Mayabeque province, one of Cuba´s 15 provinces, was created on August 1, 2010, when the People´s Power National Assembly endorsed the reform of Law No. 1304 of 1976 about the "Administrative Political Division", thus approving the creation of Mayabeque province by dividing the former province of Havana. The name of the region comes from the Mayabeque river and beach on the south coast. The capital of Mayabeque province is the town of San José de las Lajas.

Mayabeque province is Cuba´s smallest province, with the exception of the city of Havana, and has the smallest population in the country. Therefore, San José de las Lajas is the capital of Cuba´s smallest province, which limits with Matanzas (east), the Gulf of Batabanó (south), the Straits of Florida and the province of Havana (north) and Artemisa province (west).

Jibacoa Beach on the north coast is the main tourist attraction in the province, with a typical dark blue marine landscape (the Gulf Stream) and coastal rocky hills where several hotels and camping sites have been built on the eastern Havana beaches (Las Caletas, La Laguna, Peñas Blancas, Puerto Escondido, etc.).

Another major attraction is the Vía Blanca road, which runs parallel to the north coast and where the Bacunayagua Bridge Lookout, the longest and highest bridge in Cuba is located. The bridge is considered one of Cuba´s seven wonders of Civil Engineering. It is 314 meters long, 16 meters wide and 110 meters high. Other natural attractions are the hills of the so-called Escaleras de Jaruco, where there is a hotel and a camping site.

The region boasts rich cultural traditions of Afro-Cuban origin, mainly in the cities of Güines (the real capital of the province) and Bejucal. The so-called Charangas de Bejucal are among the deepest rooted traditional festivities in Cuba, along with the Parrandas of Remedios and the Carnivals of Santiago de Cuba. Two teams compete in the Charangas, which are held in late December. They are "Ceiba de Plata", which is identified with the color blue and the symbol is a scorpion, and "La Espina de Oro", which is identified with the color red and the symbol is a rooster. Each team builds typical floats, which contrary to other festivities, they are not designed to move, and create an original show with beautiful dancers accompanied by the famous "Tambores de Bejucal". The traditional scenario of the Charangas is the Juan Delgado Square.