lies on the Carretera Central highway and on a major railroad. Its port, Júcaro, lies south-southwest on the coast of the Gulf of Ana Maria of the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

, in the adjacent municipality of

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. The city is located about east 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.

and west of the city of Camagüey. It was part of the

Camagüey Province Camagüey () is the largest of the provinces of Cuba. Its capital is Camagüey. Other towns include Florida and Nuevitas. Geography Camagüey is mostly low lying, with no major hills or mountain ranges passing through the province. Numerous la ...

until 1976, when Fidel Castro's government made Ciego de Ávila the capital of the newly created

. By 1945, the municipality was divided into the barrios of Angel Castillo, Ceballos, Guanales, Jagüeyal, Jicotea, José Miguel Gómez, Júcaro, La Ceiba, Majagua, Norte, San Nicolás and Sur. After the new political and administrative division of

in 1976, it was divided into four municipalities ( Majagua, Ciego de Ávila, Baragua, and

Climate

Ciego de Ávila experiences a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...

(Köppen ''Aw'').

History

The city of Ciego de Ávila was founded by 1840, having at the time 263 inhabitants. In 1877, its municipal government was created and the city became independent of the city of Morón. Ciego de Ávila gained importance when the Spanish army built a fortified

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

line, known as Trocha de Júcaro a Morón, to impede the pass of insurrectionist forces to the western part of the

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

during the 1st War of Independence (1868–1878). This "trocha", which made this region famous, was thought to be strong enough to stop the Cuban forces, but was not able to stop the pass of General

Máximo Gómez Máximo Gómez y Báez (November 18, 1836 – June 17, 1905) was a Dominican Generalissimo in Cuba's War of Independence (1895–1898). He was known for his controversial scorched-earth policy, which entailed dynamiting passenger trains a ...

and several hundred men. Many of the old

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 ...

colonial buildings in Ciego de Ávila (such as the Teatro Principal) were commissioned under Angela Hernández, viuda de Jiménez, a rich socialite who battled to create a cultural mecca in her hometown.

Demographics

In 2004, the Municipality of Ciego de Ávila had a population of 135,736. With a total area of , it has a population density of .

Attractions

*''Parque Martí'' is the largest park in the city of Ciego de Ávila. *''Teatro Principal'' is a 500-seat theatre located just a few blocks from Parque Martí. * University of Ciego de Ávila (''Universidad de Ciego de Ávila'', UNICA) is the province's secondary education institution. *''IPVCE Ignacio Agramonte'' Instituto Pre-Universitario Vocacional de Ciencias Exactas (10 a 12 grado) con emphasis en las ciencias basicas: Fisica, Quimica, Matematica, Biologia y Electronica. Se encuentra en la carretera a Ceballos. *''la Turbina'' is a small amusement park located to the north west of the city with approximately 6 rides to use.

Media

Its present radio station, ''Radio Surco'' (previously ''Radio Cuba'') was founded October 10, 1952.

Sports

Ciego de Ávila's basketball team has been one of the most successful teams in the country as it won 9

national championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

since 2005.

Notable residents

* Andy Morales (b. 1974,

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player *

Tony Pérez Atanasio "Tony" Pérez Rigal (born May 14, 1942) is a Cuban-American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and third baseman from through , most notably as a member of the ...

(b. 1942), Major League Baseball player *

Rusney Castillo Rusney Castillo Peraza (born July 9, 1987) is a Cuban professional baseball outfielder for the Mariachis de Guadalajara of the Mexican League. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox and in Nippon Professional Basebal ...

(b. 1987), Major League Baseball player * William Granda (b. 1985), member of Cuba's national basketball team

References

External links

Ciego de Ávila (fica.inf.cu)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ciego de Avila Cities in Cuba Populated places in Ciego de Ávila Province Populated places established in 1840 1840 establishments in the Spanish West Indies 1840s establishments in Cuba