CubaPLUS Magazine

The Isle of Youth, formerly called the Isle of Pines until 1978, shows among the heritage values of its colonial past some historical vestiges of the sugar cane mill or factory La Esperanza, in the same place where it was located.

Since in Cuba everything related to the industry is important, a pillar of its economy and an essential part of its national culture, today the ancient remains of that factory inaugurated the distant November 1, 1867.

It was located between Loma de Bibijagua and Estero de Simón. Locals say that today it is several meters from the road, a little before reaching the famous Bibijagua beach, also known as Black Sands.

In 1967, 100 years after its founding, a cogwheel still existed, the walls and in 1969 there were several vestiges of where the Isle of Pines Sugar Mill was. Today, apart from remains of ancient walls, there is a sculpture which confirms the importance of the place. Located several meters from the road and before reaching the beach, under a grove of trees you can see walls of bricks, tiles and stones that made up the central part of the mill which extracted the juice or guarapo from the canes.

Those walls, on one side, have been trapped and raised by the roots of the trees. From those masonry walls they branch from what was the resistant brick oven, from what today is only a deep well and some structures which remain. Other walls, almost all built of stone, also survived. while further away from that nucleus there are remains of pieces of marble. Scattered they are as if nailed in the area three large iron screws with their threads.

The La Esperanza mill was owned by Mr. Alejo Salas y España, but we do not have concrete data on the reasons for its decline, possibly determined by the consequences of two libertarian wars registered in the country after its founding.

The lands were always very fertile and good for plantations of sugar cane, but the labor force was lacking, the colonial government gave few guarantees to production and to a certain extent It affected the lack of communication in the area.

At the end of the 19th century, its founding owner gave up the business and he sold the property to American Norman Nelson, who did not manufacture sugar. Already at the beginning of the 20th century, it was pure history and in its enclave only remains are left. They say that it was completely dismantled in times of the first World War.

However, the so-called Jamaican Train was preserved for a long time, although the boilers and other original elements were found far from there. When you say Jamaican Train you are not talking about a real train or railway, but rather a nave or brick structure that looks more like a long stove

There was a kind of fire tunnel that admitted the pans or hemispherical metal. According to experts, the sugar produced at the plant was called muscovado sugar and was the purest and most natural product among those of its genre around the world. La Esperanza was a good invention.