Ranchuelo is a town and municipality in the

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 Clara ...

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 ...

. It was founded in 1734 and has a municipal population of 59,062, of which about 16,804 in the town itself.

History

Originally named Boca de Ranchuelo, the settlement was founded by Dionisio Consuegra on October 1, 1734. In 1856 it was linked to the

national rail network In United States railroading, the term national rail network, sometimes termed "U.S. rail network", refers to the entire network of interconnected standard gauge rail lines in North America. It does not include most subway or light rail lines. F ...

, and in 1879 gained the municipal status.

Geography

The town is divided into the

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 of Norte, Poza de la China, Sitio Viejo and Sur. The municipality counts the town proper (with 16,804 inhabitants) and the ''consejos populares'' (i.e. "people's councils", mainly villages and hamlets) of Carlos Caraballo, Castaño, Conyedo, Diez de Octubre,

Esperanza Esperanza is the Spanish word for hope, and may refer to: Places Philippines * Esperanza, Agusan del Sur, a municipality * Esperanza, Masbate, a municipality * Esperanza, Sultan Kudarat, a municipality United States * Esperanza, Mississippi, ...

, Horqueta-Delicias, Ifraín Alfonso (also known as Central Santa María), Jicotea, Osvaldo Herrera (also known as Pastora), Rancho Grande-Jagua and

San Juan de los Yeras Ranchuelo is a town and municipality in the Villa Clara Province of Cuba. It was founded in 1734 and has a municipal population of 59,062, of which about 16,804 in the town itself. History Originally named Boca de Ranchuelo, the settlement was fo ...

. Ranchuelo is 7 km from San Juan de los Yeras, 9 from Esperanza, 16 from Cruces, 28 from Santa Clara, 43 from

Cienfuegos Cienfuegos (), capital of Cienfuegos Province, is a city on the southern coast of Cuba. It is located about from Havana and has a population of 150,000. Since the late 1960s, Cienfuegos has become one of Cuba's main industrial centers, especial ...

and 256 from

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.

. It borders with the municipalities of

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

, Cifuentes, Santa Clara,

Manicaragua Manicaragua () is a municipality and mountain town in the Villa Clara Province of Cuba. It is located in the Escambray Mountains at the southern part of Villa Clara, bordering the provinces of Cienfuegos to the west and Sancti Spíritus to the ea ...

, Cruces and Lajas.

Demographics

In 2004, the municipality of Ranchuelo had a population of 59,062. With a total area of , it has a population density of .

Transport

Ranchuelo is served by the

A1 motorway A1, A-1, A01 or A.1. may refer to: Education * A1, the Basic Language Certificate of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages * Language A1, the former name for "Language A: literature", one of the IB Group 1 subjects * A1, a ...

at the homonym exit, also known as "Ranchuelo-Cienfuegos". It counts a railway station on the Santa Clara-

line, that is also the western terminus of a freight line to

Mataguá Mataguá is a Cuban village and ''consejo popular'' ("people's council", i.e. hamlet) of the municipality of Manicaragua, in Villa Clara Province. With a population of ca. 10,000, it is the most populated village in the municipality after Manicara ...

. Esperanza, the most populated municipal hamlet, is crossed in the middle by the " Carretera Central" state highway.

Notable people

Samuel Feijóo Samuel Feijóo (March 31, 1914 in San Juan de los Yeras, Las Villas, Cuba – July 14, 1992 in La Habana, Cuba) was a Cuban writer and artist specializing in painting and illustration. Career Feijóo was a self-taught multifaceted artist and wri ...

(1914-1992), singer, born in San Juan de los Yeras *

María Dámasa Jova Baró María Dámasa Jova Baró (December 11, 1890 – February 11, 1940) was a Cuban writer, educator and feminist. Biography The daughter of Feliciano Jova and María del Socorro Baró, she was born María Dámasa Jova in Ranchuelo; her father died ...

(1890-1940), writer, educator and feminist

References

External links

Ranchuelo
on EcuRed
(historical info on guije.com)
{{Municipalities in Villa Clara Populated places in Villa Clara Province