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Citizen Portal II.

Author: MsC Roberto Francisco Unger Pérez.

City Historian.

Professor at the “Jesús Montanè Oropesa” university.

THE SYMBOLS OF THE ISLAND OF YOUTH.

The Municipal Assembly of the People's Power of the Isle of Youth ratified the Pinero Shield as a symbol of the locality, made official as the shield of the Municipality on March 7, 1933. It also approved, as a new symbol, and the one with the highest rank, the ship "Pinero". Those referring to local nature were also distinguished by said governing body.

The "Pinero" boat.

 http://192.168.1.100/redisla/images/Pinero.jpg

“Pinero” boat on the Las Casas river, main waterway and pinero port.

It is located in an onshore location, on the banks of the Las Casas river, very close to its traditional pier, on Calle 33 (Capitán Lawton) between 26 (Bruno Hernández) and 28 (Comandante Sardiñas), in Nueva Gerona.

This steam was built in Philadelphia, United States, in the year 1901. Its arrival on the Isle of Pines occurred on April 6, 1927, acquired by the Isle of Pines Steamship Company (IPSSCo.) or Pinos Island Steamer Company.

The original boat had 51 metersof length and 9 of beam, a weight of 387 net tons and 497 total. It developed a speed of approximately 8 knots. The journey between Batabanó and Isla de Pinos covered it in 8 hours. The passenger capacity was 160, although it sometimes carried more than 200 people. The crew ranged from 15 to 20 sailors. It was also used for the transfer of prisoners and general cargo.

The cost of this ship was 150,000 pesos. The historical importance of this vessel is related to being material evidence of the traditional maritime transportation of cabotage in the town, in the transportation of passengers, also of prisoners bound for the Model Prison and later the National Prison for Men, as well as Fidel Castro. and other liberated moncadistas, on the night of May 15, 1955, among whom was the pinero Jesús Montanè Oropesa. On the journey to Havana, Fidel and his companions hold a meeting where they propose to name the movement, Revolutionary Movement July 26 (MR-July 26), which was definitively approved at the meeting held days later in a house located in La Habana, on Factoría 105 street. Fidel Castro occupied cabin No. 18 during that trip.15 de mayo

On May 15, 1955, Fidel Castro and other assailants of the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes barracks, moved to Havana on the "Pinero" ship.

Plaza Pinero en Nueva GeronaPlaza “Pinero” in Nueva Gerona.

The pinero shieldLike the Cuban, it has the shape of a Swiss pointed buckler. The two upper ends of the only barracks that comprise it are cut. Outstanding in the center, in the foreground, is the representation of a Creole pine whose branches reach the upper edge. At the bottom of the aforementioned barracks are three hills, and behind them half the solar disk with several beams of light, covering almost half the local symbol. An oak branch and a laurel branch, whose points intersect at the lower outer part, border on the right and left respectively, the silhouette of the shield. The apex is topped by a white five-pointed star.

escudo

As in the national coat of arms, elements of the natural landscape that highlight the Cuban nature of the territory are used; the greenery of the fields and the clean blue of the homeland sky. The intertwined oak and laurel branches express the same symbols as on the national coat of arms, while the star represents the country's independence and integrity. Of great importance is the pregnance of a Creole pine considered the local tree representing the natural pine forest, with its erect and graceful shape, similar to the royal palm in the coat of arms of the Cuban nation. These expressive resources, of identification with those of the nation, foster feelings of love for Cuba, and full acceptance of its sovereignty over the Isle of Pines, today the Isle of Youth.

The natural symbols of the town:

Love for the homeland includes love for its nature. In the process of formation of the Cuban nationality, through its nascent literature, the goodness and beauties of its nature were expressed early; fruits, landscapes, the song of its birds and its peculiar coloring, were very recurring themes in those early writers, historians and particularly poets. All distinguish this unique and different geographical environment from Spain or Africa, from which those men who ascend from those who arrived and were involved in a process of transculturation appropriated, the Cuban ethnos

"Every change of culture, or as we will say from now on, every transculturation, is a process in which something is always given in exchange for what is received ..., a process in which both parts of the equation are modified"

The foregoing explains how they distinguished and venerated the symbols of nature and thus transited to the national identity from the promotion of feelings of love, respect and willingness to protect it as social heritage, and source of life and family sustenance, which has been a basis of the culture of the Cuban nation and of all land where man settles down to make life and community.

This nature, whose kindnesses were taught to the black maroons by the remains of the dispersed indigenous aboriginal community and that they transmit to their descendants, is what served as a shelter, a battlefield, in addition to providing the necessary food to the Cuban patriots. in the different stages of the struggles for independence; to mambises and rebels.

 

Historical memory includes historical events and everyday life, personalities, elements of the material and immaterial culture of man and his natural environment associated with significant moments in the history of a nation, which are preserved in documentary mode or through tradition. oral. Includes the family, individual and local context. It is presented as a synthesis of the essential features that confirm and strengthen cultural identity and encourages the formation and development of feelings of respect and preservation towards them, until their conversion into convictions that support cultural traditions of all kinds.

One of the most important elements in the preservation and transmission of the historical memory of a people is its oral tradition. Through it, the Pinera society has distinguished a set of elements of nature, until granting them, through their daily practice, a particular symbolism. Thus, the Creole pine appears associated with the name that for the longest time identified the insular territory, while it was present in its first stable community of inhabitants, and evolves in a unique process towards Creole society and from this to the Cuban one. It is not difficult to understand why the current population does not resist to abandon the pinero gentilicio that identifies them as an individuality in the national context.

The parrot, another representative of its nature, has transcended socially for the extraordinary abundance of this bird that historically made many call it the Island of the parrots. In the same way, the nickname Isla de los grapefruit has been manifested, by association with the large plantations of these fruits. Associated with these, the orange blossom also takes on a unique symbolism.

In the natural environment of the Island, other representatives of flora and fauna stand out, such as the pot-bellied palm, the hicaco, the peralejo, the jutía, the jíbaro pig, the marble, the mineral-medicinal waters, the kaolin, etc. , which distinguished it with singularity and at the same time link it to the nature of the Cuban homeland as well as being linked to geology.

 

Creole pine (local tree).

 El Pino

 

 

 

Pine is the local tree. In 1797 the king of Spain ordered an exploration to the then Isle of Pines to know its possible use.

Historically, the large pine forests of the town, especially those that exist in the northern region and in extensive areas of the interior, have identified it. Of the four wild pine species in Cuba, two of them are characteristic ofthe island and from the province of Pinar del Río: Pinus tropicalis morelet, commonly called female, white or Creole pine and Pinus caribea morelet, popularly known as male, yellow or Creole pine, in both territories of the Cuban nation.

The use of pine wood since colonial times, as well as the extraction of its resin to obtain various products such as tar and turpentine, were the basis of the first attempts at industrialization, despite the fact that Juan Tomás Roig y Mesa pointed out in his studies that this was not a practice that was customary in Cuba.

