City of Camagüey. / Image: Facebook Camagüey  

Havana, February 2 (RHC)-- Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, through his Twitter account, today congratulated the people of Camagüey on the 509th anniversary of the founding of the central province

 "Congratulations to the justly proud inhabitants of the beautiful city of Camagüey, which has its origins in the Villa de Puerto Príncipe, founded on a day like today in 1514," the head of state said on the social network.

Also known as the City of the Tinajones, Camagüey was founded by Spanish conquistador Diego Velázquez, and was called at that time Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe.

The demarcation ranks first in extension among the provinces of the Caribbean nation and its historic center was declared National Monument since 1980 and Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) in 2008.

Recognized as the cradle of Cuban literature, for having been written here Espejo de Paciencia, by Silvestre de Balboa in 1608, Camagüey is also the land of Nicolás Guillén, National Poet.

Other illustrious figures such as Carlos J. Finlay (1833-1915), discoverer of the yellow fever transmitting agent, or the poet Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda (1814-1873), stand out in the list of those born in these lands.