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A new hotel in Old Havana: O'Farrill Palace
The new O´Farrill Palace was inaugurated in Old Havana.
It is situated near the sublime Cathedral and the magestic
San Carlos y San Ambrosio seminary.
This hotel was the former house of Don Jose Ricardo
O´Farrill, who was the great-grandchild of the Irish
Don Ricardo O´Farrill and O´Daly who came to Havana
at the beginning of the 17th century, and is presumed
to be the founder of the O'Farrill family of Cuba.
With elegant shape and neoclassical architecture, the
O´Farrill Palace hotel has 38 rooms, including three
Junior Suites (all with balconies) and 35 standard
rooms (20 with balconies), one of which is equiped
for the physically disabled. In all these rooms the
guests will find several amenities, among them:
a minibar, a hair dryer, cable TV, hot and cold
water, international telephone service,
air-conditioning and a safe, all included in
the room price.
The hotel offers additional services, such as: car
and cellular telephone rental, an excellent cyber
cafe, laundry, room-service, photocopy and e-mail
service, parking area and a tourist bureau. Also,
Don Ricardo Restaurant offers breakfast, lunch
and dinner; and Chico O´Farrill snack bar offers
excellent snacks and light drinks. You will also
find an art gallery, a cigar shop and a
terrace on the top floor with spectacular views
of the Bay entrance and the ancient fortresses
of Los Tres Reyes del Morro and San Carlos de
la Cabana, and the beautiful statue of the
Christ of Havana.
The hotel is at 102-108 Cuba Street, on the
corner of Chacon Street, Old Havana. Reservations
for any season are available at Cubalinda.com
travel agency. You only have to send an e-mail
to reservations@cubalinda.com or phone us at
(53-7) 553980.
Cienfuegos and the Beautiful Bay of Jagua
The city of Cienfuegos, located on the South
Central coast of Cuba, sits on the Bay of Jagua,
one of the island's most beautiful and valuable
bodies of water.
The bay was given its name by the indigenous
people who originally inhabited the area. The
first record of the Jagua dates from the year
1494, when Columbus crossed the Gulf of Jagua
to collect water and fire wood.
Fourteen years later, in 1510, Nicolas de Ocampo
docked his boats here during his survey of Cuba.
During this period, numerous pirates, corsairs,
and adventurers also visited the bay.
This purse-shaped bay has a surface area of 88
square kilometers. The waters range from 7 to
34 meters deep. A number of significant rivers
empty into the bay, including the Caonao, the
Salado, and the Damuji. There are also many
keys spread throughout it waters, as well as
lagoons, including the Guanaroca, which connects
to the Caribbean Sea.
The Jagua, with its advantageous shape and deep
waters, has made Cienfuegos a very important port,
giving the city a unique and cosmopolitan feel.
As well, the bay has allowed for the development
of a major industrial area. Today, the Bay of
Jagua is also used for fishing, both sport and
commercial, and the practice of a variety of sports.
In a Cell at the Cabana Fortress
Skulking through the labyrinthine caverns of La Cabana
Fortress in Havana, one is drawn to the mournful cell of
Juan Clemente Zenea. One of the finest romantic Cuban
poets, this is where he spent his last days.
Born in Bayamo in the early 19th century, he was the son
of a Spanish lieutenant and a sister of the Cuban poet Jose
Fornaris. Mostly self-taught, by 16 he had already become
a journalist. By 1846 he had published his first poems in La
Prensa, a Havana newspaper of which he became editor in
1849. Always polemical, he wrote an article one Easter
week that almost caused his excommunication. His father
appeased the Bishop by publishing a letter of retraction
that he'd convinced the feisty youth sign.
Later while exiled in the United States, he
secretly lashed out at the Spanish colonial government
from New Orleans. In 1854, an amnesty allowed
him to return to his homeland, just when Cuban literature
was booming. Zenea, Joaquin Lorenzo Luaces and Jose
Fornaris were the most illustrious group of Cuban
lyricists During those years.
Zenea got involved with poet and actress Adah Menken, who'd
arrived in Havana from New Orleans, but had to flee after
being involved with clandestine publications. He followed
her to the States, and got involved with a club called the
Order of Cuban Youth.
He also worked for newspapers in favor of Cuban independence,
producing incendiary articles against the Spanish government.
At one point, he moved to New York and wrote propaganda
favoring Cuba's annexation by the U.S.
