The Province of Las Villas is located in the central part of Cuba. It has an
area of 21,411square kilometers (8,564 square miles). Las Villas, or Santa
Clara as it was called up to the 1940 Constitutional Agreement, is the third
largest province of Cuba, following the Provinces of Oriente and Camaguey.
The population estimates according to the 1953 census were approximately
1,030,162 residents.
The population of Las Villas approximately consisted of 50% rural and 50%
urban, with the Santa Clara municipality being the most populated.
The caciques or Indian chiefs from Sabaneque, Xagua, Cubanacán, and Magón
formed the Las Villas area. It was originally called "Cinco Villas." This
province consists of 32 municipalities, which are: Abreus, Aguada de
Pasajeros, Cabaiguán, Caibarién, Calabazar de Sagua, Camajuaní, Cienfuegos,
Cifuentes, Carralillo, Cruces, Encrucijada, Esperanza, Fomento, Palmira,
Placetas, Quemado de Guines, Ranch Veloz, Ranchuelo, Remedios, Rodas, Sagua
la Grande, San Antonio de las Vueltas, Sancti Spíritus, San Diego del Valle,
San Fernando de Camarones, San Juan de los Year, Santa Clara, Santa Isabel
de las Lajas, Santo Domingo, Trinidad, Yaguajay, and Zulueta.
This province forms part of the geographic region called Occidente, which
encompasses the Provinces of Pinar del Río, La Habana, Matanzas, and Las
Villas. The Las Villas area is divided into four significant sub-regions: 1)
Trinidad; 2) Sanctio Spíritus; 3) Cienfuegos; and 4) Central y Norte. Las
Villas contains one of the most modern Cuban cities, Cienfuegos, founded in
1817. Its northern coast contains two ports, Sagua la Grande and Caibarién,
which are notable for their shellfish. Of significance is the spectacular
waterfall called the Salto del Hanabanilla and the majestic valley called
Valle de Santa Clara.
Important agricultural products for Las Villas was sugar, followed tobacco,
coffee, rice, potato, and fruits. There were a total of 50 major sugar mills
in Las Villas, 42 Cuban owned, 4 Spanish owned, and 4 American owned. These
were: Adela. Amazonas, Andréita, Caracas, Carmita, Constancia (Abreu),
Constancia (Encrucijada), Corazón de Jesús, Covadonga, Escambray, Fe,
Fidencia, Hormiguero, La Vega, Macagua, Manuelita, María Antonia, Narcisa,
Natividad, Nazabal, Nela, Parque, Pastora, Perserverancia, Portugaleta,
Purio, Ramona, Reforma, Resolución, Resulta, San Agustín (Santa Isabel de
las Lajas), San Agustín (Remedios), San Francisco, San Isidro, San José, San
Pablo, Santa Catalina, Santa Isabel, Santa Lutgarda, Santa María, Santa
Rosa, Santa Teresa, Soledad, Trinidad, Tuinicú, Ulacia, Unidad, Vitoria,
Washington, and Zaza.
Santa Clara (also called Las Villas after 1940) was a historical province of
Cuba. Until 1978, its territory was that of the modern Cuban provinces of
Cienfuegos, Sancti Spíritus, and Villa Clara.
Las Villas is one of the provinces of Cuba. Its main cities are Santa Clara
(the capital), Sagua La Grande, Placetas, Camajuaní, Remedios and Caibarién.
The coast of Villa Clara is dotted with numerous cays, and there are many
coral reefs and sandy beaches, too.
Around Santa Clara, the land rises into the Alturas de Santa Clara. The
highest point in the province is in the Alturas, at 464 m above sea level.
Villa Clara also has numerous lakes, which are used for both water sports
and fishing. The largest Cuban river to drain into the Atlantic, Río Sagua
la Grande, is also in Villa Clara province.
Sugar, the commodity that the Cuban economy relies upon, is grown in the
plains in the north of the province, and several large mills provide
employment to many people.
The provinces of Cienfuegos, Sancti Spíritus, and Villa Clara were once all
part of the now defunct province of Santa Clara. Santa Clara was the capital
of Las Villas.
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