Matanzas

Matanzas is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-Cuban folklore, it's far placed at the northern shore of the island of Cuba, at the Bay of Matanzas, ninety kilometres east of the capital Havana and 32 kilometres west of the resort town of Varadero. Matanzas is known as the City of Bridges, for the seventeen bridges that pass the 3 rivers that traverse the town. For this motive it became known as the "Venice of Cuba." It became additionally called "La Atenas de Cuba" for its poets. Matanzas is referred to as the birthplace of the track and dance traditions danzon and rumba.

Matanzas became based in 1693 as San Carlos y San Severino de Matanzas. This observed a royal decree issued on September 25, 1690, which decreed that the bay and port of Matanzas be settled by way of 30 families from the Canary Islands. Matanzas changed into one of the areas that noticed in depth development of sugar plantations all through the colonial technology. Consequently, many African slaves were imported to assist the sugar enterprise, specially for the duration of the first half of the 19th century.