Cienfuegos

"Cienfuegos" redirects here. For other uses, see Cienfuegos (disambiguation).

Cienfuegos
—  Municipality  —
Marti Park and City Hall
Nickname(s): La Perla del Sur (Pearl of the South)
Location of Cienfuegos in Cuba
Coordinates: 22°08′44″N 80°26′11″W / 22.14556°N 80.43639°W / 22.14556; -80.43639Coordinates: 22°08′44″N 80°26′11″W / 22.14556°N 80.43639°W / 22.14556; -80.43639
Country	Cuba
Province	Cienfuegos
Founded	1819[1]
Area[2]
- Total	333 km2 (128.6 sq mi)
Elevation	25 m (82 ft)
Population (2004)[3]
- Total	163,824
- Density	492.0/km2 (1,274.3/sq mi)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
Area code(s)	+53-43

Cienfuegos is a city on the southern coast of Cuba, capital of the province of Cienfuegos. It is located about 250 km (160 mi) from Havana, and has a population of 150,000. The city is dubbed "La Perla del Sur" (Pearl of the South). Cienfuegos literally translates to "Hundred fires".

Geography

Near the entrance to Bahia de Cienfuegos (bahia meaning "bay") is Castillo de Jagua (full name Castillo de Nuestra Señora de los Angeles de Jagua), a fortress erected in 1745 for protection against Caribbean pirates.

Cienfuegos, one of the chief seaports of Cuba, is a center of the sugar trade, as well as coffee and tobacco. While sugarcane is the chief crop, local farmers grow coffee.

The downtown contains 6 buildings from 1819–50, 327 buildings from 1851–1900, and 1188 buildings from the 20th century. There is no other place in the Caribbean which contains such a remarkable cluster of Neoclassical structures.

Demographics

In 2004, the municipality of Cienfuegos had a population of 163,824.^[3] With a total area of 333 km² (129 sq mi),^[2] it has a population density of 492.0 /km² (1,274 /sq mi).

History

The area was called the Cacicazgo de Jagua by the early Spaniards, and was settled by indigenous people.

The city was settled by French immigrants from Bordeaux and Louisiana, led by Don Louis de Clouet, on April 22, 1819.^[1] Its original name was Fernardina de Jagua, in honor of Ferdinand VII of Spain^{[citation needed]}. The settlement became a town (Spanish: Villa) in 1829, and a city in 1880. The city was subsequently named Cienfuegos, sharing the name with Cienfuegos, a Captain General in this time, in the island.

Near Cienfuegos was the scene of a battle on May 11, 1898, between American marines who attempted to sever underwater Spanish communication lines and the Spanish defenders.

During the Cuban Revolution the city saw an uprising against Fulgencio Batista and was bombed, on September 5, 1957.^[4]

World Heritage Site

Urban Historic Centre of Cienfuegos *
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Country	Cuba
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, v
Reference	1202
Region **	Latin America and the Caribbean
Inscription history
Inscription	2005 (29th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List ** Region as classified by UNESCO

In 2005, UNESCO inscribed the Urban Historic Centre of Cienfuegos on the World Heritage List, citing Cienfuegos as the best extant example of the 19th-century early Spanish Enlightenment implementation in urban planning.^[5]

Hurricane Dennis 2005

In 2005, Hurricane Dennis made its second landfall near Cienfuegos at about 1:00PM AST (17:00 UTC) with winds of 232km/h (144 MPH), and gusts reaching 285 km/h (177 MPH).

Attractions

One of the turrets on the moonlit roof of Palacio de Valle

• Castillo de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles de Jagua - fortress
• Arco de Triunfo - the only Arco de Triunfo in Cuba
• Cathedral de la Purisma Concepcion - cathedral with stained glass work, built 1833-1869.
• Delfinario - dolphins and sea lions in a saltwater lagoon
• Jardín Botánico de Cienfuegos - 97 hectares of botanic garden
• Museo Provincial - furniture and porcelain museum
• Palacio de Valle - built 1913-1917 in neo-gothic style
• Palmira Yorubá Pantheon - museum of religious afro-catholic syncretism
• Parque José Martí - park in Plaza de Armas
• University of Cienfuegos "Carlos Rafael Rodríguez" (UCF) - the province's secondary education institution.

Famous residents

• Benny Moré, Cuban singer.
• Cristóbal Torriente, Cuban-born Hall of fame Baseball player.
• Gina Pellón, Cuban painter, lives in exile in Paris.
• Maria Conchita Alonso, Cuban-Venezuelan-American singer was born here.
• Luis Posada Carriles, Cuban anti-Castro terrorist allegedly responsible for the Cubana Flight 455 bombing, among other terrorist attacks, was born here.
• Joe Azcue, MLB player for the Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Athletics, Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, California Angels, and the Milwaukee Brewers.

Gallery

• 

  Statue of José Martí

• 

  Cathedral of Cienfuegos

• 

  Pedestrian Boulevard

• 

  Prado

• 

  Palacio de Valle (Valle's Palace) in Punta Gorda

• 

  Palacio Azul (Blue Palace)

• 

  Closeup of porthouse

• 

  The yacht club in Cienfuegos

See also

• Municipalities of Cuba
• List of cities in Cuba
• Cienfuegos' Scientific Electronic Medical Journal

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Guije.com. "Cienfuegos". http://www.guije.com/pueblo/municipios/vcienfuegos/index.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-07.  (Spanish)
2. ^ ^{a b} Statoids (July 2003). "Municipios of Cuba". http://www.statoids.com/ycu.html. Retrieved 2007-10-07. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Atenas.cu (2004). "2004 Population trends, by Province and Municipality". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20070927111826/http://www.atenas.inf.cu/todo/Estadisticas/TABLA+No_3balance.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-07.  (Spanish)
4. ^ Castro speech commemorates Moncada assault
5. ^ Cienfuegos at World Heritage List

External links

• Podcast Radio Ciudad del Mar
• Hotel Cienfuegos
• Guide of Cienfuegos
• Hotel Palacio Azul