Colón is a municipality and city in the

Matanzas Province Matanzas () is one of the provinces of Cuba. Major towns in the province include Cárdenas, Colón, Jovellanos and the capital of the same name, Matanzas. The resort town of Varadero is also located in this province. Among Cuban provinces, ...

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. The municipality has an area of and a population of about 68,021. The city proper, with a population of about 44,000, is the third-largest of its province.

History

The town was founded in 1836 under the name ''Nueva Bermeja''. The

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

, arrived nearby the town still in 1843, reached it in 1851. In 1852, Fernando Diago, the owner of the sugar mill Ponina, inaugurated the first public school in town. In 1859, it achieved the status of ('town') with the name Colón, after

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

( in

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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

). The founder's name is don Martín José Zozaya, who founded the town in the former hacienda named ''La Bermeja''. The deed to establish the town was signed in the city of Matanzas in 1836. At the time, don Martín set apart land for a

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

and a church. Until the 1977 administrative reform, the municipality was divided into the campos of Agüica, Este, Guareiras, Jacán, Laguna Grande, Oeste and Palmillas.

Geography

Colón borders the municipalities of Corralillo (in

Villa Clara Province Villa Clara is one of the provinces of Cuba. It is located in the central region of the island bordering on the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Matanzas Province to the west, Sancti Spiritus Province to the east, and Cienfuegos Province to the Sou ...

), Los Arabos,

Calimete Calimete is a municipality and town in the Matanzas Province of Cuba. It was founded in 1867 by José Antonio Castañeda. Demographics In 2022, the municipality of Calimete had a population of 27,210. With a total area of , it has a population de ...

, Jagüey Grande, Perico and

Martí Martí is a Catalan language, Catalan name and may refer to: People Surname *Antoni Martí (1963–2023), Andorran architect and politician *Cristóbal Martí (1903–1986), Spanish footballer *David Martí (born 1971), Spanish Oscar winner for be ...

. Its territory includes the villages of Agüica, Banaguises, Guareiras, La Panchita, México, René Fraga, Río Piedras, San José de los Ramos, Santa Gertrudis, Segio González and other minor rural localities.

Demographics

In 2022, the municipality of Colón had a population of 68,021. With a total area of , it has a population density of .

Architecture

The city of Colón since its founding has gone through different architectural styles, some of them on specific buildings and others that were emblematic in different stages, but which left a very strong imprint that identifies the villa. Styles range from

Neoclassicism Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...

to balloon-frameconstruction,

Eclecticism Eclecticism is a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories i ...

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

, and

Rationalism In philosophy, rationalism is the Epistemology, epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "the position that reason has precedence over other ways of acquiring knowledge", often in contrast to ot ...

. Different styles of buildings can be seen along the streets. The peak of Neoclassicism can be admired in the Catholic church founded December 8, 1872, and the town hall. In the late 1880s, the atypical Quinta de Tirso Mesa was built, an irrefutable example of the introduction of balloon-frame construction and different cultural influences in the city's architecture. The building no longer exists, but has left a mark on the population and is still remembered for its beauty. The introduction of Eclecticism to the city's architecture took place with the construction of the School of Arts and Crafts, built between October 16, 1911, and November 28, 1912, although it does not reject some Neoclassical aspects. In the same style are other buildings such as Ferrolana and Provincial Agricultural College (now Mario Muñoz Polytechnic Institute of Health). The period 1930–1959 was important to the city for two main reasons: the opening in 1930 of the section of the Carretera Central highway between

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Santa Clara, and the rise to mayor of José Manuel Gutiérrez Planes (1927–1933), under whose mandate several notable buildings appeared, such as the Hotel Nuevo Continental (1937), resulting in a new architectural style in the city, Art Deco, with the Teatro Canal as its finest example. Between 1948 and 1959, Rationalism made its entrance in the city, and the best examples can be seen in the Santiago-Havana and Gran Caridad hotels.

Economy

Colón's economy is centered around

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

(

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

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 ...

citrus fruit ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Mandarin orange, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, ...

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

(spaghetti factory), and

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

raising. It is also an important

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

center.

Gallery

File:Colón Liberty Park.jpg, Colón Liberty Park, founded in 1892 File:Iglesia Bautista de Colón (Cuba).jpg, Iglesia Bautista de Colón File:Parque De La Libertad en La Ciudad de Colón circa 1940.jpg, Liberty Park, circa 1940 File:Santiago-Havana Hotel in Colón, Matanzas Cuba.jpg, Santiago-Havana Hotel File:Street in Colón, Cuba (2013).jpg, Hotel Nuevo Continental, European-style building File:Hotel Caridad de Colón.jpg, Caridad Hotel File:Liceo Cubano de Colón - Cuban Lyceum of Colón.jpg, Cuban Lyceum on Ricardo Trujillo Street. Founded in 1926. File:Luz y Caballero Middle School.jpg, Escuela Luz y Caballero in Calixto García File:Colón trainstation, Cuba (2013).jpg, Colón train display model at Gonzalo de Quesada Street File:Hospital Docente Regional Mario Muñoz in Colón City.jpg, Hospital Docente Regional Mario Muñoz File:School of Arts & Trades in Colón, Matanzas Province, Cuba.jpg, School of Arts and Trade on Gonzalo de Quesada Street File:Areces Bank.jpg, Areces Bank on Real and Camilo Cienfuegos Street – Art Nouveau balcony File:Teatro Cine Canal.jpg, Canal Theatre File:Casa Consistorial o Ayuntamiento Municipal in Colón, Matanzas Cuba.jpg, Municipal government building File:Lion Bronze Statue and part of Christopher Columbus Statue Monument.jpg, Bronze lion statue File:Another Lion Bronze Statue at Liberty Park in Colón.jpg, Bronze lion statue and part of Christopher Columbus monument File:Colón Main street, Cuba (2013).jpg, Diago Street File:Classic automobiles in Colón, Cuba (2013).jpg, Classic automobiles in Colón File:Downtown Colón, Cuba (2013).jpg, José Martí Street

Notable people

* Paul Casanova (1941–2017), baseball player * José Miguel Fernández (born 1988), baseball player *

Oscar Nunez Óscar Núñez (born November 18, 1958), sometimes credited as Oscar Nunez, is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as the Dunder Mifflin accountant Óscar Martínez on NBC's ''The Office''. The accolades he has recei ...

(born 1958), Cuban-American actor and comedian * Mario Quintero (1924–2017), basketball player * Félix Ramos y Duarte (1848–1924), educator and writer

References

*''Colón: en el 150 aniversario de su fundación'', published in Cuba in 1986.

External links

Colón webpage on Guije

Colón webpage
on

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

Colón webpage
on Yucayo.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Colon Cities in Cuba Populated places in Matanzas Province Populated places established in 1846 1840s establishments in the Spanish West Indies 1840s in Cuba 1846 establishments in the Spanish Empire