Arcos de Canasí is a small town in the east of the La Habana Province

La Habana Province

Havana Province was one of the provinces of Cuba, prior to being divided into two new provinces of Artemisa and Mayabeque on January 1, 2011. It had 711,066 people in the 2002 census. The largest city was Artemisa .-Geography:...

 of Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

. Starting from 2011, it belongs to the new-formed Mayabeque Province

Mayabeque Province

Mayabeque Province is one of two new provinces in Cuba, which creation was approved by the Cuban National Assembly by splitting former La Habana province....

History

The town was founded in 1738 at the mouths of the Rio Canasi. Due to frequent flooding, the town was moved to higher ground in 1808, on the actual location.

It was its own municipality (administering an area of 125 square kilometres (48.3 sq mi)) of the Matanzas Province

Matanzas Province

Matanzas is one of the provinces of Cuba. Major towns in the province include Cárdenas, Colón, Jovellanos and the capital of the same name, Matanzas...

 until 1976, when its territories were re-distributed to the Santa Cruz del Norte municipality of the La Habana Province

La Habana Province

Havana Province was one of the provinces of Cuba, prior to being divided into two new provinces of Artemisa and Mayabeque on January 1, 2011. It had 711,066 people in the 2002 census. The largest city was Artemisa .-Geography:...

. With the split of the La Habana Province in 2010, this municipality belongs currently to Mayabeque Province

Mayabeque Province

Mayabeque Province is one of two new provinces in Cuba, which creation was approved by the Cuban National Assembly by splitting former La Habana province....

.

The town's economy is mainly agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

. Farmers offering cheese and fruit on the side of the Via Blanca highway

Via Blanca (Cuba)

Via Blanca is a highway in northern Cuba, connecting the capital city of Havana and the city of Matanzas. A second section extends eastwards from Matanzas to the tourist town of Varadero.It is mostly a four lane highway, with some divided sections...

 are an every day sight.

Intense oil

Petroleum

Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...

 exploatation is active on the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

coast just north of the town.