The female, white or Creole pine, it is the most abundant of the two in the Cuban flora, it grows on the sandy savannas and on the siliceous hills. Its leaves are grouped two by two, they are longer and less aromatic than in male pine. Wood is also smoother, softer and contains less tea[4], the shell is thicker and darker. It blooms in February. The cones are subterminal and erect, and the leaves (or needles) have a length of20 a30 centimeters. It generally presents a more symmetrical and less branched shape.

Male, yellow or Creole pineit is more frequent in the siliceous hills and hills; it is distinguished by the grouping of its leaves three by three, and at the same time they are shorter, darker green and aromatic than the female pine. This tree is more branched and tortuous (with less symmetry) and the cones are smaller.

Despite its lower quality wood than imported wood, it is used to advantage in the same uses as European and American pine.

Currently, this traditional economic resource is rescued through a set of reforestation actions. With proper management of this policy, the typical pine forest composed of pot-bellied palms, peralejos, hicacos and where Creole pine reigns can be rescued. This tree was drawn as the main element, along with the white five-pointed star, on the island's coat of arms. The characteristic of its straight trunk, facilitates the establishment of the same symbolism as the royal palm, also widely represented in the local flora, because in addition to its historical predominance in the pinero landscape, it has been the most useful tree in time, in the economic order.

The parrot (local bird).

 

 Cotorra

 

Birds constitute one of the groups of vertebrates that have reached a high development in the animal kingdom; they cover more than 8,600 species, of which 380 have been registered in Cuba and of them 21 are endemic. Forthe island the endemism reaches the number of 8.

The parrot (Amazon leucocephala leucocephala) is considered an endemic Cuban subspecies. She is as much ours as the royal palm. The aborigines called it with the voice caica, paraca or higuaca. In the eastern provinces, it is still called parrot or parakeet today.

This bird, after choosing a fertile partner, is united for life, which points to a symbol of fidelity. Due to its color, where the green, red, blue and white of its plumage predominate, it is associated with the greenery of the Cuban and pine fields and the flag of the lone star. The shape of the beak, as well as the habit of approaching the abandoned nests in the trunks of palms or other trees, are related to the tocoloro or tocororo, which is the national bird. Among other characteristics, it is also appreciated in this Cuban bird, its easy domestication and its ability to imitate the human voice and other sounds; his intelligence and grace as the well-known "give the piojito", and his affective identification with certain people, enjoying great popularity. It is for this reason that it is a victim of poaching for profit because its possession in captivity and commercialization is prohibited by law. The fertility season for this bird begins in April and ends in July, including the breeding of its offspring. Puts on3 a4 eggs in the bottom of the hollow of the chosen tree, without making any nest. Inthe island of Cuba can be found with some frequency in the Zapata swamp and very rarely in the Havana provinces and the eastern mountainous region.

In the neocolonial stage, one of the most valuable natural resources of the island, the rich mineral-medicinal waters dedicated to human consumption, were recognized worldwide with the seal "Agua la Cotorra". The best known of its springs is identified to date with the same name; also an important periodical edition at the beginning of the 20th century, was named “La Cotorra” weekly.

 An adequate education in the care and preservation of this representative of nature and its habitat is part of an ecological culture and feelings of love and respect for the nature of the country.

Currently in the islanda gradual recovery of this subspecies is observed, appreciated by the approach of many of its representatives to the northern region of the territory, especially in flocks with their characteristic bustle. This situation is the result of the efforts of anonymous men, as well as of state institutions, who have contributed to the rescue of their habitat, an example of this being the protected area “Los Indios” and the application of laws to prevent its depredation.

The orange blossom (local flower).

 Flor

 

Relief reproduction of the orange blossom on the José Martí promenade, in Nueva Gerona.

 

One of the most important economic practices in the territory, mainly since the beginning of the 20th century, was grapefruit cultivation, which takes on greater proportions in the period of the Revolution in power, until it became the most important item of agricultural development until the middle from the 90's.

otras

Associated with these plantations is the orange blossom, which is that of citrus in general, and which offers its stamp to the pine forest, since it has perfumed with its aroma, since the beginning of the century, the fields and roads of the Island with its pleasant fragrance.

An adult citrus tree can provide between 50,000 to 100,000 flowers, although all are not viable for fruit fertilization. They are white in color and carry high-quality natural honey that is collected by bees, with significant economic benefits from the many uses of their natural state, as well as by-products. From this flower the orange blossom essence is extracted; For every thousand kilograms, eight or ten grams of a tree are obtained. The extraction process is carried out through distillation. It is a very expensive but at the same time remunerative process.

Because of its white color, the way it is presented on trees - several on the same stem - the orange blossom also has points of contact with the national one, joining the symbolism that it contains of purity, peace and freedom, as well as the premise that in the union is the strength of the homeland.

 Elements of folklore, legends and traditions.

 

Antonio Ribot Fonseré, a revolutionary of Catalan origin and linked to socialist ideas, was deported first to the Island of Cuba and then to the Isle of Pines. He developed an extensive written work where titles such as: My navigation, a poetry book with a section entitled "Isla de Pinos", in the last poem proclaims itself as its first singer.

The Isle of Pines

Not true ignored island

that here in the middle of the seas

not a languid glance

Not the worst of their songs

A poet offered you?

What the hell is for you sighing?

When a flattering echo

Exalted for you a lyre?

I am your singer first ...?

Oh my Yes, the first one is me!

In the context of the storytelling pinera, in its oral narration modality, the personality and work of the auto titled Barón Herrera, born between 1830 and 1831, stood out. This peculiar character recreated his tales in the style of the Baron of Munchhausen from his experiences in the territory, with a fantasy and naive stamp, which made it transcend as one of the most important bastions of folklore. His work was transmitted through oral tradition and collected by the Academy of Sciences in a limited publication.

One of the most remembered stories is about a hunt in which Baron Herrera "participated": in that hunt the Baron took one of his dogs, but when facing a fierce crocodile, he inadvertently cut the dog into two pieces. Faced with the situation, he quickly took a majagua rope and stitched both parts of the dog, but one of the halves was turned upside down, which would not be the surprise when checking it by putting two legs up and two legs down. From that moment on, when the dog went hunting, it walked indiscriminately with one or the other paws, remaining rested all the time and with one eye watching over the jutías in the branches and with the other the jíbaros pigs.

Another important character of the folklore pinero was the tenant Felipe Blanco, immortalized in the sucu-sucu: "The majases no longer have a cave, Felipe Blanco covered them up ..."

All sorts of legends about hidden treasures, appearances of horses with or without headless riders, terrible cries of agony and horror, as well as lights of various sizes and colors, both from the different sources and mainly from oral tradition. Island like its seas and cays.

cayos

Pictorial reproduction of the characteristic approach of a pirate ship to a Spanish galleon.

The earliest appearance that is known dates back to 1494, when one of the crossbowmen who accompanied Columbus on his second trip to Cuba and in transit through the Island, called by him the Evangelist, had the vision of a fully clothed man of white. When investigating such a strange presence, only a flock of cranes was found "as big as men", according to the chroniclers.

The presence of lights, and the hearing of terrible death cries at night, is historically associated with burial of fabulous treasures by corsairs and pirates who frequented the Island, and with the supposed practice of physically eliminating witnesses from the exact place of burial.

