Where old meets new
A FIRST TRIP TO CUBA MIXES HISTORY WITH SIGNS OF IMMINENT CHANGE
Just weeks after Cuba’s former president Fidel Castro was laid to rest on Dec. 3, 2016, I found myself on the largest island in the Greater Antilles walking the streets of former colonial sugar towns and plantations, the same places the seeds of revolution were germinated, and joining pilgrims in Santa Clara, the city where the revolution was won and where Fidel’s ashes were brought to spend a night with those of his old friend Che Guevara. This is my first trip to the nation, whose story I’ve only read in the media and history books.
In most urban areas, scaffolding and fencing wrap l ong- neglected colonial buildings that will soon be home to restaurants and hotels, signs of the “entrepreneurial” growth slowly budding under Raul Castro’s government, and reported in U. S. media in the past few years. Another sign of coming change is the flocking of young Cubans to parks and squares of every town we pass through. Eager to keep up with a world constantly changing, they are now free to connect to the global community if they can afford an hour of WiFi access for CUC$2.50 (C$3.30).
Our post- Fidel itinerary took us to three of Cuba’s 14 provinces – Cienfuegos, Sancti Spíritus and Villa Clara – situated between the Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean in central Cuba. This week, we’ ll focus on Cienfeugos, and visit Sancti Spíritus and Villa Clara next.
Founded by the French in 1819, the southern port city of Cienfuegos is dubbed the “pearl of the south” for its location on Jagua Bay. The urban historic centre of the provincial capital, a marvel of early 19th century urban planning, had the good fortune to survive bombings unleashed by Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1957, and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2005.
In the harsh morning light from La Union hotel’s rooftop bar, through the lens of my camera, the impact of years of conflict and neglect come into sharp focus. Yet beauty is often in the details, which becomes clear later, as we stroll the boulevard. Our guide points out such details as the outline of the royal palm, Cuba’s national tree, fashioned into wrought iron railings and emblazoned in bejeweled stained glass windows, and a life-sized bronze statue of l ocal musician Benny Moré, by Cuban artist José Villa Soberón, which stands witness to the last century.
Big band singer Moré and his Banda Gigante gained fame across South America, the Caribbean and in the U.S. in the 1950s.
At the heart of Cienfuegos, a statue of writer, poet and independence hero Jose Martí, so admired by Fidel Castro that he arranged to be buried next to the 24-metrehigh mausoleum containing his ashes, stands tall in the centre of the park named in his honour.
At the centre of the circular park, a granite compass marks the city’s beginning. Nearby, the Tomas Terry Theatre, built in 1889, carries visitors back to an age when anyone who was anyone had a box at the theatre. Carrara marble, hand-carved Cuban hardwoods, whimsical ceiling frescoes and posters of world- renowned artists who graced the stage have stood the test of time in this monument to Venezuelan sugar baron Tomas Terry.
Bathed in moonlight, the Placio de Valle, built by a sugar baron between 1913 and 1917, oozes charm. Reminiscent of Spanish-Moorish art with influences of Gothic, Romanesque, Baroque and Mudejar arts, the palace was set to become a casino in the 1950s, in the hands of a U. S. developer rumoured to have ties to mafia, a plan quashed by the revolution. Next door, the Jagua Hotel, part of earlier plans, was completed under Castro’s regime and it has hosted political leaders such as former East German leader Erich Honecker, Raul Castro and former Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez.
The palace is now a museum and an aspiring upscale restaurant specializing in seafood. My dinner entree of grilled shrimp and lobster served with rice and a salad of tomato, cucumber, canned green beans and slices of white onion – vinegar and oil on the side – was outshone by the stained glass transoms, vaulted ceilings, mahogany woodwork and sweeping Carrara marble staircase.
During the day, take in the breathtaking view of the harbour from its rooftop bar, reached by an ornate, wrought- iron spiral staircase.
IN MOST URBAN AREAS, SCAFFOLDING AND FENCING WRAP LONG-NEGLECTED COLONIAL BUILDINGS THAT WILL SOON BE HOME TO RESTAURANTS AND HOTELS