Pinar del Río is the capital city of
Pinar del Río Province
Pinar del Río is one of the provinces of Cuba. It is at the western end of the island of Cuba.
Geography
The Pinar del Río province is Cuba's westernmost province and contains one of Cuba's three main mountain ranges, the Cordillera de Guanig ...
,
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 ...
. With a population of 139,336 (2004) in a municipality of 190,332, it is the
10th-largest city in Cuba. Inhabitants of the area are called ''Pinareños''.
History
Pinar del Río was one of the last major cities in Cuba founded by the Spanish, on September 10, 1867. The city and province was founded as ''Nueva
Filipinas Filipinas may refer to:
* ''Filipinas, letra para la marcha nacional'', the Spanish poem by José Palma that eventually became the Filipino national anthem.
* The original Spanish name, and also used in different Philippines languages including ...
'' (New
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
) in response to an influx of Asian laborers coming from the Philippine Islands to work on tobacco plantations.
Pinar del Río's history begins with the Guanahatabey, a group of nomadic Indians who lived in caves and procured most of their livelihood from the sea. Less advanced than the other indigenous natives who lived on the island, the Guanahatabey were a peaceful and passive race whose culture came about largely independently of the Taíno and Siboney cultures further east. The Guanahatabey were extinct by the time of the Spanish arrival in 1492; little firsthand documentation remains of how the archaic Guanahatabey society was structured and organized, although some archeological sites have been found on the Guanahacabibes Peninsula.
Post-Columbus, the conquistadors left rugged Pinar del Río largely to its own devices, and the area developed lackadaisically only after Canary Islanders started arriving in the late 1500s. These Canarians became the tobacco farmers of the region. It was originally called Nueva Filipina (New Philippines), but the region was renamed Pinar del Río in 1778, supposedly for the pine forests crowded along the Río Guama. Tobacco plantations and cattle ranches quickly sprang up in the rich soil, along with open grazing land that typifies Pinar. Farmers who made a living from the delicate and well-tended crops were colloquially christened ''Guajiros'', a native word that literally means 'one of us'. By the mid-1800s Europeans were hooked on the fragrant weed, and the region flourished. Sea routes opened up and the railways was extended to facilitate the shipping of the perishable product. Pinar del Río is known as "the Mecca of tobacco".
Geography
The municipality borders
San Luis,
San Juan y Martínez
San Juan y Martínez () is a municipality and town in the Pinar del Río Province of Cuba.
Overview
Its economy is centered mainly on agriculture and the crop of its farmers, the largest of which being tobacco. In Cuba, San Juan y Martinez is kn ...
,
Viñales
Viñales is a town and municipality in the north-central Pinar del Río Province of Cuba. The town consists mostly of one-story wooden houses with porches. The municipality is dominated by low mountain ranges of the Cordillera de Guaniguanico su ...
and
Consolación del Sur
Consolación del Sur is a municipality and town in the Pinar del Río Province of Cuba. Also called the ''Athens of Vueltabajo'', it was founded in 1690.
Geography
It is located in a major rice-growing area; tobacco is also cultivated as in muc ...
. The villages included in the municipality are Briones Montoto, Cayo Conuco,
La Coloma, La Conchita and Las Ovas.
Climate
Pinar del Río has a warm
tropical climate
Tropical climate is the first of the five major climate groups in the Köppen climate classification identified with the letter A. Tropical climates are defined by a monthly average temperature of 18 °C (64.4 °F) or higher in the cool ...
, more specifically a
tropical monsoon climate
An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ...
(''Am'') according to the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
scheme.
Demographics
In the 2002 national census, the following statistics were recorded:
*Area: 70.7 km² (city); 708 km² (municipality)
*Population: 189,221 (total); 152,200 (city); 30,417 (surrounding rural area)
*Density: 270,4 /km²
In 2004, the municipality of Pinar del Río had a population of 190,532.
With a total area of ,
it has a population density of .
Economy
The city is located in a major
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 ...
-growing area and is a centre of the
cigar
A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco leaves made to be smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct components: the filler, the binder l ...
industry. The main farming animal in this province is the
carabao
The carabao ( es, Carabao; tgl, Kalabaw; ceb, Kabaw; ilo, Nuang) is a domestic swamp-type water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis'') native to the Philippines. Carabaos were introduced to Guam from the Spanish Philippines in the 17th century. They ...
.
Sport
The local baseball club is
Pinar del Río
Pinar del Río is the capital city of Pinar del Río Province, Cuba. With a population of 139,336 (2004) in a municipality of 190,332, it is the List of cities in Cuba, 10th-largest city in Cuba. Inhabitants of the area are called ''Pinareños'' ...
, nicknamed ''Vegueros'', and the association football one is
FC Pinar del Río
FC Pinar del Río is a Cuban football team playing in the Cuban National Football League and representing Pinar del Río Province. They play their home games at the Estadio La Bombonera in Pinar del Río.
History
The team won 7 league titles, ...
. Both the clubs have their home ground in the
Capitán San Luis Stadium. The ''Vegueros'' are the Serie del Caribe 2015 champions. Also Major League Baseball and Hall of Famer for the Minnesota Twins Tony Oliva is from Pinar del Rio.
Transport
The city is served by the
Carretera Central highway and by the
A4 motorway.
Pinar del Río Airport is abandoned, and
La Coloma Airport has no scheduled flights. There is a
railway station
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 ...
on the line 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. .
Education
The main post-secondary education institution is the
University of Pinar del Río
The University of Pinar del Río "Hermanos Saiz Montes de Oca" (Spanish: ''Universidad de Pinar del Río "Hermanos Saíz Montes de Oca"'', UPR) is a public university located in Pinar del Río, Cuba. It was founded in 1972.