One of the most famous burials, which has transcended to the present day, was the one made by the pirate La Trobe, associated with Jean Laffite, on the coasts of the cove of La Siguanea. When he was captured, due to his piratical attics, he wrote a note that he sends with a young cabin boy to this Laffite, but the possible death also of the improvised "messenger" gave rise to the legend that the note has passed from hand to hand, and all that is known of it is that "the treasure was buried ninety feet from the origin of a boiling spring". A curious note on the theme of treasures, is the presence in local history of fervent seekers since the beginning of the century, and to which many Americans also dedicated their activity. The most interesting thing is that today these men exist, behind the paths of old maps, although now using more modern technical means

Another legend is that the island of youth, is Treasure Island, described in the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson; Perhaps this appreciation was supported by the wide presence of pirates, corsairs and buccaneers, as well as the similarity with the geography described there.

Of the mysteries collected in the pinero folklore, perhaps the oldest is related to the 213 pictographs that appear on the vaulted walls of cave number 1 in Punta del Este, as well as in other stone locations in the southern region. The use of various symbols and the absence of human figures are the cause of many hypotheses and theories about their origins, purposes.

The manifestation of mysterious lights: small, medium and large; static and mobile; white, yellow and blue colors; they are present in the rich oral tradition of its oldest settlers. Their traces are found in the historical pineapple memory, from the small town of Cocodrilo, Rincón del Guanal, Carapachibey, Punta del Este, Columbia, to Nueva Gerona itself, famous in the latter, which were reflected every night in the large columns of the “real ditch” (today calle 51) and that marked the boundaries of the so-called savanna del curro; also in Santa Fe, especially in mineral-medicinal springs. These visions are actually associated with natural processes, although they give rise to the imagination in a society with a low cultural level and sometimes promote the Creole joke in a peculiar way.

They also left their stamp engraved, within this theme, the appearances of horses, sometimes with headless riders, others, completely alone. Among the most famous of which there is a reference were those that occurred in Santa Elena (currently areas occupied by the Vietnam communities, Roberto Orestes Moreno and the former ESBEC no.8), in El Tronco, in the Mal Pais area and in Santa Fe. There is also talk of apparitions of tearful women and screams of death on the outskirts of Nueva Gerona and around the Presidio Modelo. Also, the existence of some houses, where mysterious noises were heard in the late hours of the night, which caused them to be abandoned and destroyed by the passage of time. One of these haunted houses nestled in the estate was remarkable.The Carlota, which extended to a part of the current Abel Santamaría district, in Nueva Gerona.

The oldest pines have long spoken of the existence of a tunnel linking the Cavalry Barracks with church; also existing the belief of its extension to the building ofthe school de Arte, former Luis M. Arredondo school and headquarters of the Protectorate in colonial times. Several verifiable excavations have been made only in the powder keg areas of the Cavalry Barracks (in the current Josué País primary school), in some occasional collapses, in the assumed estimated layout but not of the entire alleged tunnel.

As can be seen, the pinero's broad imagination has contributed to enriching the oral tradition, folklore and popular culture that distinguishes and identifies the indigenous, which must be preserved as cultural heritage.

The sucu-sucu; music, dance and party.

sucu sucuRamón Rives (Mongo) main cultivator of the Sucu-sucu pinero.

 

According to the testimony of Antonio Ribot y Fonseré, (a political deportee of Catalan origin) in Isla de Pinos in the mid-19th century, there was no dance other than the zapateo and the fandango, although another anonymous chronicler who visited the island in 1848 he appreciated the practice of a dance that was different from the waltz, the contradanza and the habaneras of the Cuban capital, for the peculiar way in which it was performed. Was it the sucu-sucu?

The dances were organized separately by blacks and whites; they were held on religious holidays. In the whites, the way of dressing of the women stood out, those who put flowers in their hair, as well as ribbons and cocuyos. The party was enlivened with the music of a güiro and a violin. The blacks, on the other hand, did it in a house on the outskirts of the city, having only one güiro, although they used hands and feet to keep up with the music played. This is how Ribot Fonseré describes a peasant dance:

 …… ..

 And the güiro and the tambourine

 I hear the discordant screech

 As you tap the hatero

  The tiple at the foot of the bohío

 Lying on a pitchfork,

 And maybe the burning indiana

 With sweet eyes she looks at him.

 …… ..

 And the hunter for the party

 His whistling bridle saddles

 And the list frus prepares

 To wear it in the villa,

 And yarey's hat,

  And then the spur sticks

 To the neighing animal

 Showing the rich machete

 Do among the shiny silver

 It shines set in a tortoiseshell.

 …… ..

 

Sucu-sucu is considered a typical dance and musical genre ofthe islandof Youth. According to the Cuban musician Eliseo Grenet, who investigated it in the 1940s, its origins go back to the Spanish colony. In addition to describing it as a song of amusement, he states that he came to demonstrate as a protest against the foreign presence in colonial times, while in the republic it was directed against landowners.

More recent investigations place its birth in the first quarter of the 20th century, coinciding with the arrival of North Americans, alligators, Jamaicans and associated with the influence of the southern part of Cuba, where peasant music developed widely and came with many of its settlers from 1830 and frequent contacts between the Isle of Pines and those regions. In this way it can be considered as part of the general culture of the nation, since its origins are fundamentally linked to the arrival of the first settlers, without forgetting the Antillean contribution of the English-speaking population.

To dance the sucu-sucu, the man takes the woman by the waist, placing his hands in such a way that only the index finger and the thumb make contact with her body, while she puts hers behind the neck of her partner; the bodies never come together. The pieces are danced and sung in two by four measures, very measured, almost monotonous. It is considered a simple rhythmic piece, a component of the son, like others in the country, such as the changüí from Guantanamo.

Its greatest boom occurred in the 1940s, possibly related to the development of tourism. Faced with the competition made by the mambo and the chachachá, it does not disappear due to its roots in the popular traditions of the pinero peasantry. Currently, the musician Ramón Rives (Mongo Rives) and his group the Tumbita Criolla, as well as members of the Pinera family of the Gonzálezes and their initial group Cinquillo Pinero stand out in the conservation of this ancestral jewel of the Pinera culture. Both, from the family tradition, have disclosed this music and dance of local origin.

In addition to the sucu-sucu, dances and music typical of the English-speaking Caribbean area still persist, such as those of the caimanera community, where the figure of Arnold Dixon (Sonny Boy) and his musical group, the only living bearer of Caribbean traditions, stand out. that are still on the Island.

Ceramics is a pinean economic and artistic tradition.

