Located northeast of Villa Clara and bordering Sancti Spíritus, this town is famous for the fervor with which its inhabitants celebrate the parrandas, traditional popular festivities that date back to the early nineteenth century and bring together enthusiasts from all over the central territory of the country. Remedios is also home to the Locomotive Park, a support of great growth in the island's economy due to the importance of this means of transporting sugar cane and mining merchandise, especially in the central region.

Located in the northern-central region of the island, the settlement of San Juan de los Remedios (Saint John of the Remedies) appeared near the sea in the first decades of the 16th century and it was known as Santa Cruz de la Sabana or de Vasco Porcallo to honour its founder. By the mid16th century, when the town council was constituted, the village was recognised as Cuba’s eighth settlement, which was relocated and rebuilt inland in its present-day location after the plundering and the destruction caused by a pirate attack in 1578.

With the introduction of sugar cane and tobacco at the end of the 17th century and beginning of the 18th century in the area, its initial economy based on subsistence farming and cattle raising was left behind. By the fourth decade of the 19th century, the boom of the sugar industry pushed the creation of sugar factories and the construction of infrastructure works, especially railway tracks.

The precarious constructions of wood, mud and thatched leaves around a central square and neighbouring blocks gave way to a greater urban development full of domestic, religious and public constructions, among which the Main Parish Church of Saint John the Baptist stands out. With the reconstruction of the Chapel of the Good Journey at the end of the 18th century, there were two churches on the same square, a distinctive element of this Cuban colonial town.  

The 19th century brought buildings of greater importance architecturally and larger dimensions, as other elements such as arcades, roofs, and wide, elegant, bright inner spaces were incorporated. At the same time, ornamental motifs were reduced, what contributed to the simplification of the urban image, and the use of materials such as wood, bricks and cast iron for the making of doors, roofs, eaves, capitals and porticos was extended. From that moment on, multicoloured stained glasses and lamp holders became a typical feature of the town.

Remedios also treasures the famous Parrandas (a sort of colourful carnival), one of the three national festivities in Cuba that have been Cultural Heritage of the Nation since 2013. This festivity of religious origin divides amicably the town into two teams competing for the acknowledgement of their inventiveness, creativity and imagination during an evening and a night full of music, fireworks and popular euphoria.

Remedios’ historic centre preserves until now architectural symbols of great importance as a testimony of a flourishing colonial village, a vast cultural imprint and popular traditions that have made it deserve the title of National Monument since 1980..