ARTEMISA PROVINCE

Artemisa, together with Mayabeque, is the most recently established province in Cuba. Artemis has, since 2011, eight municipalities in the former province of Havana, and three previously included in the territory of Pinar del Río. It also has a small population of just over half a million inhabitants.

60% of its land is devoted to agriculture, which represents the main economic activity in the region, both for its level of development, such as the natural conditions of its plains and fertile soils. For this reason, are not uncommon landscape huts, farms, uniforms planted sugar cane, banana or tomato, where the peasants work the red earth of the region with a fascinating care.

The first settlements were established in its own territory and those in Alquízar Guanajay, although the arrival of the Spanish colonizers, most of its current territory formed the Chiefdom Marien, which included several important aboriginal settlements. From the geographical point of view, Artemis offers landscapes of unimpeachable beauty and importance to the floristic diversity of western Cuba as it includes a portion of the rich ecosystem of the Sierra del Rosario, and a considerable part of the Havana-Matanzas Plain.




One of the most important sites in the province is Las Terrazas, a unique ecological community located in a stunning natural environment.




At some point in the Cuban History, Cuba owned many coffee plantations, these coffee plantations of Artemis were founded precisely by French immigrants.
All of these plantations met the same fate and only a few remained steady, for example, this one in Artemis, the Angerona Cafetal. During the XVIII century, this was a typical coffee plantation, a century in which the economy of the island was active and thriving.
It learned to hold the largest population of slaves in the west of the island, and it does not lack that love story that has known how to move to the letters of the Cuban literature.

According to the legend, the owner of the coffee plantation, Cornelio Sauchay, had a love affair with the Haitian Ursula Lambet, no one knows to what extent it is certain. Legend says that he built the coffee plantation for her and that they lived together until his death.

The monoculture of sugar would later end with the coffee plantations and she, as a widow, would end up losing everything.
The only certainty here is that the ruins of the coffee plantation, which was once the second most important coffee plantation of the island, are open to visit

Multiple studies of local artists in Las Terrazas add to the strong cultural identity of the province, which also includes the unique Humor Museum and the International Move and Television School of  San Antonio de Los Banos, founded by renowned Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez, Argentine filmmaker Fernando Birri, and the most celebrated orator and politician of Cuba, Fidel Castro.

This province can certainly represent the indulgences of the visitor in many ways, not only for its beautiful natural scenery, but also by the always rewarding enjoy your decelerating pace, typical of the rural regions of Cuba. "Artemisa" is a relatively new name for deep and authentic meaning of the Cuban countryside.

Soroa

Soroa, well known as Cuba's Rainbow, is 70 kilometers west of the capital of Cuba. It is a place of stunning natural beauty, with a cascade of 22 meters high that invites visitors to take a refreshing dip at any time of year.
The region has a lush unspoiled setting, perfect for cycling and hiking, with walks along the banks of the river springs and unique baths in the "Poza del Amor" (Pond of Love).




A big attraction of Soroa are the next botanical gardens containing an excellent orchid garden, home to more than 700 different types of orchids.
The creation of the garden dates back to 1943 by a lawyer from the Canary Islands named Tomas Felipe Camacho, a member of the Cuban Orchid Society affiliated with the American Orchid Society and the Eastern Orchid Congress. This personality was well known for its extensive collection of orchids which consisted of about 18 000 copies, including nearly all known Dendrobiums, both species and hybrids.
And so, it gathered a large collection of these plants from Asia and the Americas.
In the last years of the twentieth century, it has become a center of experimentation that is administered by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment of Cuba.

San Antonio de los Baños

San Antonio de los Baños, 35 km southeast of Havana, is a town that has earned the top place in the Cuban cultural panorama. His identity, deeply marked by the Ariguanabo River, which is born and dies in the vicinity, is one of the main attractions of this area which, with its 49,689 inhabitants, enthusiastically welcomes visitors.

Artistic and literary, and especially the humor, culture are the distinguishing factors of San Antonio, always ready to capture his artistic vein in all the festivities and events that are often held there, among which the International Biennial of Humor. Sons of this people are great figures of the highest order in the culture of Cuba, among which is essential to mention the giant of the Nueva Trova, Silvio Rodriguez.




In a house dating from 1830, which was owned by the Marquis de Campo Florido, visitors can enjoy one of the main attractions of the town: The Museum of Humor. Funds for this have more than 10,000 works of about 40 countries, reflecting moments summit of political humor, personal caricature, cartoon and costumbrista humor.






In its vicinity is always interesting the International Move and Television School, founded in 1986 by famed Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez, poet and Argentine filmmaker Fernando Birri and other renowned personalities. Since its inception, thousands of professionals and students from over 50 countries have turned this school into an institution of its kind with more prestige in the continent.





Among the lodging options that the visitor has, for accommodation, the main one is the Hotel Las Yagrumas, located 3km north of San Antonio, where, at the foot of Ariguanabo river, can enjoy tranquility and rest at a safe distance the moved and joyful atmosphere of this town.