CubaPLUS Magazine

Belonging to the jurisdiction of the Cuban capital, although quite far from its center, Guanabacoa has the charming halo of an old and small city reminiscent of a provincial town.However, it is a municipality within the urban framework of Havana, to the east of the capital.

It wasn't always like this. Born on June 12, 1554, it reached the status of a town, by official decree of the metropolis. Today it is an urban conglomerate of great importance for its economic contribution, and for its history, culture, and rich traditions and religion. There have been two very popular phrases, for a long time, that speak of the omnipresence of that region in the imagination of the capital.

One is that which says: "I'm going to have to get to Guanabacoa," alluding to the need to consult a babalao (Afro-Cuban cult priest) when one urges luck to improve a little. The other is the one that warns: “Wanting to put Havana in Guanabacoa”, when we want to put something large in a much smaller space. Well, since that day in June when the Havana City Council decided to found a town for the dispersed aborigines who lived near San Cristóbal de La Habana, (1578) the church of the Virgin Mary in her Assumption was erected there.

On August 14, 1743, King Felipe 5th granted Guanabacoa the title of town and coat of arms. Today, the descendants of those first neighbors, to which were added Hispanics, slaves and their children, make up the majority of the main nucleus of what is one of the 15 municipalities of the city of Havana. They are proud that during the famous takeover of Havana by the English in 1762, the Provincial Mayor of the Holy Brotherhood, José Antonio Gómez Bullones, who with the nickname Pepe Antonio, had an outstanding participation in the defense of the city.

He wrote a heroic page in the country's history, at the head of the Guanabacoa militias facing the invader. Leaps in history, for reasons of space, we will say that in 1861 the Artistic and Literary Lyceum arose, a forge of scientific, literary and patriotic ideas. Its sons also supported the beginning of the Necessary War of 1995. From the geographical point of view, this territory is part of the western region and belongs to the landscape of the Alturas de La Habana Matanzas.

 The Valley of Guanabacoa or La Victoria has a complex undulating or hilly relief.Nearby run the currents of the Cojimar, Bacuranao, Tarará, Itabo and Boca Ciega rivers.In the urban framework of Guanabacoa, a valuable industrial park was built and its working population is eminently blue-collar.There are also many peasants and teachers as components.

The main cultural manifestations have always included the patron saint festivities, the religiosity of African origin, the music bands, the Wemilere, which is a festival with African roots, the Martí Parade and the rumba.

They feel immense pride in being the homeland of the great composer Ernesto Lecuona, the peerless Rita Montaner, internationally famous lyrical singer at the beginning of the 20th century, and the extraordinary Ignacio Villa or Bola de Nieve.The "Rita Montaner" House of Culture (Old Guanabacoa Artistic and Literary High School), Casa de la Trova, Guanabacoa Municipal Museum, with a magical ethnological and cultural richness, the Santo Domingo Convent, the Church of Our Lady of the Assumptionand the famous Hermitage of Potosí, are emblematic places with soul that a visitor should not miss if they want to directly capture the essence of Guanabacoa.

A social conglomerate whose Arawak root name means, according to some experts, "land of abundant waters" or land where there is a spring, according to others.