:''This article is about the province in Cuba. For other titular locales and uses, see
Guantanamo (disambiguation).''
'Guantánamo' is the easternmost province of
Cuba. Its capital is also called
Guantánamo. Other towns include
Baracoa. The province surrounds the important
U.S. Navy base at
Guantánamo Bay.
Guantánamo's architecture and culture is unlike the rest of Cuba.
The original settlement was done by
Catalan families from the
Ampurdan region of north-eastern
Catalunya,
Spain in
1764. British forces had occupied the area for over 40 years and Scot-Irish settlers were a constant preoccupation to the Spanish authorities. In
1805, when the French were forced out of
St. Domingue (Haiti) 35,000 French settlers were given lands in Cuba, many French families settled in the Guantanamo area becoming coffee and cacao planters meaning that many buildings are comparable to those of the
French Quarter of
New Orleans in the
U.S. state of
Louisiana.
Before the
Cuban Revolution of 1959, the Carnivals of Guantanamo were famous in Cuba.
The province is only 80 km away from Haiti its closest point, across the
Windward Passage and close enough to see lights in
Haiti on a clear night. Guantánamo also has a number of immigrants from
Jamaica.
The Nipe-Sagua-Baracoa mountains (Sierra de Cristal) dominate the province, dividing both
climate and
landscape. The northern coast, battered by prevailing winds, is the wettest part of the country, while the south, sheltered and dry, is the hottest. The north is characterized by
rainforests, while the south is arid and has many
cacti.
Municipalities
#
Baracoa
#
Caimanera
#
El Salvador
#
Guantánamo
#
Imías
#
Maisí (
La Máquina)
#
Manuel Tames
#
Niceto Pérez
#
San Antonio del Sur
#
Yateras (
Palenque)
External Links
★
Página Inicio del Sitio Oficial de la Ciencia en Guantánamo (Spanish)
See also
★ ''
Guantanamera''
★
Parque Nacional Alejandro de Humboldt