He returned to Cuba secretly in 1870 on a fact-finding
mission for the Cuban Council of New York and another for
the Spanish government which had proposed independence to the
rebels if they surrendered.
When he tried to return to the U.S. after a fruitless
interview with rebel leader Carlos Manuel de Cespedes, he
was surprised by Spanish soldiers and arrested (strange,
as he had been sent with approval of the government),
languishing alone in La Cabana for eight months.
Days before his death, the U.S. Consul visited with a pen
and paper, and he wrote 16 poems, later published in New
York as Diario de un Martir (Diary of a Martyr).
The lines from that work spoke of a "happy sparrow in
pursuit of flowers," while he "cried out in prison for
his sad North's snow and mist." He begged to be a sparrow
and fly home, but in the end never did. A firing squad
doomed him to a "dark secret tomb."
About Colon Cemetery
Graveyards are generally considered baleful, somber at
best, but Havana's Colon cemetery seems like an enormous
ornamented garden. Nevertheless, it remains a final resting
ground for those gone to the other side, and includes the
following data:
·opened in 1871
·dedicated to Columbus
·covers 56 hectares
·the biggest in the Americas
The first thing one sees is its commanding baroque entrance,
an arc de triomphe built by Spanish architect Calixto
Arellano de Loira, with marble sculpture by Cuban Jose
Vilalta de Saavedra. The necropolis (a favorite Cuban word
for cemetery) is divided into avenues, with sleeping
pantheons, arches and cupolas. There are Egyptian influences,
as well as a replica of an Italian church.
The tree-lined roads lead to many wonders including:
·a ten-meter tall sculpture dedicated to a group of
firefighters tragically killed on duty;
·statues of the eight pre-med students murdered by the
Spanish colonial soldiers in 1871.
The most famous grave is that of Amelia Goyri de la Hoz,
best known as La Milagrosa (The Miracle Worker). Legend has
it she had to wait for her father to die before she could
marry the man of her dreams, but her happiness was short-lived,
as she passed away one year later while giving birth to their
first child. She was buried with the boy at her feet, and it is
said that years later when the tomb was opened the baby was
in her arms. The monument is visited daily with offerings
of flowers and gifts.
Other important figures buried here are Dulce Maria Loynaz,
Alejo Carpentier and singers Mercedita Valdes and Rita
Montaner, all accompanied by the love of their people.
Abakua Secret Society
The Abakua secret society, originally from Nigeria,
appeared in Cuba at the beginning of the 19th century.
Originally used by slaves for a cultural
self-defense and survival, it caught on with mulattos
and poor whites.
This survival strategy of the marginalized classes, called
ÑaÑiguismo, exists in Cuba to this day with 40 temples
between Havana and Matanzas.
The fraternity restricts membership to "brave, virile,
dignified, moral men," doers of good works worthy of
ancestral recognition. Insults to any member are forbidden
from outsiders or members, and breaches of this code are
treated harshly.
ÑaÑiguismo is highly structured, involving symbolic
representation of the devil figure Ireme, a popular figure in
the Havana carnival. It is said that Ireme watches over the
procession and purifies the dances.
Some Cubans are members and others fear it for being extreme.
Probably the best bet is to treat them with absolute respect...
Andarin Carvajal: Olympic Mail Carrier
Andarin Carvajal was a Havana mail carrier and track star
at the turn of the 1800's. His real name was Felix, but
the love of running earned him the title of "Andarin,"
or speedy in Spanish. Born in 1875 he did everything from
carry billboards to work the door at the Inglaterra Hotel.
But his great passion was running...
He'd run non-stop in parks until a crowd gathered, then he'd
pass a hat. He was also known to wear signs asking for
contributions so he could fulfil his dream and go to the 1904
Olympic Games in Saint Louis, Missouri.
He finally got up enough cash to make it to the games, but
barely made it to the starting line. There he stood dressed
in workboots and old pants, his stomach empty for two days.
U.S. discus thrower Martin Sheridan helped him cut off
his ragged trousers.
People laughed but he practically flew to the 35 km
(21,7 miles) mark, when he couldn't take it any more and
stopped at an apple tree to eat some of the fruit. After
downing 4 or 5 and trying to run again the green apples
got the better of him and he had uncontrolable cramps.
Only 14 runners finished the race and Felix was fourth, a
victim of inadequate training and poor nutrition. He crossed
his final finish line in 1949 after a heart attack, and
was buried in Colon cemetery, a national sports hero.
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