| Camagüey | |
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| — Municipality — | |
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| Coordinates: 21°23′2″N 77°54′27″W / 21.38389°N 77.9075°W | |
| Country |  Cuba |
| Province | Camagüey |
| Area [1] | |
| - Total | 1,106 km2 (427 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 95 m (312 ft) |
| Population (2004)[2] | |
| - Total | 324,921 |
| - Density | 293.8/km2 (760.9/sq mi) |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| Area code(s) | +53-322 |
| Historic Centre of Camagüey* | |
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| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
| State Party | 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. |
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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.
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Culture
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 literally 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.
The main secondary education institutions are the University of Camagüey & the Instituto Pedagógico de Camagüey.
Demographics
In 2004, the municipality of Camagüey had a population of 324,921.[2] With a total area of 1,106 km2 (427.0 sq mi),[1] it has a population density of 293.8 /km2 (760.9/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 in 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.
Camagüey is also the hometown of volleyball player Mireya Luis Gertrudis gomes de avellanada (poet) Carlos j Finlay (doctor),Silvestre de Balboa (1563-1649) Salvador Cisneros Betancourt
José Olallo Valdés worked there, and was beatified in the city on November 29, 2008.
Infrastructure
- 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 or leaving to the Beach of Santa Lucía do so through the airport.
Education
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This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this section if you can. (March 2008) |
Although it is not the only grammar school in the City, the Preuniversitario, sometimes referred to as "vocational school" but formally known as "Instituto Pre-universitario Vocacional de Ciencias Exactas" (IPVCE)Maximo Gomez Baez[1] - 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 for the next test of entry to the University.
The center is so extensive that it receives the category of city school.
Their students, during a period of three years (10th to 12th grade), are influenced not only in academics but rather create bonds of brotherhood that last for their whole lifetime.
This center is homologous to others existing in the rest of the country's provinces, and certainly forms bonds of friendship that endures for a lifetime, but on the other hand, separate the formation of a teenager in the family.
In Camagüey (city), for example there are very few possibilities of making high school from externally. With the exception of schools for athletes (such as ESPA, and EIDE) and The School of Art, and the Military School (better known as Camilitos) the only other option is the IPVCE or pre-university in Sierra de Cubitas (over 100 km from the city), located in the countryside, in which students must perform agricultural work such as collecting oranges or potatoes.
The University of Camagüey, the province's post-secondary education institution, is located in the city.
Photo gallery
 Nuestra Señora de la Soledad Church |
 San Francisco Church and Cándido González Stadium |
 Puerto del Príncipe being sacked in 1668 |
 "Guarandinga" (horse cart). |
 Minas,Camaguey province. |
 Ignacio Agramonte Square |
References
- ^ a b Statoids. "Municipios of Cuba". http://www.statoids.com/ycu.html. Retrieved 2007-10-05.
- ^ a b Atenas.cu (2004). "2004 Population trends, by Province and Municipality". http://www.atenas.inf.cu/todo/Estadisticas/TABLA%20No_3balance.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-05. (Spanish)
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
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