Between myths and legends are weaved the history of this province and the foundation of its capital city, Santa Clara. Popular imagery and history itself join to determine the events that provoked that the town were transferred to its actual position. It is said that the people from Remedios were afraid of the raids of pirates and privateers, but popular superstition has created numberless legends around the event.
Churches and parks speak for themselves of the religious traditions of this people. The municipality of Remedios has been, through history, the one having the most deeply rooted traditions. They still annually celebrate their colorful "parrandas", parties counting on the participation of many people organized in two rival teams which compete in cultural manifestations of diverse origin and show the original synthesis that identifies Cuban nationality. The influence of those parrandas is such that the diverse attributes worn by the teams during the competition are represented in the Museo de las Parrandas Remedianas.
Another municipality where the parrandas have the importance and influence they have in Remedios, is Camajuaní: their "carrozas", large ornamented coaches participating in a parade, are famous due to the painstaking work of the people to build them.
The city of Santa Clara shows with pride the work of its benefactor, the Villa Clara patriot Marta Abreu de Estévez, to whom they owe, among other works, the railroad station and the theater La Caridad, a jewel of the cultural world of Santa Clara. In front of the Leoncio Vidal park, the Museo de Artes Decorativas, housed by an ancient house of a wealthy woman from the city, shows the legacy of the mansion and multiple objects from different epochs that she owned in life.
Several institutions from the province are proof of the cultural level of the region. The Vanguardia newspaper and CMHW radio station have been awarded many national prizes.
In recent years, the cultural development of Santa Clara has made it become a secondary host of the International Ballet Festival, the Latin-American Cinema Festival and other renowned artistic events. The publishing house of the province, Capiro, has been nationally praised, owing to its work in favor of culture.
The province of Villa Clara, place of birth of great figures like Alejandro García Caturla and Manuel Corona in the field of music, Zayda del Río, Lesvia Vent Dumois, Leopoldo Romañach y Wilfredo Lam in graphic artistic creation; Juan Marinello, Mario R. Alemán, Enrique Nuñez Rodríguez y Samuel Feijó in literature; counts also with the Museo de la Música in Remedios and Sagua la Grande, the Casa de la Ciudad, provincial institution that promotes annual events, art exhibits, and numberless cultural activities.
that the town were transferred to its actual position. It is said that the people from Remedios were afraid of the raids of pirates and privateers, but popular superstition has created numberless legends around the event.
The influence of those parrandas is such that the diverse attributes worn by the teams during the competition are represented in the Museo de las Parrandas Remedianas.
Clara has made it become a secondary host of the International Ballet Festival, the Latin-American Cinema Festival and other renowned artistic events. The publishing house of the province, Capiro, has been nationally praised, owing to its work in favor of culture.
