CubaPLUS Magazine

Located on the side of the former Plaza de Armas in the historic center of the city of Santiago de Cuba (now Céspedes Park), flanked by the Metropolitan Cathedral and the City Hall, the oldest house in Cuba and one of the first buildings of its kind in America defies time.

The residence is known by locals as the house of Adelantado Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, conqueror of the island of Cuba, and since November 30, 1970, it has housed the Cuban Historical Environment Museum, a must-visit for locals and foreigners alike in the southeastern city.

CubaPLUS Magazine delved into its history and present, guided by specialist Yaima Vaillant Rodríguez, and invites you to learn about the evolution of the building and the various Creole environments from the 16th to the 19th centuries, making the visit a journey through time.

The museum is made up of two furnished houses, the oldest built in the 16th century, used as a residence by Diego Velázquez from 1516 to June 1524, when he died. “The property simultaneously served as a House of Contracts and a gold smelter found on the island and sent to Spain in the form of bars or ingots,” explained the expert.

The site, she said, went through functions as a commercial center, business, hotel, and cultural institution; later it was closed until 1964, and in 1965 Dr. Francisco Prat Puig, art historian and professor at the University of Oriente, undertook the rehabilitation and restoration work to return it to universal culture as a museum.

During its restoration, a second house built in the 19th century was found in the back, belonging to a wealthy Santiago family, a manufacturer of crystal lamps; this other dwelling was added to the museum in July 1973 because it illustrates how the local bourgeoisie lived during that century.

Architecture and furniture
Walking through the Cuban Historical Environment Museum, located on the corner of Santo Tomás and Aguilera streets in the historic center of Santiago de Cuba, abstracts from urban noise, the sounds of vehicles and passersby fade away. From room to room you perceive the strange sensation of moving towards the times of the colony.

The 16th century house shows architectural elements of Moorish influence, such as wooden latticework, used to protect the women’s faces from public view, yet allowing them to look outside. This evidences the Arab influence on the furniture, which was introduced by the Spanish and Creoles.

In general, the house has an ancestry of Arab culture in Spain, which transcended overseas brought by discoverers, conquerors, and those who settled in the new world; the details of the architecture and furniture can be seen perfectly preserved.

The 19th century house shows a strong architectural influence of the French Neoclassical due to the transculturalization between immigrants from Haiti fleeing the revolution, and the Cubans and Spanish residing here.

There you can see stained glass windows with semicircular arches, an interior patio, the development of wrought iron in balconies and seats, typical of the French Empire style in interior decorations and furniture that had its heyday during the government of Napoleón Bonaparte.

In addition to perceiving the change of era, and cultural influences from one house to another, the Cuban Historical Environment Museum delights the eye with tableware, glassware, ceramics, accessories, paintings, reliefs, objects of military art and the old gold smelting oven, among other pieces.