Ceramics has also been an activity with deep roots and tradition in the pinean economic and artistic practice. Its first manifestations are associated with the archaeological findings in the Santa Isabel cave, currently called La Reforma, where several uncooked red clay spherolites were found related to the first inhabitants of the Pinero territory. In 1827, with the discovery of red clay reserves, the manufacture of bricks, slabs and tiles was extended; However, it was not until the first twenty years of the twentieth century that the production of artistic ceramics was known by the American Mrs. S. Harriet P. Wheeler, who settled in Santa Bárbara (La Damajagua), from mud extracted from the place known as Sabana Grande and other materials imported from your country,

Despite the studies done between 1940 and 1950 and the recommendations of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the efforts of Judge Waldo Medina and Mayor Eduardo Escribano to increase the possibilities of this industry It was not until 1970, with the revolutionary government, that ceramic production began and developed on an industrial scale, and the Caolin processing plant was the first step in that endeavor. The first workshop was inaugurated on January 1, 1970 and the year 1980 marked a new stage in the production of this line, with the agreements signed with the German Democratic Republic (GDR); For the assembly of a crockery plant, the Second Party Congress, as well as six other facilities in various towns in the territory. In March 1987, the II Congress Party crockery plant began, with a production potential of three thousand tons per year equivalent to 8 million physical units of crockery articles. On the other hand, the development of this industry is not only evaluable in the economic order, but also

  • The Experimental Center of Applied Arts (CEA) in 1970, where many of today's professionals from Pinar del Río and Cuba learned the art of ceramics.
  • Polytechnic Institute of Ceramics Cuba-RDA. in 1982, later named Leonardo Azahares in 1984, for being this internationalist martyr pinero one of his students.
  • The celebration of the National Fair Ceramic since 1981.
  • The emergence and development of plastic artists, potters and groups, where the so-called Terracotta Four group stood out.
  • Wide national and international diffusion of the pinero art of ceramics; present in festivals, galleries and museums around the world.
  • Work visits of famous national and international artists in the workshops installed by the revolution to carry out their works.

The outstanding sculptor Pablo Porras developed his work as an artist and teacher. In the photo when creating a sculpture of Cristóbal Labra.

The impacts of the North American blockade on the country, the collapse of the socialist field, and internal factors in relation to the materialization of cultural policy and work with artists in the Pinero territory, as well as the gradual stoppage of production on an industrial scale. , with negative effects on the supply of raw materials, and the related general infrastructure, affected the stagnation of the sociocultural projection of this important branch of the economy. Currently, several projects are being developed for artistic purposes, the public business sector has supported the old workshop of applied arts under a productive scheme that distinguishes the elaboration of unique pieces and foresees the gradual recovery of an important part of the previous industrial scheme,

Closely linked to the artistic projection of ceramics, its main exponents have also been related to a vast production in artistic painting. Out of the group of prominent pine painters, the work of Alexis Leiva Machado, internationally recognized, stands out.

The ball, national sport. His practice on the pine island.

Despite not having a Cuban origin and that still several countries dispute their birthplace, in Cuba it has become an important element of the national culture. In the eagerness to explain its relationship with indigenous culture, there are those who have ventured to link it with the game of the aborigines' batos on the Island of Cuba. The truth is that it was a sport of Anglo-Saxon origin that came to us through the United States, in the mid-19th century.

The practice of this sport became so rapid that it was frequently practiced by the Mambisa forces in the redeeming jungle. In this way, he linked with the traditions of struggle of the Cuban people ratified at the beginning of the revolutionary triumph of January 1959, with the organization of the Barbudos and Rebeldes teams where Fidel Castro played as pitcher and Camilo Cienfuegos as receiver. Baseball grounds were also the scene of protests against dictatorships and bad governments enthroned in power in Cuba. In the sociological order, it has contributed to the entertainment of the great majority, to the unity of the Cubans and festive support to mobilize the national conscience in pursuit of good causes; for all that it became the national sport.

On the Island of youthAs part of the colonization established since the beginning of the 20th century, the practice of this sport was associated, as in the rest of the country, with the North American influence, although with particular nuances. The first games were carried out by American colonists, organized in diverse teams in correspondence with the main towns or settlements such as West-Port; Mc. Kinley, Columbia, The Indians; etc..

The first baseball field in Nueva Gerona arises towards the year 1906, on the existing plots on Calle Bruno Hernández (today 26) corner of Calle Segunda (today 45), as well as the first reference to a genuinely pinero team is from 21 September 1914, and identified with the name Cuba; element that confirmed the national consciousness in the town, if one takes into account that this is a period of confrontations with the most reactionary part of the North American community that has been based since 1899. The director was the teacher Luis de la Maza Arredondo, who had stood out in popular actions, together with the mayor Juan Manuel Sánchez Amat, against the American annexationist attempts of 1905 and 1906.

This first pinero team was made up of:

  • Jorge Llorca Receiver and captain.
  • Eusebio García Pitcher.
  • Pablo Cárdenas First base.
  • Melanio Days Second base.
  • Calixto F. Abreu Third base.
  • Alfredo Sánchez Shortstop.
  • Delio Beaujardin Right fielder.
  • Mario Alonso Central outfielder.
  • Ramon Moya Left gardener.
  • Julio Martinez Alternate.
  • Severino Muñoz Alternate.
  • Luis Arredondo director.

The Pinera Popular Society of Education and Recreation excelled in the organization of baseball teams. One of its members, Tomás Baldomero Minguillón Ortiz, came to play as the Cuban team's starter at the I Central American Games in 1926.

Teams were also organized in Santa Fe and the Presidio Modelo. In the 1940s and '50s, a boom in this sporting practice was appreciated, with the leading role of teams from the pine forests, once the North American colony disappeared. Teams such as Pinero, Texan, La Francia, La Americana, Santa Rita, etc. were formed, with the sponsorship of Cuban merchants.

The municipal ball court later settled in the plots that today occupies the Héctor Pérez Llorca primary school, in Comandante Sardiñas street (today 28th street) and 53rd street. The inauguration of that facility occurred on February 24, 1957. In that same year, a municipal Baseball League was organized under the direction of maestro Fernando Bayo.

In 1957 the local children's baseball league Los Cubanitos was created on the patriotic date of January 28. The athletic oath was held in Lacret Park with the Cuban flag located at the Luis M. Arredondo School, the current Leonardo Luberta School of the Arts.

Inaugural parade of the league "Los cubanitos" in 1957.

As in various parts of the nation, the Nueva Gerona stadium served as a propitious stage for demonstrations of rejection of Batista's tyranny; Under it, under the direction of the July 26 Movement, there were undercover collections to help political prisoners. In the games with the prison teams, contacts were established, messages and money collected were delivered, and even tickets were sold for a supposed meeting between a local team and another of "renowned Havana fame", although the real purpose was to raise funds for the Revolution, an open secret, popular domain, unknown by supporters of the Batista regime.

Currently, the local baseball team, honoring its island and pirate status, is identified in the Cuban national series as "Los piratas". His competitive results have highlighted him, as well as his most famous player, the player Michel Enrique, identified by the local and national fans as "super twelve".

Kayacism; flagship sport on the Isle of Youth.

The sport of rowing has counted in the islandwith favorable natural conditions for its development and the Las Casas river in Nueva Gerona has historically been its natural seat. In the stage of the Revolution in power, the work of the pineros, among whom the athlete and coach Alfredo Hernández Barreras stood out, made it possible for the island to be declared the best special sports area in the country in kayaking on several occasions.

