Holguín

Holguín is one of the provinces of Cuba, the third most populous after Ciudad de la Habana and Santiago de Cuba. It lies in the northeast of the country. Its major cities include Holguín (the capital), Banes, Antilla, Mayarí, and Moa.

The province has a population of slightly over one million people. Its territory exceeds 9,300 km2 (3,600 sq mi), 25 percent of which are covered by forest.

History

Christopher Columbus landed in what is believed to have been today's Holguín province on October 27, 1492. He declared that it was "the most beautiful country 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, though other crops such as corn and coffee, as well as mining, are also large earners for the province.

A large cobalt processing plant with shipping facilities was built at Moa, using foreign investment, much of it from Canada. Chromium, nickel, iron and steel plants dot the province as well.

Tourism 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 Pesquero, and Cayo Saetia. The Cuchillas del Toa Biosphere Reserve Sierra Cristal National Park and Alejandro de Humboldt National Park are partly located in the province.

Municipalities

(2004) Area

(km²) Location Remarks

Antilla 12,222 100 20.84861°N 75.7525°W

Báguanos 52,854 806 20.76306°N 76.02944°W

Banes 81,274 781 20.97°N 75.71139°W

Cacocum 42,623 661 20.74389°N 76.32417°W

Calixto Garcia 57,867 617 20.85417°N 76.60194°W Buenaventura

Cueto 34,503 326 20.64833°N 75.93167°W

Frank País 25,621 510 20.66472°N 75.28139°W Cayo Mambí

Gibara 72,810 630 21.10722°N 76.13667°W

Holguín 326,740 666 20.88889°N 76.25722°W Provincial Capital

Mayarí 105,505 1,307 20.65944°N 75.67778°W

Moa 71,079 730 20.64°N 74.9175°W

Rafael Freyre 50,080 620 21.02833°N 75.99639°W

Sagua de Tánamo 52,013 704 20.58611°N 75.24167°W

Urbano Noris 43,892 846 20.60139°N 76.1325°W

Demographics

In 2004, the province of Holguin had a population of 1,029,083. With a total area of 9,292.83 km2 (3,587.98 sq mi), the province had a population density of 110.7 /km2 (287 /sq mi).

Notable people

Aroldis Chapman, left-handed pitcher in the Cincinnati Reds

General Calixto García (1839-1898), independence wars patriot

Commander in Chief Fidel Castro (1926), lawyer, former President of Cuba

Army General Raúl Castro (1931), former minister of the Revolutionary Army Forces and Vice-President of Cuba, current President of Cuba

Mario Kindelan two times boxing olympic champion 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens in the lightweight category

Entrepreneur and Broadcaster Marcos Rodriguez, Sr. 1927-1992, former manager of CMKF Radio in Holguin

Cesar Morales, Pianist