Ciego de Ávila
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Ciego de Ávila is a city in the central part of Cuba and the capital of Ciego de Ávila Province, Cuba. The city's has a population of about 86,100. Ciego de Ávila lies on the central highway and a major railroad; its port, Júcaro, lies 15 miles (24 km) south-southwest on the Caribbean Sea. The city is about 460km east of Havana and 110km west of the city of Camaguey. The city within Camaguey province until 1975, when Fidel Castro's government made Ciego de Avila city the new capital of the Ciego de Avila Province.
[edit] History
The city of Ciego de Avila was founded by 1840, having at the time 263 inhabitants. In 1877, its municipal government was created and the city became independent of the city of Morón. Ciego de Ávila gained importance when the Spanish army built a fortified military line, known as Trocha de Jucaro a Morón, to impede the pass of insurrectionist forces to the western part of the island during the 1st War of Independence (1868-1878). This "trocha", which made this region famous, was thought to be strong enough to stop the Cuban forces, but was not able to stop the pass of General Máximo Gómez and several hundred of men. Many of the old Spanish colonial buildings in Ciego de Avila were built by Angela Hernandez Viuda de Jimenez, a rich socialite who battled to create a cultural mecca in her home town. She is sometimes credited to be the founder of the city.
[edit] Places in Ciego de Avila
- Parque Marti is the largest park in the city of Ciego de Avila.
- Teatro Principal is a 500-seat theatre located just a few blocks from Parque Marti.