The institutional organization of this sport was in charge of Hernández Barreras, who in 1962 obtained the first medal, as an athlete, in the I Boat Championship held in Varadero. The year 1968 is considered the takeoff in Kayacism inthe island, by obtaining the first gold medal the athlete Rogelio Chirino in a national championship, this time as part of the Havana team. Piner Julio Pérez Curra obtained a silver medal. Both made up the national team that year and the following year the athletes Edicto Gilbert and Ruber García; Giraldo Corrales and Asuel Torres later did it between 1970-1971.

In 1971, when a local team was established, there is a greater development of its athletes. As a result of this new stage, the pines Rogelio Chirino and Edicto Gilbert represented Cuba in the XX Olympic Games in Munich in 1972 and José Luis Marrero in the XXI Olympiad in Moscow 80, where they classified as finalists in different categories. At the national level, until the 1980s, this sport obtained more than a thousand medals; The Island has been National Champion fourteen times in the first category, has collected more than seventy trophies, 29 athletes made up the national team, 3 participated in world sports, 17 have been medalists in Pan American events, among other relevant results.

Starting in 1996, the Elisa Zaldívar regatta was organized, in tribute to the outstanding Pinera athlete of this sport, who won a bronze medal in Dertmouth, Canada, was the first Latin American champion in the Pan-American Games in Mexico, 1980; He also won bronze at the Pan American Games in Indianapolis, United States, 1987 and gold at the Pan American Games in Havana in 1991, in addition to having obtained outstanding results in important national competitions.

Festive traditions on the Island. Past and present.

In addition to the black and white festivals referred to by Antonio Ribot, in the mid-nineteenth century, those of the colony that had a religious character stood out and were organized from July 25 with several days of celebrations and religious services, festivals, processions , fairs, etc., in honor of Santiago Apóstol, patron saint of Spain. The day of Santa Ana, mother of the Virgin Mary, was part of these celebrations. At the beginning of the 20th century and under the direction of the Pinera Popular Society of Education and Recreation, it had a double meaning, since it was also associated with the independence uprising of the year 1896.

After the ratification of the Hay - Quesada Treaty, the most important festivals moved to March 13, the day of approval, and began to appear, from horse racing; tape runs; the division into two camps, blue and red; masquerade costumes and games; the pig and the fattened stick, the cucaña, combined with popular dances, until the coronation of Miss 13 March and the ballroom dances inthe Popular SocietyPinera, where first-rate orchestras from Havana and other cities in the country entertained. This last festival began with the election of the Queen of beauty and sympathy, but was penetrated by the mercantilist trend, which managed to modify the original tradition, depending on the interests of commercial sponsors, families and influential officials. However, due to the beauty and color, all the pineros distinguished it with their preference.

Election of the Miss March 13 in the 50s of the 20th century.

Beginning in 1936, with the emergence of the Nuevo Progreso society, for blacks and mulattos, the investiture of Miss 13 March was twofold; white and black were selected. The mayor danced the first piece with each one, starting with the Pinera Popular Society, and thus the festivities and dances of the night began.

Traditional pine festivity, with the participation of the local authorities of the City Council, in the Lacret park.

In addition to this festivity, dances were organized on February 24 and May 20. On the other hand, those of a religious nature were celebrated; in the framework of Christmas Eve, on December 24, the mass of the rooster was celebrated, on the night of December 31, waiting for the new year, a doll made of old clothes and dry straw, representing the old year and it was burned at 12 at night. From very early in the morning it was made with the collaboration of all the neighbors and was cause for laughter; sometimes they were made in the image and likeness of some other person in town, and it was the center of children's games and joy in the neighborhoods.

After the revolutionary triumph these traditional festivities and festivities ceased over time and were replaced by carnivals that included float rides, mass dances, fairs, rodeo, the selection of the carnival star or queen. In this way it is transformed into a new festive mode, called the Grapefruit Festival, which maintained the same activities, but the girls were chosen, calling them, from then on, the Flower and the Buds of orange blossom, in clear reference to the activity citrus, which was the main economic line of the Island.

A new stage, in the 80s of the 20th century, excluded the selection of women for their beauty and gave way to the selection of the best floats decked out by labor organizations or entities, as well as the respective troupes. A novel element in this period was the incorporation of foreign students from Africa, Asia and Latin America to the festivals, which gave it a peculiar and more colorful stamp.

Children's area in the current Pine Festival.

With the Special Period, the shortages and the economic crisis, the North American blockade and the disappearance of the international socialist system, these festivities lost a little their extension and brilliance. Starting in 1996, in order to act in the rescue of local traditions and the reaffirmation of the identity of Pinera, they reorganized themselves integrating the best cultural values ​​of all stages of the tradition, around the date of March 13, under the name of Pineras parties. They start with a patriotic march, after the traditional cannon shot of March 13, not yet fully restored, followed by several days of carnivals, where the traditional rodeo, the water festival, the parades of parades and troupes for children and adults are not lacking, at different times, or the rock of the sucu-sucu in Santa Fe,

Culinary traditions of the town.

A set of elements such as ethnic composition, occupation of island territory, way of life, and cultural features in general, influenced the formation of national identity, which manifested with their own personality according to the objective determining circumstances. . In this way, culinary traditions were also developed, which are part of the culture in the broadest sense of the word; of man and for man.

In the particular case of the island of youth, Fernando Ortiz's concept of transculturation materializes, understanding that "... it is a process in which something is always given in exchange for what he receives ...", and it gains more strength in the republican stage given the cosmopolitan nature of the society that was fostered from the rescue trade of its inhabitants with pirates, corsairs and buccaneers of various nationalities, where the different migratory currents of the early twentieth century are incorporated ; North Americans, West Indies or Caribbean, Europeans, Asians, as well as Spaniards from various regions with their own identity and traditions during the colony and the republic.

The identity features of the Pinera society were conditioned by the fact that Isla de Pinos is a small island territory separated from the rest of the nation by multiple causes, in addition to the geographical one, which made it easier for the communities resulting from the aforementioned migratory processes to manifest their identity. . This is achieved through their own culinary traditions, without this signifying the exclusion of the Cuban community, which was able to maintain and develop theirs as a form of defense against said foreign cultural avalanche, mainly by the Americans and their clear annexationist purposes, and thus preserve the Cuban nationality of the pinero territory.

The foregoing, on the other hand, did not mean that they were isolated and at present the assimilation of traditions of several of these communities is appreciated as an alternative to the economic situation of the country and where the recipes of caimanera cuisine, for example, have been a solution to deficiencies, as in the case of the use of breadfruit in various dishes. The caimanera kitchen also stands out the use of flour, brown sugar, coconut butter, cobo in different variants. The most widespread and well-known dish is the so-called dompline; species of spiced castile flour balls and for various uses for direct consumption, or to combine with meats, broths, beans and other foods.

Representatives of the caimanera community in the town of Cocodrilo.

The European community highlights a wide use of cabbage and other vegetables, and meat of the ram, as well as milk and its derivatives. The production of various products based on pork meat, such as sausages, smoked meats, salted fish, among others, also stands out. Likewise, the Europeans showed a sustained culture of production of all kinds of preserves in a kind of mini industry in each family home.

Representatives of the European community in Pinero territory.

