Holguín () is a municipality and city in

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 Province of Holguín. After

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.

Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains t ...

, and

Camagüey Camagüey () is a city and municipality in central Cuba and is the nation's third-largest city with more than 321,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Camagüey Province. It was founded as Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe in 1514, by S ...

, it is the fourth largest city in Cuba.

History

Before

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

, the Taino people settled in huts made from

royal palm ''Roystonea regia'', commonly known as the Cuban royal palm or Florida royal palm, is a species of palm that is native to Mexico, parts of Central America and the Caribbean, and southern Florida. A large and attractive palm, it has been planted ...

in the Holguin area later urbanized by the

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, Cana ...

; their artifacts are shown at the local Holguin La Periquera

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

. The settlement was founded in 1523 on land donated by

Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar Diego Velázquez de CuéllarPronounced: (1465 – c. June 12, 1524) was a Spanish conquistador and the first governor of Cuba. In 1511 he led the successful conquest and colonization of Cuba. As the first governor of the island, he establi ...

to Captain Francisco García Holguín, a Spanish military officer. Holguin added his maternal surname to the name of the town, giving it the name San Isidoro de Holguín. Prior to 1976, Holguín was located in the province of Oriente. Before

Pope Francis's visit to the United States Pope Francis visited North America—Cuba and the United States—from 19 to 27 September 2015. It was his first state visit to both Cuba and the U.S., as well as the third official papal visit to Cuba and the seventh to the United States since ...

, in September 2015, he visited Cuba, and one of his stops was at the Diocese of Holguín to, among other things, commemorate the location where

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 ...

landed.

Geography

The municipality is divided into ''repartos'' or

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city, usually delimited by functional (e.g. residenti ...

s. The old municipality was more extense, and in 1940 included: Aguarás, Aguas Claras, Alcalá, Arroyo Blanco del Sur, Báguanos, Cabezuelas, Cacocum, Calderón, Camazán, Cauto del Cristo, Corralillo, Cruces de Purnio, Damián, Floro Pérez, Gibara, Guabasiabo, Guayabal, Guirabo, Haticos del Purial, La Aguada, La Cuaba, La Palma, La Rioja, Las Calabazas, Managuaco, Melones, Norte, Omaja, Purnio, San Agustín, San Andrés, San Francisco, San Juan, San Lorenzo, Santa Rita, Sur, Tacámara, Tasajeras, Uñas, Uñitas, Velasco, Yareyal and Yayal. At present time, some of the above are part of other municipalities, but the following still belong to Holguín: Aguas Claras, Guirabo, La Cuaba, Las Calabazas, Purnio, San Andrés, Yareyal.

Economy

The brewery
Cervecería Bucanero
' is based in the city. It makes three brands of beer (Bucanero, Cristal and Mayabe) sold in convertible pesos. There are two small hotels (or villas) focusing on health tourism in the outskirts of the city, very close to the

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

:
Villa El Quinque
' and
Villa El Cocal
'. Patients like Argentine football (soccer) star

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FI ...

have been treated there for substance addiction. There are also two established city hotels (
Pernik
' and
El Bosque
'). More recently, a few small (boutique) hotels, managed by Hoteles E, have opened (
Caballeriza
', one block away from
Parque San Isidoro (Las Flores)
', and
Esmeralda
', right across from
Parque San José
'). As of May, 2020, and after a major restoration, there's a third boutique hotel about to be inaugurated (
Saratoga
', right across one of the corners of the main plaza and heart of the city (
Parque Calixto Garcia
').

Demographics

In 2004, the municipality of Holguín had a population of 326,740. With a total area of , it had a population density of . By 2012, the population had increased slightly to 346,195 for a population density of .

Infrastructure

There are several small city parks such as
Parque Infantil
',
Parque San José
',
Parque San Isidoro (Las Flores)
',
Parque Martí
', among others, most central the
Calixto García
' in the downtown area. Close by one finds the galleries ''Centro Provincial de Arte'' and ''Bayado'', a

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

, the club ''Casa de la Trova'', the Martí

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...

, the ''Theatre Eddy Suñol'', th
Province Museum ''La Periquera''
a science museum, and a history museum. One of the most famous landmarks of the city is th
hill
Loma de la Cruz (English: Hill of the Cross), which can be ascended by climbing its +450 stairs, and from where the whole city can be admired. There, in the early years of the city, a large cross was erected with the belief that it would protect it from evil coming down from the North. Holguín has a

baseball stadium A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into the infield, an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined, and the outfield, where dimensions can vary widely from place to pla ...

