The other 37 came from seven other families and included a priest and governor, all originating in the coastal city of San Juan de los Remedios.

After the expropriation by the mayor and city council, religious officials complained and the court awarded 77,850 pesos in fines as a settlement to the church.

Soon after the city was founded, a theater, a chamber of commerce, meeting clubs, public libraries, and dance halls were erected as well.

Positioned nearly in the center of the country, the city became a popular travelers' stop and a prominent transport hub; these conditions supported its steady growth.

Two well-known figures are associated with Santa Clara: Marta Abreu de Estévez, a beloved native daughter known as "the Benefactress of the City", and Ernesto Che Guevara, a political activist and leader of the Cuban Revolution.

Guevara is buried here, where he waged the final battle of the revolution that toppled the Fulgencio Batista government in 1958.

Abreu is notable for the numerous projects she and her family promoted through their philanthropy, intended to enhance the life of the citizens of Santa Clara.

Two guerrilla columns attacked the city; one was led by Ernesto Che Guevara and the other by Camilo Cienfuegos.

Using a bulldozer, Guevara's soldiers destroyed railroad tracks and derailed a train full of troops and supplies sent by Batista.

On 31 December 1958, the combined forces of Guevara and Cienfuegos (along with other revolutionaries under William Alexander Morgan) attacked Santa Clara.

This victory for Castro's troops is seen as the decisive moment in the Cuban Revolution, as Batista fled Cuba less than 12 hours later.

Bordering the park is the Santa Clara Libre (formerly the Santa Clara Hilton), Gran Hotel, Teatro La Caridad (a National Monument of Cuba[8]), Plaza del Mercado Central, the former city hall, and the Colonia Española de Santa Clara center of dance, exhibiting the most attractive and unique traditional customs of hinterland Cuba.

Another lost custom is for locals to set up a platform and perform improvisations with their guitars on late Sunday afternoons.

Santa Clara is home to a mausoleum that houses the remains of Che Guevara and sixteen of his fellow combatants killed in 1967 during the Bolivia campaign.

Other local landmarks include: Santa Clara is crossed by the Carretera Central highway (CC) and Autopista A1 motorway.

The Santa Clara beltway connects the city with other roads going to the other municipalities in the province, these include: Santa Clara is home to the University "Marta Abreu" of Las Villas (Spanish: Universidad Central "Marta Abreu" de Las Villas (UCLV)), which is composed of a number of faculties: The university offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees and boasts the graduation of 35,000 engineers, licensees, architects, medics, and veterinarians, of which 1,000 are foreigners from 47 countries.

The university collaborates with institutions from Germany, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Spain, Peru, Mexico, and Venezuela.