View source for Placetas

{{Infobox settlement
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|official_name          = Placetas
|other_name             = 
|native_name            = 
|nickname               = La Villa de los Laureles (Laurel City)
|settlement_type        = [[Municipalities of Cuba|Municipality]]
|motto                  = 
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|image_skyline          = File:Placetas.jpg
|image_caption          = [[José Martí Pioneer Organization|OPJM]] pioneers in town center
|image_flag             = 
|flag_size              = 
|image_seal             = 
|seal_size              = 
|image_shield           = Coat_of_Arms_of_Placetas.jpg
|shield_size            = 120x90px
|image_map              = Placetas (Cuban municipal map).png
|map_caption            = Placetas municipality (red) within <br/> Villa Clara Province (yellow) and Cuba
<!-- Location ------------------>
|subdivision_type       = Country
|subdivision_name       = [[Cuba]]
|subdivision_type1      = [[Provinces of Cuba|Province]]
|subdivision_name1      = [[Villa Clara Province|Villa Clara]]
|subdivision_type2      = 
|subdivision_name2      = 
|subdivision_type3      = 
|subdivision_name3      = 
|subdivision_type4      = 
|subdivision_name4      = 
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|government_footnotes   = 
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|leader_title           = 
|leader_name            = 
|leader_title1          = 
|leader_name1           = 
|leader_title2          = 
|leader_name2           = 
|leader_title3          = 
|leader_name3           = 
|leader_title4          = 
|leader_name4           = 
|established_title      = Established
|established_date       = 1861<ref name=guije/>
|established_title2     = Incorporated
|established_date2      = 1881 (town)
|established_title3     = &nbsp;
|established_date3      = 1925 (city)
<!-- Area    --------------------->
|area_magnitude         = 
|unit_pref              = 
|area_footnotes         = <ref name=statoids/>
|area_total_km2         = 601
|area_land_km2          = <!--See table @ Template:Infobox Settlement for details on automatic unit conversion-->
|area_water_km2         = 
|area_land_sq_mi        = 
|area_blank1_title      = 
|area_blank1_km2        = 
<!-- Population   ----------------------->
|population_as_of       = 2022
|population_footnotes   = <ref name=citypopulation/>
|population_note        = 
|population_total       = 65,379
|population_urban       = 19,894
|population_rural       = 45,485
|population_density_km2 = auto
<!-- General information  --------------->
|timezone               = [[Eastern Time Zone|EST]]
|utc_offset             = -5
|timezone_DST           = 
|utc_offset_DST         = 
|coordinates            = {{coord|22|18|57|N|79|39|20|W|region:CU|display=inline,title}}
|elevation_footnotes    = <!--for references: use <ref> </ref> tags-->
|elevation_m            = 205
<!-- Area/postal codes & others -------->
|postal_code_type       = 
|postal_code            = 
|area_code              = +53-428
|blank_name             = Highways
|blank_info             = [[Carretera Central (Cuba)|Carretera Central]]
|website                = 
|footnotes              = 
}} <!--Infobox ends-->
'''Placetas''' ({{IPA|es|plaˈsetas}}) is a city in the [[Villa Clara Province]] in the center of [[Cuba]]; before the change in the country's government in 1959 the province was called Las Villas. The town is also known as {{lang|es|La Villa de los Laureles}} because of its wild [[Lauraceae|laurel]] trees. Placetas is also a {{lang|es|[[municipio]]}}, one of 13 subdivisions of the Villa Clara Province.  Cuba's geographical center, Guaracabulla, is located in this municipality.

==History==
Placetas was founded on September 9, 1861 mainly due to the [[sugar]] production industry. Nowadays, the main produce of the area is [[tobacco]]. The main contribution to its foundation came from Jose Martinez-Fortun y Erles, a [[Spain|Spanish]] Marques and former colonel in the Spanish Army. The town is located on the [[Carretera Central (Cuba)|Carretera Central]] road, which cuts through the town.  The town's position on this road has allowed it to serve as a stop for many travellers. Placetas has grown considerably over the years, being declared a [[town]] in 1881 and a [[city]] in 1925. In 1879 it was established as its own municipality.<ref name=guije/> Placetas is also known by the great carnavals which take place in July and Christmas and New Year's Eve.

Until the 1977 administrative reform, Placetas was divided into the following [[barrio]]s: Cabecera (Placetas town proper), [[Guaracabulla]] (or Guaracabuya), Hernando, Nazareno, San Andres, Sitio Potrero and Tibisial.<ref name=guije>{{Cite web|url=http://www.guije.com/pueblo/municipios/vplacetas/index.htm|title=Placetas|author=Guije.com|accessdate=2007-10-04|language=es}}</ref> Annual celebrations displaying the local pride of each barrio used to take place until the 1990s, when the government stopped them.

