Guanajay is a town and municipality in
Artemisa Province
Artemisa Province is one of the two new provinces created from the former La Habana Province, whose creation was approved by the Cuban National Assembly on August 1, 2010, the other being Mayabeque Province. The new provinces came into existen ...
in western
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 ...
, located about southwest of
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.[Axtla De Terrazas
Axtla de Terrazas is one of the Municipalities of San Luis Potosí, 58 municipalities in the List of states of Mexico, Mexican state of San Luis Potosí in central Mexico. The municipality was founded 1826, its name comes from Nahuatl (astlan) and ...](_bl ...<br></span></div>. The town lies among hills.
Guanajay is the twin town of <div class=)
Overview
In colonial times it was an acclimatization station for newly arrived troops from Spain, and subsequently became well known as a health resort. Founded in 1650, it was part of the province of
Pinar del Río
Pinar del Río is the capital city of Pinar del Río Province, Cuba. With a population of 191,081 (2022), it is the List of cities in Cuba, 10th-largest city in Cuba. Inhabitants of the area are called ''Pinareños''.
History
Pinar del Río was ...
until 1976. It was then included in
La Habana Province
La Habana Province , formerly known as Ciudad de La Habana Province, is a province of Cuba that includes the territory of the city of Havana, the Republic's capital. The province's territory is the seat of the superior organs of the state and i ...
until that was divided in two in 2011.
The country surrounding Guanajay is a fertile
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 ...
and
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 ...
region, and historically it has been an important distribution point in the commerce of the western end of the island. Guanajay was an ancient
pueblo
Pueblo refers to the settlements of the Pueblo peoples, Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, currently in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. The permanent communities, including some of the oldest continually occupied settlement ...
of considerable size and importance as early as the end of the 18th century.
Demographics
In 2022, the municipality of Guanajay had a population of 28,031.
With a total area of ,
it has a population density of .
Gallery
File:San Hilarion Guanajay, Pinar del Río, Cuba.jpg, San Hilarión Parrish c. 1930
File:Río Capellanias Guanajay, Pinar del Río, Cuba.jpg, Capellanias River in Guanajay c. 1930
See also
*
Guanajay Municipal Museum
*
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 (). They were defined by Cuban Law Number 1304 of July 3, 1976Fifth United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names, Vol. II, publish ...
References
:*
External links
*
{{Authority control
1780s establishments in the Spanish West Indies
1780s in Cuba
1781 establishments in New Spain
Populated places in Artemisa Province
Populated places established in 1781