Camagüey

Camagüey
—  Municipality  —
Location of Camagüey in Cuba
Coordinates: 21°23′2″N 77°54′27″W
Country	Cuba
Province	Camagüey
Area
• Total	1,106 km2 (427 sq mi)
Elevation	95 m (312 ft)
Population (2004)
• Total	324,921
• Density	293.8/km2 (761/sq mi)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
Area code(s)	+53-322

Historic Centre of Camagüey *
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Country	Cuba
Type	Cultural
Criteria	iv, v
Reference	1270
Region **	Latin America and the Caribbean
Inscription history
Inscription	2008 (32nd Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List ** Region as classified by UNESCO

Camagüey is a city and municipality in central Cuba and is the nation's third largest city. It is the capital of the Camagüey Province. After almost continuous attacks from pirates the original city (founded as Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe around 1515 on the northern coast) was moved inland in 1528. The new city was built with a confusing lay-out of winding alleys that made it easier to defend it from any raiders. There are many blind alleys and forked streets that lead to squares of different sizes. There is only one exit from the city; should pirates ever return and succeed in entering the city, the hope was that the local inhabitants would be able to entrap and kill them.

In July 2008, the old town was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Culture

The clay pots in Camagüey

The symbol of the city of Camagüey is the clay pot or tinajón, used to capture rain water to be used later, keeping it fresh. Clay pots are everywhere, some as small as a hand, some large enough for two people to stand up in, either as monuments or for real use. Local legend has it that if you drink water from a girl's personal tinajón, you will fall in love with the girl and never leave her.

Instituto De Segunda Ensenanza.jpg

The main secondary education institutions are the University of Camagüey & the Instituto Pedagógico de Camagüey.

Demographics

The statue of Ignacio Agramonte

In 2004, the municipality of Camagüey had a population of 324,921. With a total area of 1,106 km² (427 sq mi), it has a population density of 293.8 /km² (761 /sq mi).

Notable residents

Camagüey is the birthplace of Ignacio Agramonte (1841), an important figure of the Ten Years' War against Spain in 1868–1878. Agramonte drafted the first Cuban Constitution in 1869, and later, as a Major General, formed the fearsome Camagüey cavalry corps that had the Spaniards on the run. He died in combat on May 11, 1873; his body was burned in the city because the Spanish feared the rebels would attack the city to recover his body.

The outline of Ignacio Agramonte's horseback statue in the Park that bears his name is a symbol of Camagüey. It was set there in 1911, uncovered by his widow, Amalia Simoni.

The Plaza of the Revolution features a bronze Agramonte standing followed by his troops.

The city is also the birthplace of the Cuban national poet Nicolás Guillén; also of Carlos J. Finlay, an outstanding physician and scientist, who first identified the Aedes aegyptis mosquito as the vector of the Yellow Fever.

Camagüey is also the hometown of volleyball player Mireya Luis, Gertrudis Gomes de Avellanada (poet), Silvestre de Balboa (1563–1649, writer), Salvador Cisneros Betancourt, Marqués de Santa Lucia (Cuban patriot, signatory of the Guaimaro Constitution of 1869 and President of the Cuban Republic in Arms).

Father José Olallo Valdés worked there, and was beatified in the city on November 29, 2008.

Infrastructure

1930's Camaguey Home built by Ramon Rovirosa

Street layout

The old city layout resembles a real maze, with narrow, short streets always turning in a direction or another. After Henry Morgan burned the city in the 17th century, it was designed like a maze so attackers would find it hard to move around inside the city.

Airports

Camagüey has its own international airport, Ignacio Agramonte International Airport. Most tourists going to or leaving the Beach of Santa Lucía do so through the airport.

Education

Máximo Gómez Báez's Statue, traditional photo

Although it is not the only high school in the City, the Pre-Universitario, sometimes referred to as "Vocational School" but formally known as "Instituto Pre-Universitario Vocacional de Ciencias Exactas" (IPVCE)Maximo Gomez Baez es:Instituto Preuniversitario Vocacional de Ciencias Exactas - or, in English, Vocational Pre-University Institute of Exact Sciences Maximo Gomez Baez- is the largest of its kind in the province of Camagüey.

To be admitted into the IPVCE, students must take an entrance exam after completing the preparation of the Basic Secondary Education (7th to 9th grade). During the following 3 years they receive intensive preparation in order to gain acceptance to College.

The size of the institution qualifies it as a "learning city".

The students, during the three years period (10th to 12th grade), are influenced by bonds of brotherhood and learning that last a lifetime.

This center is homologous to others existing in the rest of the country's provinces. Students certainly form bonds of friendship that endure for a lifetime. However, on the downside, family bonds could be broken and "traditional" moral attitudes suffer as teenagers spend weeks away from their family.

In Camagüey City, there are other high schools, as well as schools for athletes ( ESPA, and EIDE ), for artists ( The School of Art ), and the Military High School "Camilo Cienfuegos" ( also known as "Camilitos", in honor of Camilo Cienfuegos, hero of the Cuban Revolution ).

The University of Camagüey, is located in the city, with engineering and basic and humanitarian sciences programs. There are separate university colleges for Medical education (Carlos J Finlay UNiversity of Medical Science) and Pedagogical Science.

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  Nuestra Señora de la Soledad Church

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  San Francisco Church and Cándido González Stadium

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  Puerto del Príncipe being sacked in 1668

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  "Guarandinga" (horse cart).

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  Minas,Camaguey province.

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  Ignacio Agramonte Square

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  Camagueys Baseball Stadium

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  A classic car in Camaguey

External links

• Camagüey, Cuba: Essays, monographs, legends, poems, images
• Madison-Camagüey Sister City Association
• Links to sites offering Casa Particular in Camaguey
• Camaguey City Map
• Historic Centre of Camagüey by UNESCO
• Camagüey Pays Homage to Maceo and Che June 15, 2009
• Medicine & Health Anniversaries related to Camaguey by Camagüeyanos
• The most important Camaguey Beach