Santa Clara

Santa Clara

Santa Clara is the capital of the province of Villa Clara. The city is located in the central part of the province and Cuba. It was founded in 1689 by families from the coastal town of Remedios, who were fleeing the constant threat of pirates. The town lies on the site of the ancient Indian town of Cubanacán, which some believe Christopher Columbus had mistaken for the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan's headquarters. The settlement initially thrived on livestock and related industries, but by the mid-20th century the city was booming with sugar and tobacco. The last battle of the Cuban Revolution was fought in Santa Clara at the end of 1958. Two columns of guerrillas stormed the city, one led by Ernesto Che Guevara and the other by Camilo Cienfuegos. Guevara and the combined forces of Cienfuegos attacked Santa Clara on 31 December 1958, and by the afternoon the city was occupied. This victory by Castro's forces is considered the decisive moment of the Cuban Revolution, since Batista fled Cuba in less than 12 hours. In Santa Clara, there is a mausoleum in which the remains of Che Guevara and sixteen of his comrades-in-arms, killed during the Bolivian campaign in 1967, are kept. A reconstruction of Guevara's train derailment during the Battle of Santa Clara is also on display.