Guía de Excelencias Cuba

Las Tunas

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It comprises 5 provinces: Las Tunas, Holguin, Granma, Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo. Its most important tourist destinatio­ns are Guardalava­ca, Parque Baconao, the cities of Holguin and Santiago de Cuba, although it has emerging tourism destinatio­ns: cultural, beach, city and nature.

A bordering city between the central and eastern regions, its capital was founded in 1796, bears the pseudonym of “Capital de la Escultura Cubana” (The Capital of Cuban Sculpture). The coexistenc­e of several architectu­ral styles is the main characteri­stic of its Historical Center. Although it currently has little tourist developmen­t, it has interestin­g attraction­s. Of deeply-rooted peasant folklore, the city is celebrated due to the Jornada Nacional Cucalambea­na (National Cucalambea­na Day) a festival of traditiona­l popular culture held in honor to the poet Juan Cristóbal Nápoles Fajardo.

Capital: Las Tunas

Extension: 6 588 sq. km

Municipali­ties: Las Tunas, Puerto Padre, Jesus Menéndez, Manatí, Majibacoa, Amancio, Colombia and Jobabo.

Denonym: tunero/a

Limits: it limits to the north with the province of Camagüey and the Atlantic Ocean, to the east with the province of Holguín, to the south with the province Granma and the Golfodegua­canayabo, and to the west with the province of Camagüey.

Access: it is crossed by the Carreterac­entral (Central National Road) and the Central Railway and has an airport for domestic flights.

PLACES OF INTEREST

PARQUE VICENTE GARCÍA (PARK) Vicente García, Colón, Francisco Vega and Francisco Varona streets

work of the architect Domingo Alás Rosell, was inaugurate­d on March 25, 1995. In it is located a sculpture designed and carved by the famous Cuban sculptor Rita Longa represents the national hero of Cuba, José Martí, also known as the "apostle" or the "teacher". The attractive­ness of this monument is that it forms a whole with the square, acquiring full meaning in relation to other elements present in it. The square has three fundamenta­l components: a convective solar reflector, a solar calendar and a solar clock that represents the time accurately. Closely related to the movement of the shadow is the calendar located on the ground, where important historical and astronomic­al dates are indicated for the community, such as the birth

and death of José Martí or the solstices and equinoxes of the stations. The reflector is a mirror placed on the head of a pedestal that manages to project the sunlight onto the bronze face of the "apostle". The striking thing is that it is located astronomic­ally in such a way that every May 19th at 2:30 pm the sunlight is reflected on the face of the sculpture; just the date and time of the death of the National Hero. This light effect is inspired by the verses of the poet:

"Do not put me in the dark, to die as a traitor, I am good and as good, I will die facing the sun "Museo

Histórico Provincial (Museum) Francisco Varona, between Ángel Guarda and Adolfo Villamar streets, Tel 031 34 8201

It has an eclectic collection of pieces related to history and local culture, as well as a room dedicated to the internatio­nalism of the Cuban people, and another one to natural history. Casa de Vicente García 5 Vicente García between Francisco Vega and Julián Santana streets, Tel 031 34 5164

In this building, on September 26, 1876, General Vicente Garcia proposed setting fire to the city to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Spaniards. The building, which miraculous­ly survived the fire, is today a museum commemorat­ing the wars for independen­ce.

PLAZA DE LA REVOLUCIÓN (SQUARE) Ave. 30 de noviembre and Ave. 2 de diciembre

Its main feature is a monument dedicated to Major General Vicente Garcia, built in pink concrete with bas-reliefs, showing the local hero with the machete drawn. In the square is the Salón de los Generales, which exhibits busts of other outstandin­g generals who participat­ed in the struggles for independen­ce.

FUERTE DE LA LOMA (FORTRESS)

Municipali­ty of Puerto Padre, Las Tunas

It was built in mid-1869 by a section of the Spanish Army's engineers. Declared a National Monument in 1981, it is the only one of the country in whose constructi­on the technique of mampuesto (rough stone) was used from local elements such as limestone and sand. Although considered impregnabl­e, on February 14, 1877 it was taken by a mambí command under the command of Vicente García.

PLAYA COVARRUBIA­S (BEACH) Located on the northern coast of the province, it has 4 km of white sands and turquoise waters where you can practice water sports such as scuba diving and deep-sea fishing. It is the only one of the beaches in the province that has accommodat­ion in the Brisas Covarrubia­s Hotel (Playa Covarrubia­s/tel 031 51 5530).

MONTE CABANIGUÁN

Jobabo, Las Tunas

Located to the south of the municipali­ty of Jobabo, between the provinces of Granma and Las Tunas, it is famous for being the largest reserve in the world of the species of the crocodile Acutus, also known as American crocodile, crocodile needle or crocodile nose. In 1986, the area was studied and investigat­ed and in 1990 the Don Miguel Álvarez del Toro Biological Station was built.

Covering 14,500 hectares of land, brief aquatic visits can be made to enter the most interestin­g and exotic wildlife refuge in the country. In it you will have the opportunit­y to observe aquatic birds like flamingos, exotic birds such as the Cuban parakeet or the Cuban pijije, etc. It is an area protected internatio­nally as Ramsar Wetland, hence it is one of the best preserved and protected natural sites in the country

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PLAYA COVARRUBIA­S EXCELENCIA­S
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MONTE CABANIGUÁN AMERICAN CROCODILE HATCHERY (Crocodylus acutus)

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