Hotels and Hostals in Cuba

General Introduction to Cienfuegos, Cuba

The province of Cienfuegos has as a capital the city of the same name, which until 1975 was part of the provincial block, also constitued of Sancti Spíritus and Villa Clara. This block represented one unique province: Las Villas. Aside from the capital (200 000 inhabitants), Cienfuegos also include other seven municipalities: Abreu, Aguada de Pasajeros, Cruces, Cumanayagua, Lajas, Palmira and Rodas.

Cienfuegos is one of the oldest provinces after the Spanish colonization and today it's among the most economically active regions of the country. The Cienfuegos province is located on the southern region of Cuba, its boudaries are Sancti Spíritus at the south-east, and Villa Clara at the east, Matanzas at the west and the Caribbean Sea at the south.

Cienfuegos has the third more important port in Cuba and the largest harvest center of sugar cane of the provincial area.

Known as The Pearl of the South, the city of Cienfuegos is an atypical and quiet port city. Although Christopher Columbus may have visited the deep and protected zone during his second trip, and although the Spanish may have built the Jagua Castle in 1745, Cienfuegos started his development only after 1819, when a group of French colonizers settled there. The French influence had therefore an impact over the city history, particularly during the 19th century, when Cienfuegos became the largest place to buy sugar, tobacco and coffee. With the US trade increasing importance, Cienfuegos has lost some of its strategic importances if compared to Havana's and Matanzas's ports.

However,Cienfuegos is still today a pretty busy port, with a variety of heavy industries and important productions of sugar plantations that are surrounding it. In fact, the industry complex, the high voltage electrical towers and a abandoned nuclear plant, mangle the landscape significantly. Nevertheless, the historical downtown, the fascinating bay, the architecture and the Malecón make of Cienfuegos a wonderful city to explore and to live in.