The name of Guardalavaca comes from two different sources; one from the pirate activities in the region; supposedly they kept their hauls on the beach (also named "vacas"). The other version, of more credibility, attributed the name to the voice that gave the natives when the marine thieves were getting closer as they were yelling "Guarda la vaca" (guard the cow; meaning hide the hauls).

The history of the region dates back to the day when Admiral Christopher Columbus first saw the Cuban land and said in a very poetic way: "this is the most beautiful land that human eyes have ever seen". He pronounced those words when he disembarked on the Holguin coast in 1492.

It is indeed in the surroundings of Guardalavaca that were found the most developed settlements of Cuban aboriginals. It is during the excavation of Chorro de Maita, that the largest aboriginal cemetery of the Caribbean was discovered. It is now a museum - located in the same premises as the excavations.

A few kilometers from Guardalavaca, Gibara was, during the first part of the Spanish colonization, the most important port on the northeastern coast; it justifies the development and splendor that reached the city.

The General of the Independence wars, Calixto Garcia was born in Holguin. He became one of the great leaders in the three campaigns for the liberation from the Spanish Regime. Also, in Biran, a few kilometers from the resort, was born the President of the State Council and of Ministries, the Commander-in-chief, Fidel Castro Ruz.