==Geography==
Placetas lies southwest of its province, next to the borders with the one of [[Sancti Spíritus Province|Sancti Spíritus]]. Nearest towns include [[Zulueta (Remedios)|Zulueta]] (to the north), [[Remedios, Cuba|Remedios]] (to the northeast), [[Cabaiguán]] and [[Fomento]] (to the east), and [[Santa Clara, Cuba|Santa Clara]] and [[Camajuaní]] (to the west). The springs of [[Zaza River]], that runs from the outskirts of Placetas to the sea, are located near the town. The river Zaza is currently an environmental preservation area.

The municipality borders with [[Manicaragua]], [[Santa Clara, Cuba|Santa Clara]], [[Camajuaní]], [[Remedios, Cuba|Remedios]], [[Cabaiguán]] and [[Fomento]]. Its territory includes the villages of [[Báez]], Benito Juárez, Carbó Serviá, [[Falcón (Placetas)|Falcón]], Falero, [[Guaracabulla]], Hermanos Ameijeiras, Manzanares, Máximo, Miller, Nazareno, Oliver and Suazo.<ref>{{OSM|r|5884797|Placetas}}</ref>

==Demographics==
In 2022, the municipality of Placetas had a population of 65,379.<ref name="citypopulation">{{Cite web |title=Cuba: Administrative Division (Provinces and Municipalities) - Population Statistics, Charts and Map |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/cuba/admin/ |access-date=2024-02-03 |website=www.citypopulation.de}}</ref> With a total area of {{convert|601|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}},<ref name=statoids>{{Cite web|url=http://www.statoids.com/ycu.html|title=Municipios of Cuba|author=Statoids|date=July 2003| accessdate=2007-10-09}}</ref> it has a population density of {{convert|119.5|/km2|/sqmi|abbr=on}}. The city proper has a population of 42,000.

==Economy==
{{Unreferenced section|date=August 2016}}The area is primarily a [[sugar]] producing region, with three "centrales" sugar producing factories. Placetas also has major [[Rail transport|railroad]] industries that operate from its area. Many Placetenos have emigrated to other countries and there are around 2300 people from Placetas residing in the United States, most of them in [[Miami]]. This contributes to the high amount of comunitarios that travel to Placetas every month from the United States. Nowadays the town also houses many aluminum factories and is known around Cuba as the capital of aluminum because of the export business. One of the main streets in Placetas is the Primera del Oeste street, which is the corner where Cuba's central road and the Parque Casallas meet and houses the popular Rumbos, one of the many touristic places recently opened. This street also houses the underground commerce and business of the town. It is referred to by Placetenos as La Calle 8 de Placetas, in reference to 8th St. in Miami. All sugar mills have closed down, there is no industry and the supermarkets are empty

==Architecture==
The central [[Catholic]] [[Church (building)|church]] in the town is called San Atanasio de Placetas, after the town's patron saint. As of 1996, it had one [[library]], a central [[post office]], three middle-high [[school]]s (13 de Marzo, Rodolfo Leon Perlacia and Julio Antonio Mella), one [[police station]] and many recreational areas. Most of the downtown structures were built before the 1959 dictatorship of [[Fidel Castro]], and little of the town has been renovated.

==Notable people==
{{see also category|People from Placetas}}
*[[Miguel Díaz-Canel]] (b. 1960), President of Cuba since 2018.
*[[Pepin Garcia]] (b. 1950), Cuban-American businessman
*[[Emilio Mola]] (1887-1937), Spanish-born general and instigator of the [[Spanish Civil War]]
* [[La Chelito]] (1885–1959), Cuban-born Spanish [[cuplé]] singer from the early 20th-century
* Alberto Rojas Espinoza (1868-1912), colonel of Cuban Liberation Army during Cuba's 1895 War of Independence from Spain and major of the municipality in 1901 and 1912.

==See also==
*[[Municipalities of Cuba]]
*[[List of cities in Cuba]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*Encyclopædia Britannica. [http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-462609/Placetas Placetas]

{{Adjacent communities
 | Centre = Placetas
 | N  = [[Camajuaní]]
 | NE = [[Remedios, Cuba|Remedios]]
 | E  = [[Cabaiguán]] ([[Sancti Spíritus Province|Sancti Spíritus]])
 | S  = [[Fomento]] ([[Sancti Spíritus Province|Sancti Spíritus]])
 | SW = [[Manicaragua]]
 | W  = [[Santa Clara, Cuba|Santa Clara]]
}}
{{Municipalities in Villa Clara}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Placetas| ]]
[[Category:Cities in Cuba]]
[[Category:Populated places in Villa Clara Province]]
[[Category:1861 establishments in North America]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1861]]
[[Category:1861 establishments in the Spanish Empire]]