The Americans excelled in pastry and confectionery in general, the making of fruit jellies, which included citrus, and the widespread use of butter in most of the elaborations.

Representatives of the North American community in a cucumber field.

The Japanese, as in their nation, used to make various dishes using rice as the main element. The consumption of shellfish and mainly raw fish with sauces made for them characterized them. Also noteworthy is the widespread use of vegetables in the different elaborations and preparations for the rituals of their traditions, including foods prepared particularly on their day of the faithful departed, with the corresponding offerings in the cemetery of Nueva Gerona.

Members of the Japanese community on the Island.

The eating habits of the Cuban community are associated with the oldest economic practices in the locality: livestock dating from the rescue trade with salted beef, turtle and pork. From 1830, cassava, squash, taro and sweet potato were widely incorporated. One of the preferred dishes is the ajiaco with jerky, where the essential point is the combination of the salting with the sweet that the sweet potato provides.

Photo of representatives of the pinera community in one of the existing public schools.

The foregoing led to the inclination for salty meats such as beef, cod, fresh and salty turtle meat since the 20th century. The rich manifestation of other marine species such as bonito, snapper, lobster, crabs, macabi, etc. also influenced in a remarkable way in its obligatory presence in most of the recipes of the Cuban community up to the present.

The direct consumption of black beans, as stew, in addition to the traditional Moorish and Christian rice, was also a distinctive element in these culinary traditions, although this did not exclude the practice of consuming roast pork, accompanied with cassava and this rice, from the traditional Cuban dish.

A widely used custom in the population was planting fruit trees such as anon, custard apple, mango, orange, lime, mamey, caimito, grapefruit, breadfruit, tamarind, currants, in the patios of the houses. , which were appreciated for natural consumption or in the form of sweets. A great spread of the breadfruit crop can be distinguished, of which there are copies practically in all homes with a dirt patio until now.

Monuments, sites and historical and cultural institutions on the Island.

 

National monuments:

The Law does not. 2, Law on National and Local Monuments of the National Assembly of People's Power, approved on August 4, 1977, made it possible for the National Monument Commission on October 10, 1978 to issue Resolution No. 3, which states in the Isla de la Juventud the following national monuments:

  1. The El Abra farm.
  2. The Presidio Modelo museum.

 3.- The Pinero ferry.

Later, through Resolution No. 10 of the National Monuments Commission, dated December 25, 1979, the natural site of Punta del Este, which includes the well-known aboriginal pictographs, was also declared a national monument.

The El Abra farm.

 

 

Current photo of the farm-museum "El Abra".

It is located in the valley of the same name, at kilometer 1 ½ of the road to Siguanea and in one of the three architectural parts of the house of the Catalan José María Sardá and his family, the museum is installed. Currently, his descendants inhabit part of the property, preserving the family tradition of keeping alive and saving for all Cubans the memory of José Martí's presence in pine forest. The stay in it of the apostle and national hero José Martí dates from October 13 to December 18, 1870. In this way,the island It has the privilege of being the only place, with the exception of Havana, where he lived the longest in Cuba.

At just 17 years of age, the young José Martí was confined to forced labor in the San Lázaro quarries, then to the La Cabaña prison and deported for infringement to Isla de Pinos from October 13 to December 18, 1870.

The inauguration as a museum dates back to the date of January 28, 1944. Dr. Waldo Medina Méndez, municipal judge of Isla de Pinos and prominent journalist, stood out in this endeavor. This personality also managed the creation of a popular patronage to build the School for Apprentices of Farmers in 1945-1950, which would bear the name of José Martí, on the land of the farm, which finally became the symbolic first stone, since this The project was abandoned, despite the fact that the people of the Island wanted and needed it, due to the political games of the time.

In the architectural ensemble formed by three bodies; the main house, the kitchen and the auxiliary body where the museum is located, objects related to Martí are preserved, and in other parts of the area, a sundial and the ruins of the lime kiln that existed there next to the spring. Much of the farm is a protected area of ​​CITMA, called the Valle del Hondón, due to the ecological values ​​it contains, including a small snail endemic to the Sierra de Casas area, called Priotrocatella constelata. The El Abra estate museum is unique in Cuba, for its peculiar buildings, built with an architectural design that shows features of the aforementioned transculturation, between Catalonia and Cuba.

 

 

Museo Presidio Modelo.

 

 

Current photo of part of the Model Prison, later the National Prison for Men. The circular destined to dining room stands out, also named by Pablo de la Torriente Brau the “circular of the 3000 silences”.

It is located on the road to Bibijagua beach, on the outskirts of Nueva Gerona, in the current Delio Chacón district. Its sad celebrity is due to the role it played, not only in the confinement of highly dangerous common prisoners throughout the country, but for having been used as a political prison for important figures of fighters from generations ofthe revolutionof the Thirty and of the Centenary of the birth of José Martí. The name given by Pablo de la Torriente Brau is associated with this repressive institution; to the territory; Island of the five hundred murders since in the popular imagination of Cuba the belief that this was all a prison was fostered. The construction of this prison compound was carried out under the government of Gerardo Machado, who laid the first stone on February 1, 1926, as a symbol of his dictatorship. It is officially terminated on January 31, 1931, at a cost of approximately two million pesos. In the architectural order, it is a civil construction, as well as a modified variant of the panopticon, conceived in the late eighteenth century by the English penalist Jeremías Bentham. In the practice of international law, its construction in the locality violated the existing prohibitions, in relation to the establishment of island prisons.

The walls of the prison den witnessed the passing of the most prominent representatives of the different revolutionary stages of the Cuban nation, such as Pablo de the Brau Stream, Raúl Roa García, Gabriel Barceló, Eduardo Chibás, against many of whom used the mentally ill ward and the punishment cells. They were also used against Fidel Castro, Raúl Castro, Jesús Montané and other assailants of the Moncada and Carlos M. de Céspedes barracks, held in pavilion number one of the hospital until their amnesty in 1955 and later, in circular no. 4, between 1956 and 1958, hundreds of young fighters against Batista were imprisoned until January 1, 1959.

The presence of Fidel Castro in the Prison from October 17, 1953, four days after the rest of the sanctioned, until May 15, 1955, resulted in the drafting and subsequent disclosure of his historic plea. History will absolve me. as well as the preparation of the new vanguard of the Revolution, described as the “fertile prison”. This concept of forge of the next stage of struggle was also extended at the end of that decade when, from January 15, 1957, circular 4 began to be used to concentrate young revolutionary political prisoners who had faced the Batista dictatorship. The organization of a board of directors under the control of the July 26 Movement, facilitated the creation of the conditions for the revolutionary triumph in the town from here.

Among its values, then, the historical, sociological and architectural ones stand out; It is a unique construction in the country.

Fidel and Raúl (carrying his brother's eldest son) on one of the visits to relatives, during his imprisonment in the Isla de Pinos prison, from October 1953 to May 1955.

 

 

The Pinero ferry.

It is located in a land location, on the banks of the Las Casas river, very close to its traditional pier, on Calle 33 between 26 and 28, in Nueva Gerona.

