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Holguín Province facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Statistics
Capital: Holguín
Area: 9,292.83 km²
Inhabitants: 1,021,321
Population Density: 109.90 per km²
Map
Escudo de la Provincia Holguín.png

Holguín is one of the provinces of Cuba, the second most populous after Ciudad de la Habana. It lies in the southeast of the country. Its major cities include Holguín (the capital), Banes, Antilla, Mayarí, and Moa.

The province has a population of slightly over one million people. Its territory extends over more than 9300 km², 25 percent of which are covered by forest.

History

Christopher Columbus landed in what is believed to have been today's Holguín province on October 27, 1492. He declared that it was "the most beautiful country human eyes had ever seen".

The Holguín province was established in 1978, when it was split from the Oriente region.

Illustrious Sons

General Calixto García (1839-1898), 19th century patriot. Wars of independence from Spain.

General Fulgencio Batista Zaldivar (1901–1973), President, Dictator of Cuba.
Commander in Chief Fidel Castro (1926), lawyer, revolutionary, ex-President of Cuba.
Army General Raúl Castro (1931), minister of the Revolutionary Army Forces, Vice-President and President of Cuba.

Economy

Like much of Cuba, Holguín's economy is based around sugarcane, though mining, corn and coffee are also large earners for the province.

At Moa, there is a huge cobalt processing plant with shipping facilities, that was constructed with the help of foreign aid , much of it from Canada. There are chrome, nickel, iron and steel plants dotted throughout the province as well.

Tourism has only recently begun to be experimented with by the Fidel Castro government, and in Holguín, there are numerous hotels around the Guardalavaca area.

Municipalities

Holguín is divided into 14 municipalities:

  1. Antilla
  2. Báguanos
  3. Banes
  4. Cacocum
  5. Buenaventura
  6. Cueto
  7. Frank País (Cayo Mambí)
  8. Gibara
  9. Holguín
  10. Mayarí
  11. Moa
  12. Rafael Freyre
  13. Sagua de Tánamo
  14. Urbano Noris


Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Provincia de Holguín para niños

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