Remedios (), also known as San Juan de los Remedios, is a city and

municipality 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' ...

located from the northern coast of

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 ...

, in the center of the island. It is the oldest Spanish settlement in the former Las Villas province. It is now part of the province of Villa Clara. It was declared a City by

Isabella II of Spain Isabella II (, María Isabel Luisa de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904) was Queen of Spain from 1833 until her deposition in 1868. She is the only queen regnant in the history of unified Spain. Isabella wa ...

, when the island was still a colony. Remedios is known as the Cradle of the Parrandas, possibly the Caribbean's largest and oldest traditional festival. Its patrons are

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

and the Virgin of the Buenviaje.

Geography

Remedios is located about 4 hours by bus from

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. It is less than an hour from here to beach resorts in the Santa María – Las Brujas cays, both situated north of the province. The municipality is bordered on the north by

Caibarién Caibarién is a municipality city in the Villa Clara Province, Villa Clara province of Cuba. Caibarién is known as "La Villa Blanca" () for its sands and beaches. They are famous for their "Parrandas" (Carnivals) along with Remedios, Cuba, Reme ...

, to the south by

Camajuaní Camajuaní is a municipality and town in the Villa Clara Province of Cuba. History In 1819 was decided the construction of a new port in near Caibarién to replace an old one located in Tesisco. From that moment, settlers established in the sur ...

and Placetas, and to the east by Yaguajay (in Sancti Spíritus Province). Remedios has 10 consejos populares which include: El Carmén, San Salvador, and Hermanos Herrada, in the city of Remedios and nearby settlements, and Heriberto Duquesne, Buena Vista, General Carrillo, Zulueta, Tahón-Francisco Pérez, Remate de Ariosa, and Circunscripciónes Directas (Chiquito Fabregat or San Agustín).

History

This is recognized as the eighth-oldest European city in Cuba, but its real date of foundation has been obscured over time. It may be the second Spanish settlement on the island. Historians place the foundation date sometime between 1513 and 1524 by Spanish nobleman Vasco Porcallo de Figueroa. He was said to found the settlement on 13 April 1514. Documents reflect that this settlement had been preceded only by Baracoa (1511) and (Bayamo)(1512). Some believe that it was founded before

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

(1514). According to legend, Vasco, in order to avoid tax payments to the Crown, kept the village hidden from the knowledge of the King of Spain as long as he could. But the settlement grew and had to be recognized. Through his wife, the daughter of the Cacique of Sabaneque, Vasco received a huge land grant as a personal fief from Governor Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, as stipulated by Spanish law. There was no municipal entity to govern the town. Upon Vasco's death in Puerto Principe in 1550, the town obtained its charter. It was originally called Santa Cruz de la Sabana. Other names were Santa Cruz de Vasco Porcallo, Santa Cruz de la Sabana del Cayo, and lastly, by 1578, San Juan de los Remedios de la Sabana del Cayo. In the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, land grants provided by the Crown to colonists allowed for a stable population settlement. The economic growth relied on agriculture and cattle raising, and this eventually became one of the major beef suppliers to Spain's Florida colonies. By 1678 the demarcation between Remedios and Sancti Spiritus was established. Along with cattle raising, the sugar cane industry was developed, dependent on slave labor. By the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th century, the cultivation of tobacco, coffee and cacao as commodity crops was also underway. In 1682 (1672?), a major dispute arose among the settlers, led by Father Gonzalez de la Cruz, who claimed that satanic forces had taken hold of the place. The Spanish Crown sent a Royal Decree dated 29 January 1684 transferring the settlement to another place in order to avoid the demons. Eighteen families left the town and on 15 July 1689 established the village of Santa Clara. Today this is an important city in the center of Cuba and the capital of the province of Villa Clara. The long history of Remedios is particularly evident in the city center (declared a National Historic Monument in 1980). There 17th-century Spanish architecture can still be found intact.

Demographics

In 2004, the municipality of Remedios had a population of 46,482. With a total area of , it has a population density of . In 2022 the population number had dropped to 42,134.

Attractions

''Iglesia Mayor'' and ''Plaza Isabel II''

The main attraction in the Plaza Isabel II is the ''Iglesia Mayor'' of San Juan Bautista, containing 13 decorated gold altars. As the city was frequently raided by pirates and corsairs, the gold was hidden under white paint. The most famous pirate to attack the town was the French François l'Olonnais. In a renovation that took place between 1944 and 1954, with donations by Cuban millionaire philanthropist Eutimio Falla Bonet, the real gold under coats of paint was re-discovered. Falla Bonet was said to have traced his ancestors back to Remedios, where one was a founding member of the city and another was born in Remedios. On the north side of the square sits another church, Igesia del Buen Viaje. Remedios is the only town in Cuba with two churches on its main square, but the Iglesia del Buen Viaje has been abandoned. It is leaking and closed until repairs are authorized by the government. The Central Plaza or ''Plaza Mayor'' was restored in 1970. It is surrounded by colonial buildings, beautiful monuments, trees, palms and a gazebo, like many towns in Cuba that were designed according to a Spanish urban standard.

''Parrandas''

Many Cubans consider Remedios distinguished for its

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

festival, ''Las Parrandas de Remedios,'', one of the most popular regional events It takes place annually between the 16th to the 26th of December every year. Considered the oldest festival in Cuba, the '' parrandas'' were initially promoted by Father Francisco Vigil de Quiñones, who used to officiate at the Iglesia Mayor of San Juan Bautista de los Remedios. The priest, who was concerned about the absence of parishioners at the ''Misa de Gallo'' (midnight mass), decided to encourage children to parade in the streets and wake up residents by using whistles, horns and tin cans, so that they had no other choice than to get up and attend Christmas Eve mass. That noisy initiative got deeply rooted among the people, and a festival developed around it. In 1871, the "parrandas" adopted a ritual that is still practiced. According to tradition, when the bells of the Iglesia Parroquial Mayor (Major Parochial Church) toll at 9 o'clock on the night of December 24, two neighborhoods make public their creativeness and efforts made during the entire year to participate in the competition. During the "parrandas", a fierce competition takes place between the neighborhoods of San Salvador, represented by the colors red and blue, and a rooster as a symbol, and El Carmen, represented by the color brown and a globe. The memory of those celebrations is compiled at the Museum of Parrandas, which opened in 1980 in a 19th-century building in Remedios. It preserves photos, documents and hand-made objects linked to the festivities.

Notable figures

* Alejandro García Caturla (1906–1940), composer * Federico Laredo Brú, lawyer and politician * José Luis Nápoles, sports journalist and anchor * Jorge Luis Toca (b. 1975), former professional baseball player * Dayán Viciedo Pérez (b. 1989), professional baseball player * Yosver Zulueta (b. 1998), professional baseball player

Sister cities

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Sister Cities International Directory: Remedios, Cuba
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References

External links

{{Authority control Populated places in Villa Clara Province Populated places established in the 16th century Populated places established in 1513 1513 establishments in the Spanish Empire