Placetas is a city in the Villa Clara Province

Villa Clara Province

Villa Clara is one of the provinces of Cuba. It is located in the central region of the island bordering with the Atlantic at north, Matanzas Province by west, Sancti Spiritus by east, and Cienfuegos on the South. Villa Clara shares with Cienfuegos and Sancti Spiritus on the south the Escambray...

 in the center of Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

; before the change in the country's government in 1959 the province was called Las Villas. Close towns include Zulueta (to the north), San Juan de los Remedios

Remedios, Cuba

Remedios is a city and municipality located from the northern coast of Cuba, in the center of the island. It is part of the province of Villa Clara. It was declared a City by Isabel the Second, Queen of Spain, when the Island was still a colony...

 (to the northeast), Cabaiguán

Cabaiguán

Cabaiguán is a municipality in the province of Sancti Spíritus, Cuba. The capital city, also named Cabaiguán, is located within the district of Cabaiguán.It was founded in 1894, and established as a municipality in 1926...

 and Fomento (to the east), and Santa Clara

Santa Clara, Cuba

Santa Clara is the capital city of the Cuban province of Villa Clara. It is located in the most central region of the province and almost in the most central region of the country.- History :Santa Clara was founded by 175 people on July 15th, 1689...

 and Camajuani

Camajuaní

-History:In 1819 was decided the construction of a new port in near Caibarién to replace an old one located in Tesisco. From that moment, settlers established in the surroundings creating a new village. In 1832 blueprints for the new town of Caibarien were presented, and finally in 1841 this city...

 (to the west). The town is also known as La Villa de los Laureles because of its wild laurel

Lauraceae

The Lauraceae or Laurel family comprises a group of flowering plants included in the order Laurales. The family contains about 55 genera and over 3500, perhaps as many as 4000, species world-wide, mostly from warm or tropical regions, especially Southeast Asia and South America...

 trees. Placetas is also a municipio

Municipio

Municipio and Município are terms used for country subdivisions. They are often translated as municipality.-Overview:...

, one of 13 subdivisions of the Villa Clara Province. Cuba's geographical center, Guaracabuya, is located in this municipality.

History

Placetas was founded on September 9, 1861 mainly due to the sugar

Sugar

Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...

 production industry. Nowadays, the main produce of the area is tobacco

Tobacco

Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...

. The main contribution to its foundation came from Jose Martinez-Fortun y Erles, a Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 Marques and former colonel in the Spanish Army. The town is located on the Carretera Central road, which cuts through the town. The town's position on this road has allowed it to serve as a stop for many travellers. Placetas has grown considerably over the years, being declared a town

Town

A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...

 in 1881 and a city

City

A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...

 in 1925. In 1879 it was established as its own municipality. Placetas is also known by the great carnavals which take place in July and Christmas and New Year's Eve.

Placetas was the birthplace of Emilio Mola

Emilio Mola

Emilio Mola y Vidal, 1st Duke of Mola, Grandee of Spain was a Spanish Nationalist commander during the Spanish Civil War. He is best-known for having coined the term "fifth column".-Early life:...

, general and instigator of the Spanish Civil War

Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...

.

Demographics

In 2004, the municipality of Placetas had a population of 71,837. With a total area of 601 km² (232 sq mi), it has a population density of 119.5 /km2. The city proper has a population of 42,000.

Placetas is also called, "Villa de los Laureles" due to the characteristic trees that are planted in strategic places around the town. The city is registered as the place where the river Zaza is born, the river runs from the outskirts of the town into the sea. The river Zaza is currently an environmental preservation area. The area is primarily a sugar producing region, with three "centrales" sugar producing factories. Placetas also has mayor railroad industries that operate from its area.
The municipality is divided into the barrio

Barrio

Barrio is a Spanish word meaning district or neighborhood.-Usage:In its formal usage in English, barrios are generally considered cohesive places, sharing, for example, a church and traditions such as feast days...

s of Cabecera, Guaracabulla, Hernando, Nazareno, San Andrés, Sitio Potrero and Tibisial.

Administration

In common with other Cuban towns, the city of Placetas was originally divided in barrio

Barrio

Barrio is a Spanish word meaning district or neighborhood.-Usage:In its formal usage in English, barrios are generally considered cohesive places, sharing, for example, a church and traditions such as feast days...

s. These were: Cabecera, Guaracabulla, Hernando, Nazareno, San Andres Sitio Potrero and Tibisial. Annual celebrations displaying the local pride of each barrio used to take place until the 1990s, when the government stopped them.

The main Catholic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 church in the town is called San Atanasio de Placetas, after the town's patron saint. As of 1996, it had one library

Library

In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...

, a main post office

Post office

A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...

, three middle-high school

School

A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...

s(13 de Marzo, Rodolfo Leon Perlacia and Julio Antonio Mella), one police station

Police station

A police station or station house is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, along with locker rooms, temporary holding cells and interview/interrogation rooms.- Facilities...

 and many recreational areas. Most of the town's structures were built before the communist government of Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...

, and little of the town has been renovated since 1959.

External links

• Encyclopædia Britannica. Placetas