Guantánamo

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Guantánamo
Coordinates: 20 ° 8 ′  N , 75 ° 12 ′  W
Map: Cuba
marker
Guantánamo​
Guantánamo is the capital of the province of the same name and is located in the southeast of Cuba.
Basic data
Country Cuba
province Guantánamo
City foundation 1510
Residents 228,436  (2012)
City insignia
Escudo gtmo.jpg
Detailed data
surface 257.39 km²
Population density 887.5 inhabitants / km 2
Waters Bahía de Guantánamo
Post Code 95100
prefix (0053) -21
Time zone UTC -5
Swell:
Main street with post
Main street with post

Guantánamo ("the river around the country" or "land between the rivers") is a city and municipality in southeastern Cuba and the capital of the province of the same name . With the “Centro Universitario de Guantánamo” Guantánamo is also a university town. Guantánamo has 228,436 inhabitants (2012 census), of which 9,341 live in the rural surroundings of the city, which corresponds to a degree of urbanization of 95.9 percent. The population density is 887.5 inhabitants per km²

It owes its fame on the one hand to the US military base Guantanamo Bay Naval Base , which is not in the city, with the prison camp of the same name, and on the other hand to José Fernández Díaz 's song Guantanamera .

The music style Changüí , a variation of Son Cubano , was created in the surrounding coffee plantations .

geography

The municipality of Guantánamo has a total area of ​​257.39 km². It borders the province of Holguín to the north and the Municipios Yateras and Manuel Tames to the east . In the south is Caimanera , with the Bahía de Guantánamo . In the west, Niceto Pérez and El Salvador join.

history

In 1791 the first slave revolts took place in the neighboring country of Saint-Domingue (today: Haiti ) . They quickly developed into a bloody war, everyone against everyone. As a result, numerous French settlers fled to Cuba and founded the city of Guantánamo there in 1796. The Haitians also brought coffee and cocoa cultivation to the island at this time and cultivated it in the surrounding mountains.

After the Spanish-American War , the United States forced Cuba to sign the Platt Amendment in 1903 . The contract provided for the United States to have the right to intervene and to buy or lease land stretches from Cuba and use them as naval bases. In 1934 the contract was largely canceled by the USA, only the section on the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base remained. The Cuban government disputes the legality of the treaty.

Attractions

The city's former prison is now used as the "Museo Provincial de Guantánamo". It deals with the history of the city and the province of Guantánamo.

The art collections are housed in the “Palacio Salcines”. A sculpture can be seen on the palace - the Fama . It is the work of the Italian artist Amerigo Chini and at the same time Guantánamo's landmark.

The well-preserved old town of Guantánamo is, like most other Cuban cities, built in the colonial style. In the heart of the old town is the central square “Parque José Martí ”. On top of it there is a monument to General Pedro Agustín Pérez. This played a historically important role in the Spanish-American fight for independence. During his time as mayor of the city, all streets were renamed after the heroes of the struggle for independence. The most important church in the city is located directly at Parque José Martí. The "Parroquial de Santa Catalina de Riccis" was consecrated in 1868. On January 24, 1998, she was promoted to cathedral.

economy

Since the city is not directly on the sea and has hardly any other sights, it is almost impossible to benefit from the tourism industry . Thus the form of coffee - cocoa - sugar cane - and cotton growing economic base of the community.

traffic

Welcome to Guantánamo

Guantánamo is crossed by the well-developed Carretera Central road. It allows the community a quick connection to Baracoa - the second largest city in the province - and to Santiago de Cuba .

The city also has a railway connection, the “Mariana Grajales” airport and the state bus company Viazul (mainly for tourists): regular services between Santiago de Cuba and Baracoa .

filming

The documentary film “Paraíso” by Alina Teodorescu shows life in the city and its inhabitants using the music group “Madeira Limpia”.

Personalities

Web links

Commons : Guantánamo  - collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Census 2012 (PDF; 272 kB) , ONE
  2. ↑ Index >> Cuba ( Memento of February 5, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) In: geopostcodes.com
  3. ^ Oficina Nacional de Estadísticas: Población al 14 de Septiembre de 2012. In: one.cu. Retrieved February 14, 2015 .
  4. ↑ Guantánamo (Municipio) - EcuRed. Retrieved July 25, 2015 .
  5. ↑ JPEG file. (No longer available online.) In: bedincuba.com. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015 ; accessed on February 14, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bedincuba.com
  6. ^ Alfred de Zayas : Who Owns Guantánamo Bay? The legal situation surrounding the base of the United States , published in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on December 29, 2003.
  7. ^ A b Walter Reinthaler: Cuba: Guantánamo City. In: bilderreisen.at. Retrieved February 14, 2015 .
  8. ^ «Paraiso»: Insights into Cuba's everyday life to lively music DPA date: 2004-07-19 14:01:39. In: handelsblatt.com . July 15, 2004, accessed February 14, 2015 .