Friday, 02 September 2011 14:06
The Iglesia de Guanabacoa. Photo courtesy of sitemason.vanderbilt.edu
Can a small locale contain a city? I invite you to a Havana neighborhood that apparently has this possibility.
The village of Our Lady of the Assumption, Guanabacoa, is more than four and a half centuries old. In the beginning, it was a type of reservation, a settlement to control the Aboriginal survivors from impacting the process of the Spanish colonization and conquest in the island´s west. The toponymy itself speaks of its origin: in the native Taíno dialect, Guanabacoa means "land of river and hills," as this is an area is morphologically equipped with small streams and middle elevations.
In 1555, a year after it´s founding, Gual pirates occupied Havana´s San Cristóbal village for 27 days, and in the following months, Guanabacoa momentarily transformed into the island´s capital, taking in a large amount of city residents, among them the Governor Don Gonzalo Pérez de Angulo. From this, the known refrain "Meter la Habana en Guanabacoa," (Putting Havana in Guanabacoa) came to be, which refers to the worrying one suffers when trying to cram something large into a smaller, insufficient area or place.
Guanabacoa is geographically located a mere five kilometers from Havana, and ranks as the second land surface within the capital province. There are three ways in which Guanabacoa significantly shines. First, in rural music, with culturally enriching figures such as Ernesto Lecuona, Rita Montaner, Ignacio Villa (Bola de Nieve) and Xiomara Alfaro. Also, Guanabacoa is the only area in the city to have six known cemeteries, El Viejo, El Nuevo, the Ashkenazi Jews´, the Sephardic Jews´, as well as those in Peñalver and Barreras. And finally, for its religious grounds, especially from African tribes, also know as the Pepe Antonio village, which has a well-deserved aura from the Yoruba and Bantú cultures´ intense practice of Santería. Also, there are the Cuban capital´s treasured Abakúa temples. If you´re interested about learning more on this subject, I recommend you visit the town´s museum located at #108 Martí Street on the corner of Versalles. (T: (537) 7979117).
Guanabacoa´s Historic Center has been declared a National Monument, for its heritage value and the antiquity of its buildings, making it an excellent visit if you´re in Havana. An old city, a land that captivates with its culture and to some extent, bewitches its visitors.
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