Placetas

(Eng.)

Placetas was founded on September 9, 1861 mainly due to the sugar production industry. Nowadays, the main produce of the area is tobacco. The main contribution to its foundation came from Jose Martinez-Fortun y Erles, a Spanish 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 in 1881 and a city 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 years eve.

In 2004, the municipality of Placetas had a population of 71,837. With a total area of 601 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 barrios of Cabecera, Guaracabulla, Hernando, Nazareno, San Andrés, Sitio Potrero and Tibisial.

In common with other Cuban towns, the city of Placetas was originally divided in barrios. 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 church in the town is called San Atanasio de Placetas, after the town's patron saint. As of 1996, it had one library, a main post office, three middle-high schools (13 de Marzo, Rodolfo Leon Perlacia and Julio Antonio Mella), one police station and many recreational areas. Most of the town's structures were built before the Communist regime of Fidel Castro, and little of the town has been renovated since 1959.

Kilde: Wikipedia