Yara is a small town and municipality in the

Granma Province Granma is one of the provinces of Cuba. Its capital is Bayamo. Other towns include Manzanillo (a port on the Gulf of Guacanayabo) and Pilón. History The province takes its name from the yacht '' Granma'', used by Che Guevara and Fidel Castr ...

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 ...

, located halfway between the cities of

Bayamo Bayamo is the capital city of the Granma Province of Cuba and one of the largest cities in the Oriente region. Overview The community of Bayamo lies on a plain by the Bayamo River. It is affected by the violent Bayamo wind. One of the most ...

and Manzanillo, in the

Gulf of Guacanayabo The Gulf of Guacanayabo () is a bay along the southern coast of Cuba, bordered by Granma and Las Tunas provinces. Overview The largest port on the bay is Manzanillo, and the gulf is bordered to the north-west by the Jardines de la Reina arch ...

. Yara means "place" in the

Taíno language Taíno is an extinct Arawakan language that was spoken by the Taíno people of the Caribbean. At the time of Spanish contact, it was the most common language throughout the Caribbean. Classic Taíno (Taíno proper) was the native language of th ...

History

The Taíno Cacique (chief)

Hatuey Hatuey (), also Hatüey (; died 2 February 1512) was a Taíno ''Cacique'' (chief) of the Hispaniola province of Guahaba (present-day La Gonave, Haiti). He lived from the late 15th until the early 16th century. One day Chief Hatuey and many of ...

was burnt at the stake in Yara, on February 2, 1512, after he organized a guerrilla war against the Spaniards. Hatuey is known as "Cuba's First National Hero".Running Fox, 'The Story of Cacique Hatuey, Cuba's First National Hero', La Voz del Pueblo Taíno (The Voice of the Taíno People) (United Confederation of Taino People, U.S. Regional Chapter, January 1998) This action gave birth to one of Cuban mayor's myths; ''"La Luz de Yara"'', The Light of Yara.The Light of Yara. On October 10, 1868, the beginning of the

Ten Years' War The Ten Years' War ( es, Guerra de los Diez Años; 1868–1878), also known as the Great War () and the War of '68, was part of Cuba's fight for independence from Spain. The uprising was led by Cuban-born planters and other wealthy natives. O ...

in Cuba occurred and is known as ''El Grito de Yara'' (The Cry of Yara) and was the beginning of the First Cuban War of Independence. Yara was established as a municipality in 1912, when Manzanillo was split up.

Geography

The municipality 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 Yara, Yara Arriba,

Veguitas Yara is a small town and municipality in the Granma Province of Cuba, located halfway between the cities of Bayamo and Manzanillo, in the Gulf of Guacanayabo. Yara means "place" in the Taíno language. History The Taíno Cacique (chief) Hatue ...

, Buey de Gallego, Coco, Caboa, Cabagán, Calambrosio, Canabacoa, Cayo Redondo, José Martí, Los Cayos, Mateo Romás and Sofía.

Demographics

In 2004, the municipality of Yara had a population of 59,415. With a total area of , it has a population density of .

Personalities

Bartolomé Masó Bartolomé de Jesús Masó Márquez (21 December 1830 in Yara – 14 June 1907 in Manzanillo) was a Cuban politician and military, patriot for Cuban independence from the colonial power of Spain, and later President of the ''República en Ar ...

(1830–1907), soldier and politician *

Tete Puebla Tete is the capital city of Tete Province in Mozambique. It is located on the Zambezi River, and is the site of two of the four bridges crossing the river in Mozambique. A Swahili trade center before the Portuguese colonial era, Tete continues ...

(born 1940), Cuban politician *

Harry Villegas Harry "Pombo" Villegas (10 May 1940 – 29 December 2019) was a Cuban communist guerrilla. He was born in Yara and was a descendant of African slaves. He fought alongside Che Guevara in battles from the Sierra Maestra to the Bolivian insurgen ...

(1940–2019), Cuban revolutionary *

Huber Matos Huber Matos Benítez (26 November 1918 – 27 February 2014) was a Cuban military leader, political dissident, activist, and writer. He opposed the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista from its inception in 1952 and fought alongside Fidel Castro, R ...

(1918–2014), Cuban revolutionary military leader, political dissident against Castro's marxist regime, political prisoner, activist and writer

References

External links