, named after

Calixto García Calixto García Íñiguez (August 4, 1839 – December 11, 1898) was a Cuban general in three Cuban uprisings, part of the Cuban War for Independence: the Ten Years' War, the Little War, and the War of 1895, itself sometimes called the Cuban ...

Transportation

Holguín is served by

Frank País Airport Frank País Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Frank País) is an airport serving Holguín, a city in the Cuban province of Holguín. It bears the name of Cuban revolutionary Frank País. The airport was built in 1962 initially only for military purposes b ...

(HOG/MUHG), located at 20°47´08"N, 076°18´54"W, with flights to

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 several other world destinations, mostly in Canada and Europe.

Education

The main post-secondary education institution is the

University of Holguín The University of Holguín "Oscar Lucero Moya" (Spanish: ''Universidad de Holguín "Oscar Lucero Moya"'', UHO) is a public university located in Holguín, Cuba. It was founded in 1973. Organization The university is divided into eight faculties: * ...

"Oscar Lucero Moya" (Spanish
Universidad de Holguín
"Oscar Lucero Moya", UHO). Other post-secondary educational centers are
Universidad de Ciencias Médicas
(University of Medical Sciences) "Mariana Grajales"
Universidad Pedagógica
(Pedagogical University of Holguin, formerly Instituto Superior Pedagógico, ISPH) "José de la Luz y Caballero", an
Universidad Deportiva
(formerly Facultad de Cultura Física) "Manuel Piti Fajardo".

Notable residents

Faustino Oramas Faustino Oramas Osorio (4 June 1911 – 27 March 2007), better known as El Guayabero, was a Cuban trova singer, tres guitarist and composer. Most of his repertoire consisted of sones and guaracha-sones, many with double entendres in the lyrics. His ...

, Cuban composer and musician *

Mario Kindelán Mario César Kindelán Mesa (born August 10, 1971), best known as Mario Kindelán, is a Cuban former amateur boxer. He is a two-time Olympic gold medalist, having competed in the lightweight division at the 2000 and 2004 events. His cousin is ...

, Olympic Gold Medalist amateur boxer * Eglise Gutiérrez, opera singer *

Reinaldo Arenas Reinaldo Arenas (July 16, 1943 – December 7, 1990) was a Cuban poet, novelist, and playwright known as a vocal critic of Fidel Castro, the Cuban Revolution, and the Cuban government. His memoir of the Cuban dissident movement and of being a ...

, poet and novelist *

Oscar Hijuelos Oscar Jerome Hijuelos (August 24, 1951 – October 12, 2013) was an American novelist. Of Cuban descent, during a year-long convalescence from a childhood illness spent in a Connecticut hospital he lost his knowledge of Spanish, his parents' ...

, Cuban-American Pulitzer Prize-winning author, whose parents were born and raised in Holguín before immigrating to the USA.Hijuelos, Oscar
''Thoughts Without Cigarettes: A Memoir''
2011. * Puntillita (Manuel Licea), Cuban popular singer *

Aroldis Chapman Albertín Aroldis Chapman de la Cruz (; born February 28, 1988) is a Cuban-born American professional baseball relief pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees and C ...

, Major League Baseball player * Odalis Revé, Olympic Gold Medallist judoka

Sister cities

* Santa Fe,

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, United States *

Saltillo Saltillo () is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and is also the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. Mexico City, Monterrey, and Saltillo are all connected by a major railroad and highwa ...

Coahuila Coahuila (), formally Coahuila de Zaragoza (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza), is one of the 32 states of Mexico. Coahuila borders the Mexican states of N ...

, Mexico *

Yazd Yazd ( fa, یزد ), formerly also known as Yezd, is the capital of Yazd Province, Iran. The city is located southeast of Isfahan. At the 2016 census, the population was 1,138,533. Since 2017, the historical city of Yazd is recognized as a Worl ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

References

Bibliography

External links

Holguín Web portalHolguin beaches guideHolguin Cuba

Cuba HolguinHolguin

Casa particular website - English city guide and photos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holguin Cities in Cuba Populated places in Holguín Province Populated places established in 1523 1520s establishments in Cuba 1523 establishments in the Spanish West Indies