provinces of Cuba
Administrative division, Administratively, Cuba is divided into 15 provinces and one special municipality (the Isla de la Juventud). The current structure has been in place since August 2010, when the La Habana Province (1976–2010), then-La Ha ...
, the third most populous after
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.Santiago de Cuba. It lies in the southeast of the country. Its major cities include Holguín (the capital), Banes, Antilla,
Mayarí
Mayarí is a municipality and town in the Holguín Province of Cuba.
History
The origins of the city date back to 1757 in Spanish Cuba, when the first farms were established here by immigrant colonists. On 19 January 1879 the city became the se ...
, and Moa.
The province has a population of slightly over one million people. Its territory exceeds , 25 percent of which is covered by forest.
History
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 ...
landed in what is believed to have been today's Holguín province on October 27, 1492. He declared that it was "the most beautiful land human eyes had ever seen".
The Holguín province was established in 1978, when it was split from the Oriente region.
Economy
Like much of Cuba, Holguín's economy is based around
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 ...
coffee
Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...
, as well as
mining
Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...
, are also large earners for the province.
A large nickel plus
cobalt
Cobalt is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. ...
processing plant with shipping facilities was built in Moa, using foreign investment, much of it from
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
.
Chromium
Chromium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6 element, group 6. It is a steely-grey, Luster (mineralogy), lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal.
Chromium ...
,
iron
Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...
and
steel
Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
plants dot the province as well.
Tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...
has only recently begun to be developed, offering beach resorts in the outskirts of the region, with a number of hotels around the Guardalavaca area, Playa Esmeralda, Playa Yuraguanal, Playa Blanca, Playa Pesquero, and Cayo Saetia. The Cuchillas del ToaBiosphere Reserve,
Sierra Cristal National Park
Sierra Cristal National Park () is a national park in Cuba. It is located in the municipalities of Mayarí
Mayarí is a municipality and town in the Holguín Province of Cuba.
History
The origins of the city date back to 1757 in Spanish Cuba, ...
and Alejandro de Humboldt National Park are partly located in the province. Gibara is a little visited historical port located west of the main Guardalavacaresorts. Recently a large number of tourists are reported to have visited the city and its rich culture and beauty. Direct flights to
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
and
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
from Holguin airport limit transfer time to around 1 hour to most resorts on the Costa Holguinera.
Canadians
Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
coral
Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
:
:''Source: Population from 2004'' ''and 2012 Census.'' ''Area from 1976 municipal re-distribution.''
Demographics
In 2004, the province of Holguin had a population of 1,029,083. With a total area of , the province had a population density of .
Per the 2012 census, the population was 1,035,072, and a similar population density of .
Notable people
* Fulgencio Batista, last president and military dictator of the ''Republican'' era (1902-1959)
* Ángel Castro y Argiz, farmer and businessman, father of Fidel, Juanita, Ramón and Raúl Castro
*
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...