County of village: Sandoval County
Location of village: North-Central in county or border with ; crossroads of US-550 & NM-126
County is NW section of state
City hall location: 16 E Cordova Ave, Cuba
Elevation: 6,906 ft (2,105 m)
Population: 734 (2013)
OSHM marker north of town on US-550:
CUBA
In 1769, Governor Pedro Fermin de Mendinueta made the San Joaquin del Nacimiento land grants to 35 pioneering families who had settled the headwaters of the Rio Puerco in 1766. The community was later abandoned, owing to raids by frontier Indian tribes, but was resettled in the late 1870's. Originally known as Nacimiento or La Laguna, it was renamed Cuba when the post office was established in 1887.
"The tiny village of Cuba is situated at the foothills of the Nacimiento Mountains in northwestern New Mexico. It can be considered an oasis for travelers commuting between Albuquerque and Farmington, or vice versa. As the Highway goes, Cuba is 85 miles to the northwest of Albuquerque and 100 miles to the southeast of Farmington, NM.
"This area of New Mexico was first settled in the 1760s by Spanish settlers traveling up along the Rio Puerco valley. Due to the stark remoteness of the area, most of the settlers maintained little contact with the outside world. The villagers of Cuba did not truly start to open up until around the end of World War II, and then with the official founding of a US Post Office.
"Until that time, the village was referred to as ‘Nacimiento’, as the Catholic Church then established was dedicated to the Nativity of our Blessed Mother – ‘Naciemiento de la Virgin Santisima’. The foothills of some nearby mountains are also called by this name. When the United States Government established the Post Office in this territory the Post Office was called Cuba, and eventually the town name evolved." ~ Voice of the Southwest
"In Spanish, the word "Cuba" means a tank or basin or keg. It probably refers to the basin-shaped contour of the valley Cuba sits in.
"Cuba was originally name Laguna. The earliest settlers were attracted to a profusion of small lakes and swamps that once covered what is now downtown Cuba. The Rio Puerco River and other little streams came down out of the Nacimiento Mountains to the east and fed into the lakes and ponds. The land was as close to lush as you can get in this dry part of New Mexico.
"The lakes eventually were drained by early Spanish settlers who arrived here in about 1766. The settlers were given a tract of land from the King of Spain known as the San Joaquin del Nacimiento Grant. Many little communities sprang up all along the Rio Puerco. Most of them are no longer in existence. Present day Cuba, in this location, dates from about 1879.
"The mountains you see to the east of Cuba are called the Nacimientos and refers, probably, to the mountains as the birth place of all the water in the area.
"Cuba has a rich, multi-cultural history! It was the home of Anasazi and Gallina Indian cultures. There is today a large Navajo population living to the west, Apaches to the north, and Zia and Jemez Pueblo Indians to the south.
"The history of Cuba is closely tied to the land. Sheep, goats and cattle are raised here. Gold, silver, copper, coal and fertilizer have been mined in the area. Wheat, hay, fruits and pinon are harvested.
"Perhaps Cuba's most notorious character was Hesavel Sanbrano, who arrived in Cuba, so he told everybody, after riding with Pancho Villa, but in truth might have been chased by lawmen from other parts of the territory. Somehow, he became the local Sheriff. He alledgedly killed an entire family in pursuit of one bad man. Locals called him "El Brujo," the witch, because, folks said, he could be in two places at once.
"Cuba was, and is today, a source of goods, services, school and health care for the surrounding communities." ~ Cuba Area Visitor Guide