By Luz María Martínez

Fear of corsairs and pirates justified the decision to move the community composed of 18 families up inland in Remedios, the eighth villa that Spaniards had founded in Cuba. Over the years the spot was renamed as Gloriosa Santa Clara.

Under a leafy tamarind tree nationals joined Spaniards who, despite the hot morning of July 15, 1689, conducted in Loma del Carmen the Christian mass in order to officially found the Villa-to be community.

It was baptized as Los Dos Cayos, but later was named after Pueblo Nuevo de Antón Díaz and definitely is known as Gloriosa Santa Clara.

Shortly before its foundation, the community lived from a diversified economy based mainly on cattle raising and farming.

Regarding trading the locality was considerably benefited with the arrival and stay for a long period of a whole military unit that at most changed the life in town.

But as change and move are essential elements of vitality, from a small locality Remedios turned into an area of about 40 km2, 210 000 inhabitants that have joined effort to develop its economy, public services and industries as well as scientific institutions, biotechnology and health sector.

With the passage of time, on the other hand, Remedios has increased the number of invaluable traces (dated from 317 years ago until the Plaza takeover by Cuban rebels headed by the great guerrilla-fighter Commander Ernesto Che Guevara) left in legacy to future generations and of which all pride of.

Source: CubaSi