Guantánamo Province

Statistics Capital:  Guantánamo Area:  6,167.97km² Inhabitants:  507,118 Population Density:  82.22 per km² Map 
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 auhorities. 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 Castroite Revolution the Carnivals of Guantanmo 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 on 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)

Related pages
 Guantanamera
 Parque Nacional Alejandro de Humboldt

Category:Provinces of Cuba
Category:1764 establishments in North America
Category:Establishments in Cuba