This ship was built in Philadelphia, United States, in the year 1901. Its arrival on the Isle of Pines occurred on April 6, 1927, acquired by the Isle of Pines Steamship Company (IPSSCo.) or Pine Island Steamer Company

The original boat had 51 metersof length and 9 of beam, a weight of 387 net tons and 497 total. It developed a speed of approximately 8 knots. The journey between Batabanó and Isla de Pinos covered it in 8 hours. The passenger capacity was 160, although it sometimes carried more than 200 people. The crew ranged from 15 to 20 sailors. It was also used for the transfer of prisoners and general cargo. The cost of this ship was 150,000 pesos.

The aboriginal pictographs of the caves of Punta del Este.

 

 

Photo of one of the details of the pictographs of cave no.1 in Punta del Este, and that some specialists associate with the reproduction of life.

They are located in the southern region of the Isle of Youth. Among the four caves selected for their archaeological and historical value, number one stands out, better known as the “Sistine chapel of Antillean rock art” or pre-Columbian temple, according to the expression of Fernando Ortiz, who made the first scientific report of them, a total of 213 pictographs on its walls in 1922.

The first historical reference to this archaeological pictographic mural was made in 1903, in the book by the French geographer Charles Berchon Across Cuba, where he made a brief reference to the adventures of Dr. Freeman P. Lane, who after a shipwreck arrived at these caves and observed their pictographs.

For a long time, in the Republican era, the cave was inhabited by a hermit, surnamed Isla, who built a hut inside the cave; Many tourists also used to take fragments of rocks with parts of these symbols as souvenirs, which caused deterioration to the original pictograms. On the visit made on August 15, 1959, by the then Prime Minister of the revolutionary government, Fidel Castro, along with Antonio Núñez Jiménez and Dr. José Rivero dethe street, instructions were given for the restoration, conservation and sanitation of the archaeological site. That was a first step in the political will to rescue the roots of the national culture and the Caribbean area, which is considered one of the most important evidences, given the abundance and variety of pictographic symbols in this region, as in no other of this geographical basin.

Local monuments of the Isle of Youth.

In the island of youth, the Municipal Heritage Center has declared as local Monuments:

  • The Cueva del Indio, in the vicinity of Nueva Gerona.
  • The Santa Isabel cave, in the San Juan area.

The declaration is made according to the Law, for legal protection and conservation purposes.

The Indian cave:

It is located in the marble heights of Sierra Las Casas, Nueva Gerona. This place is considered a relevant archaeological site, because despite being relatively small it is among the most important caves in Cuba, in terms of the number of human remains exhumed by archaeologists, reaching the figure of thirty individuals, including remains of children and adults. On its walls there were also pictographs that were not preserved. The human remains were transferred to the United States and until now it has not been possible to systematize the corresponding studies.

The cave of Santa Isabel:

It is located on the Los Murcielagos hill, near the town of La Reforma (previously called San Juan); It is distinguished because the only pictographic evidence appears on its stone walls on the Island where the human figure is represented, with an ornament or headdress, with rather rough black lines.

In one of its caves the best and most preserved stone dagger was found (for ceremonial rites), among many of those located in Cuba. Two flint scrapers were also discovered, unique in the productive indopin trousseau, as well as several shiny spheres of uncooked red clay. All this points to a possible presence of the Ciboney (Cayo Redondo aspect), as no shells appear, but a predominance of lithic instruments, a feature of this level of development.

The continuation of scientific studies at these sites is necessary to establish their true value, in light of the most up-to-date knowledge that exists in the country.

Other sites related to local history:

Obelisk in tribute to the patriot Bruno Hernández Blanco:

 

It was built by the pinero people from a public collection, made of gray marble from the Island, in tribute to its first martyr, Bruno Hernández Blanco, and unveiled on December 7, 1946. It is located at the main entrance to the cemetery of Nueva Gerona and consists of an obelisk of medium proportions, at the base of which is a niche with the patriot's mortal remains.

Obelisk in tribute to Cristóbal Labra:

It is located in the town of La Reforma. It was raised in tribute to the young Cristóbal Labra, who died in the flames of a fire in a compost warehouse, on the farm of the same name, trying to rescue the goods and extinguish the fire, on June 23, 1966.

In the sculptural group there is a card that says:

In honor of Cristóbal Labra Pérez. Member of the Luis Ramírez López Column. The presence of this young revolutionary militant of his time is linked to the call made by the leadership of the Revolution to all Cubans to work on the Island, to recover it from the disasters caused by Cyclone Alma, on June 8, 1966, and to continue developing the ambitious programs outlined for the territory since the beginning of the 1960s, under the motto "recover what was lost and advance much more."

Obelisk in tribute to the border guard fighters of the torpedo boat, LT-85.

It is located on the Siguanea dock, near the Colony hotel; was raised to the memory of young sailors killed in sabotage perpetrated by frogmen, sent bythe CIA, to the LT-85 torpedo boat, on December 23, 1963.

They were named Leonardo Luberta Noy, Jesús Mendoza la Rosa and Fe Hernández Jubán. Another 17 sailors were wounded, one of whom later lost his life due to the fatal injuries he suffered: Jesús Gabilla.

José Martí Monument:

 

 

It is located in the current art school, which was formerly the Luis M. Arredondo school, it was placed on the pedestal for the flagpole of Cuba, built in the front area of ​​the school (1925-1928). At its base is a bronze plaque, presided over by the national emblem in relief, with the following legend: "The pavilion of a town is its most loved relic ... Martí".

.Plaque honoring José Martí.

It is a gray marble slab, placed to the right of the main entrance of the central building of the old Presidio Modelo. In the center and upper part the national coat of arms appears and at the right and left ends two olive branches; at the top a five-pointed star. It also includes the following inscription: “The number 13 of the first brigade having corresponded to José Martí and Pérez upon entering the Departmental Prison on April 4, 1870, it is provided as a tribute to his memory that hereafter cannot be displayed by another recluse".

This text had the force of a decree to be fulfilled in all the prisons of the country, during the previous republic.

The existence of this plaque in this place has motivated some visitors of Presidio Modelo to think that Martí was confined here. This is an error because this installation was built from1926 to 1931 and our apostle was from October 13 to December 18, 1870 at the El Abra estate as a political deportee.

Plaque of remembrance of José Martí at the El Abra farm.

It is located at the entrance of the museum, the text reads as follows:

"After having suffered the horrors of the Political Prison in Havana, he was pardoned and relegated to the islandde Pinos thanks to the efforts of José María Sardá and generous Catalan Gironella who gave him shelter in this house from the second decade of October until December 18, 1870 when he returned to Havana to be deported to Spain. It was one of the objects that the museum had when it opened on January 28, 1944, managed by the Committee for the Reconstruction of the José Martí Residence on the El Abra estate.

Commemorative card to Camilo Cienfuegos.

It is located on the wall of the old Café Nuevo Virginia, on José Martí street, corner of 24 and indicates the presence of Camilo Cienfuegos in the place. It is a small bronze plate, with the following text:

Camilo Cienfuegos presence in the island 2/17/59.

Airport

 Presidio

 Girona

 Open up.

Commemorative plaques to the heroes of Baire.