See also
*Education ...
.
Notable people
*
Danys Báez
Danys Báez González (; ; born September 10, 1977) is a Cuban-American former professional baseball pitcher. Báez played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, Balt ...
–
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), ...
pitcher
*
Mario Bencomo – painter
*
René Capo –
Olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...
Judo
is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...
ka
*
Willy Chirino
Willy Chirino (born April 5, 1947, in Consolación del Sur, Pinar del Río, Cuba) is a Cuban-American musician.
Early life
Following the communist revolution in Cuba, Chirino came to the United States in 1960 as part of Operation Peter Pan ...
– singer-songwriter
*
Sen Dog
Senen Reyes (born November 22, 1965), also known by his stage name Sen Dog, is a Cuban-American rapper and musician who is best known as a member of the rap group Cypress Hill and as the lead vocalist for the heavy metal band Powerflo. He has be ...
– member of
Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide and have multi-platinum and platinum albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast and 1990 ...
*
Yunieski Gonzalez
Yunieski Gonzalez (born July 5, 1985) is a Cuban boxer who fights in the light heavyweight division. Gonzalez amassed a record of 345–27 while fighting for the Cuban amateur team before moving to Miami in 2010. He made his professional debut lat ...
– boxer
*
Dagoberto Valdés Hernández
Dagoberto Valdés Hernández (born August 4, 1955 in Pinar del Río province, Cuba) is a Catholic intellectual and the editor and founder of ''Vitral'' and “Convivencia” magazines.
Biography Early life
In 1974, when he graduated from Senior ...
– religious leader/writer
*
Carlos Luna – artist
*
Mijaín López – three-time Olympic
Greco-Roman Wrestling
Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), classic wrestling (Euro English) or French wrestling (in Russia until 1948) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first mod ...
champion
*
Yunesky Maya
Yunesky Maya Mendizula (born August 28, 1981) is a Cuban-born professional baseball pitcher for the Diablos Rojos del México of the Mexican Baseball League y actualmente juega con las Águilas Cibaeñas del Cibao en República Dominicana. He ha ...
– pitcher for the
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...
*
Polo Montañez
Polo Montañez (June 5, 1955 - November 26, 2002) was a Cuban singer and songwriter.
Early life
Montañez was born Fernando Borrego Linares in Sierra del Rosario, Pinar del Río, on a farm known as ''El Brujito''. At an early age he worked vario ...
– singer/songwriter
*
Dolan Mor – writer
*
Pedro Pablo Oliva – painter
*
Tony Oliva
Tony Pedro Oliva (born Antonio Oliva Lopez Hernandes Javique; July 20, 1938) is a Cuban former professional baseball player and coach. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as a right fielder and designated hitter for the Minneso ...
– Outfielder for the
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...
and
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), ...
Hall of Famer.
*
Rudy Pérez
Rudy Amado Pérez (born May 14, 1958) is a Cuban-born American musician, songwriter, composer, producer, arranger, sound engineer, musical director and singer, as well as entertainment entrepreneur, and philanthropist. His area of specialty is b ...
– composer
*
Alexei Ramírez
Alexei Fernando Ramírez Rodriguez (born September 22, 1981) is a Cuban former professional baseball shortstop. He has played for the Chicago White Sox, San Diego Padres and Tampa Bay Rays in MLB and Pinar del Rio of the Cuban National Serie ...
– infielder for the
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...
*
Yoel Romero
Yoel Romero Palacio (born April 30, 1977) is a Cuban professional mixed martial artist and former freestyle wrestler. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division for Bellator MMA. Romero formerly competed in the Middleweight divi ...
–
Mixed Martial Artist
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...
, Olympic
wrestler
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sport ...
*
Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Gonzalo Rubalcaba (born May 27, 1963) is an Afro-Cuban jazz pianist and composer.
Early life
Rubalcaba was born Gonzalo Julio González Fonseca in Havana, Cuba
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The ...
– pianist
*
Eduardo Zamacois
Eduardo Zamacois y Quintana (17 February 1873 – 31 December 1971) was a Cuban-Spanish novelist and journalist. A leading figure of the boom of short novel collections in Spain, and a representative of the bohemian literary scene in the coun ...
– Spanish novelist
*
Paulina Pedroso- leader in the Cuban War of Independence.
Gallery
File:Fruti Cuba.JPG, The historical building "Fruti Cuba (Fruit Juices)", located in the city centre
File:Teatro Milanés Pinar del Rio.JPG, Milanés Theatre
File:Catedral Pinar del Rio.JPG, Cathedral
File:Casa de cultura Pedro Junco Pinar del Rio.JPG, Culture house "Pedro Junco"
File:Tobacco field cuba1.jpg, Tobacco plantation
File:Hoyo de monterey.jpg, Cigar factory
See also
*
Filipino Cuban
*
List of cities in Cuba
This is a list of cities in Cuba with at least 20,000 inhabitants, listed in descending order. Population data refers to city proper and not to the whole municipality, because they include large rural areas with several villages. All figu ...
*
Municipalities of Cuba
The Provinces of Cuba, provinces of Cuba are divided into 168 municipality, municipalities or ''municipios''. They were defined by Cuban Law Number 1304 of July 3, 1976Fifth United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names, Vo ...
References
External links
Pinar del Río.cuPinar del Ríoon
EcuRed
Pinar del Río on guije.com(historical infos)
(historical infos)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinar Del Rio
Cities in Cuba
Populated places in Pinar del Río Province
World Heritage Sites in Cuba
Populated places established in 1774
1770s establishments in Cuba
1774 establishments in the Spanish West Indies