Guatemala, also known as Preston, is a
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 ...
n village and ''consejo popular'' ("people's council", i.e. hamlet) of the municipality 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, when the first farms were established here by immigrant colonists. On 19 January 1879 the city became the s ...
, in
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 province ...
.
History
In the first half of the 20th century, the village was a sugar cane processing center owned and operated by the
United Fruit Company
The United Fruit Company (now Chiquita) 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 formed in 1899 fro ...
and named in honor of one of the company's founders,
Andrew W. Preston. In the Caribbean, processing centers for cane sugar are referred to by the Spanish term "central". Following the
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which placed Fulgencio Batista as head of state and the failed mass strike in opposition that followed. After failing to contest Batista in co ...
of 1958, United Fruit was forced to withdraw and the Cuban government renamed the town
Guatemala to symbolize solidarity with the Central American nation. Due to decades of neglect and failure to modernize the mill - not to mention declining global prices for sugar - the mill/central was closed around 1990 and the village went into decline.
[Personal recollection of Preston by a former American resident and United Fruit employee.]
Geography
The village is located in the
Nipe Bay
Nipe Bay ( es, Bahía de Nipe) 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 ...
, 14 km in north of Mayarí. It is 27 km far from
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, i ...
, 34 from
Cayo Saetía
Cayo Saetía (also spelled Sae-Tía) is a cay (island) in Holguín Province, 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 l ...
, and 98 from
Holguín
Holguín () is a municipality and city in Cuba, and the capital of Province of Holguín. After Havana, Santiago de Cuba, and Camagüey, it is the fourth largest city in Cuba.
History
Before Columbus, the Taino people settled in huts made fro ...
.
Transportation
Guatemala was served by the
Preston Airport .
See also
*
Birán
Birán is a village in Holguín Province of Cuba, hamlet and ''consejo popular'' of Cueto, best known as the birthplace of Ramón, Fidel, and Raúl Castro. Their father owned a 23,000 acre (93 km²) plantation there.
History
Until the 197 ...
*
Municipalities of Cuba
The provinces of Cuba are divided into 168 municipalities or ''municipios''. They were defined by Cuban Law Number 1304 of July 3, 1976Fifth United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names, Vol. II, published by the United N ...
*
List of cities in Cuba
References
External links
Guatemalaon
EcuRed
{{Authority control
Mayarí
Populated places in Holguín Province