This region was named Nueva Filipinas (New Philippines) about half of the decade of 1770 and it was not until 1778 that the region acquired its definitive name.
The economical development of this region was mostly based on the tobacco crops. That is the reason why the population from the westernmost region of the province was the wealthiest. According to chronicler Miró Argenter, in the region of Vuelta Abajo when the insurrectionist forces, led by General Antonio Maceo, arrived from the east in 1895, the mostly wealthy inhabitants rushed to form a cavalry regiment with armed people and went before the presence of the general to be under his command. They were crucial in attaining the last triumphs of the Invasion heading for Mantua, Pinar del Río's westernmost region. In just three months the Invasion had achieved its objectives.
Along the last war for national independence, Pinar del Río played an active role. On November 30, 1956, fifty patriots of the region rose in arms to support the disembark of Granma Yacht in the distant southeastern coast.
The assassination of teenager patriots Sergio and Luis Saíz Montes de Oca by soldiers of the Batista tyranny deeply moved the people of the zone and caused an increase on clandestine struggle in the city. Eventually, owing to the intellectual and literary vocation of the murdered youngsters, the foundation Hermanos Saíz (Saíz brothers) was founded to promote and gather young exponents of art along the country.
