The Municipio of San José de las Lajas is one of the twenty six municipios in the province of Havana, Cuba. It is one of the municipios toward the center of the province. This municipio covers a surface of 219 square kilometers. To the north it borders with the Municipio of Guanabacoa; to the south with Melena del Sur; to the northeast Jaruco and to the southeast Güines; to the northwest Santa María del Rosario and to the southwest San Antonio de las Vegas.

Note: A “municipio” (plural: municipios) is the first political division of the provinces in Cuba. It is similar, in many ways, to the county or parish in which a state is divided in the United States.

Jurisdiction: The Municipio of San José de las Lajas was established January 1, 1879. In 1940 it was judicial circuit (partido judicial) and part of the fiscal district (distrito fiscal) of Güines.

On January 22, 1902, the municipios of Tapaste and Managua were annexed to San José de las Lajas. Later, on August 22, 1920, Managua was segregated from San José de las Lajas and annexed to San Antonio de las Vegas.

Population: The population of the Municipio of San José de las Lajas in 1953 was 18,952 persons.

According to the 1899 Census, the population for the municipios of Tapaste and Managua was 1,551 and 2,887 respectively. These figures are not included in the above table.

Barrios: The “barrios” (singular: barrio) are similar to the electoral districts in which a county is divided in the United Sates.

The barrios of San José de las Lajas in 1943 were: Chávez, Cotilla, Ganuza, Independencia Norte, Independencia Sur, Jamaica, Jaula, Portugalete, San Andrés, Santa Bárbara, and Tapaste.

Portugalete: This barrio is eleven kilometers from the municipio's seat of government. The town of Cuatro Caminos is in this barrio.

Cities, towns and places in this municipio: Aldama, Cuatro Caminos, Ganuza, Guanaga, Guayabal, Jamaica, La Chivería, La Comandancia, Morales, Moralitos, Rosafé, San José de las Lajas, Santa Bárbara, Siboney, Tapaste, and other.

Ganuza: This town was destroyed during the War of Independence, slowly rebuilt afterwards. It is located on the 36.8 kilometer of the Central Highway from Havana; also connected to Havana by train. On 2002 it had an estimated population of 455 people.

Jamaica: On 1838 a general store was established on the eastern side of the Camoa Hills next to the road from Havana to Güines (this road, on this section, later became the Central Highway of Cuba). As time went by some homes were constructed around the general store and by 1862 the small settlement had 42 residents and a school.

San José de las Lajas: Seat of government of the municipio. It is located on the 31.7 kilometer of the Central Highway from Havana; also connected to Havana by train. On 2002 it had an estimated population of 33,233 people.

Siboney: Town west of Tapaste. On 2002 it had an estimated population of 753 people.

Tapaste: Was seat of government of its own municipio from 1879 to 1902. Its roads lead to Cuatro Caminos, Jamaica (6 kilometers), San José de las Lajas (7 kilometers) and Jaruco (14 kilometers). On 2002 it had an estimated population of 3,650 people.