The first card is located at the main entrance of the old Nueva Gerona hospital, on José Martí street. It is a bronze plaque with regular-sized letters that says: "Héroes del Baire".

It refers to the attack carried out near the pine coast, on April 17, 1961, by two B-26 aircraft from the United States, to the ship Baire, an old gunboat that was part of the Navy, occupied by the Army Rebel at the end of the Batista regime. In this attack, the young sailors Juan Alarcón Rodríguez and Armando Ramos Velazco, the heroes of Baire, die. The name of the hospital pays tribute to his memory and it is not as it is mistakenly believed by many, that it is associated with the well-known Cry of Baire, in the eastern region of the country.

Also, in relation to this fact, on the banks of the Bibijagua beach, on the trenches erected there to repel the mercenary aggression in 1961, a simple marble obelisk was erected where the date and event are remembered with the following inscription: “A the Heroes of Baire 4/17/1961 ”.

Other sites associated with local history.

Ensenada de la Siguanea.

Place of the supposed first arrival of Christopher Columbus, on June 13,1494 to the island, called by him Saint John the Evangelist or the Evangelist. Place closely related to piracy and where the defeat of the fleet led by General Thomas Baskerville, after the death of Francis Drake, by the naval squadron in charge of the Spanish Bernardino Delgadillo y Avellaneda occurred.

The seabed of this cove is one of the best preserved in the country and stands out for the diversity of flora and fauna. In them there are still important remains and evidence of shipwrecks, from the colonial era and even in recent years.

Las Casas River estuary.

Possibly it is another point where Admiral Christopher Columbus also made land on the Island, close to a palm grove and a water source, in order to provide himself with food on his return trip to the island from Cuba, after having traveled the entire coast of the Siguanea cove, heading north.

Caleta Grande, Carapachibey, Rincón del Guanal.

Archaeological sites with evidence of aboriginal settlements, belonging to the Ciboney culture, Guayabo Blanco appearance and with pictographic footprints similar to those of Punta del Este.

 

 

Júcaro river jetty in Santa Fe.

Scenario of the first cry of ¡Viva Cuba Libre! of which there is a reference, a historical fact known as the Assault on the sloop Margarita,occurred on January 11, 1896. Its protagonists, patriotic political deportees, joined the Maceo forces in Pinar del Río. The political deportees Plácido Hernández Vázquez, Cristóbal Guevara Aroza, Ángel Abascal Alderete, Rafael Caso Vidal, Pedro Buides Orihuela, Juan Miranda Pérez, Adolfo Vega Valdivia, Irene Hernández, Victoriano Guerrero and Máximo Camero Díaz participated in this action.

In this place, on the initiative of the UJC of the municipality, a commemorative plaque was unveiled, on the centenary of the invasion mambisa and another similar one in the Pinar del Río coasts where the young revolutionaries arrived in the island from Cuba.

The Nueva Gerona bridge.

It was a platform, mainly made of wood, that connected the two banks of the Las Casas river on the first cart road of 1827, between the Sierra de Casas jetty, also called Las Guásimas, in Nueva Gerona and the road to the town of Santa Fe proposal of the lieutenant colonel and military commander of Isla de Pinos, Clemente Delgado and Spain. However, it was not built until 1851. In 1866 it was washed away by the waters and until 1875 the transfer was made by rafts; its reconstruction became essential when Alejo Salas built the La Esperanza sugar mill near Bibijagua beach.

 Wooden version of the bridge over the Las Casas river.

It was the meeting point of the patriots, both on January 11 and on July 26, 1896 to carry out the assault on the sloop Margarita and in the independence pronouncement of the respective dates.

As a result of the establishment of the Isla de Pinos Free Zone, it was replaced by a bascule bridge in January 1956, which is currently preserved, although without the mechanical function.

Tilting bridge over the Las Casas river and the Nueva Gerona boardwalk built in the first half of the 20th century.

Evangelina Cossío's house.

According to testimonies of the time, preserved by oral tradition, it can be located on the land where the José Antonio Echeverría park is currently located, located on Calle Dionisio Vives or Carlos Manuel de Céspedes (Calle 37), corner of Calle de la Iglesia (today 28).

It is especially relevant for being the setting for the arrest of the military commander of the plaza, Colonel José Bérriz, starring the young revolutionaries Evangelina Cossío, Emilio Vargas and others.

Site of the fall in combat of Bruno Hernández Blanco, the first pinero martyr.

 

 

Tarja commemorating the first martyr pinero on Calle 26 on the corner of José Martí.

This place is located on Calle 26, corner of José Martí (formerly Calle 39). According to the testimony of Serafín Fernández, protagonist of the events who rode with Ninones (nickname of Bruno Hernández), the patriot fell as a result of a Spanish rifle firing from a barricade defended by Spanish army volunteers fortified in this place. . There he fell mortally wounded, in the corner itself, near the columns of the building that currently exists, but that then lacked a sidewalk.

List of known participants in the events of July 26, 189.

  • Emilio Vargas. Captured in Nueva Gerona and executed.
  • Juan Iturriaga. Captured near Santa Fe and killed.
  • Bruno Hernández Blanco. The first fallen in the facts.
  • The three brothers named Pepper. Captured near Nueva Gerona and killed.
  • Miguel María Blanco Pantoja, wounded and sentenced to prison in La Cabaña.
  • Manuel Narciso Hernández Llorca, sentenced to prison, dies in La Cabaña.
  • Hilario Pantoja Soto, sent to La Cabaña, died two months after being released, a victim of tuberculosis.
  • Cecilio Soto Pantoja, sentenced to prison in La Cabaña.
  • Pastor Pantoja Nuviola, sentenced to prison in La Cabaña.
  • Juan F. Pantoja González, sentenced to prison in La Cabaña.
  • Ángel Soto Pantoja, sentenced to prison in La Cabaña.
  • Tabio Soto Hernández. sentenced to prison in La Cabaña.
  • Serafín Fernández García del Prado, sentenced to prison in La Cabaña.
  • Enrique Mateo, sentenced to prison in La Cabaña.
  • Manuel M. Soto Pantoja, sentenced to prison in La Cabaña.
  • Cornelio Soto Pantoja, sentenced to prison in La Cabaña.
  • Generoso Soto Pantoja, sentenced to prison in La Cabaña.
  • Enrique Soto Pantoja, sentenced to prison in La Cabaña.
  • Eustaquio Soto Pantoja, sentenced to prison in La Cabaña.
  • Pablo Llorca García, sentenced to prison in La Cabaña.
  • Higinio Llorca García, sentenced to prison in La Cabaña.
  • Domingo Soto Prado, sentenced to prison in La Cabaña.
  • Jacinto Soto Prado, sentenced to prison in La Cabaña.
  • González Soto Sponsorship, sentenced to prison in La Cabaña.
  • Pánfilo Hernández Llorca, sentenced to prison in La Cabaña.
  • Evangelina Cossío, confined in the Casa de Recogidas in Havana and rescued from there by Cubans and Americans.
  • Abelardo Pantoja Flores managed to evade the prison.
  • Rosendo Betancourt, managed to evade the prison.
  • Pedro Pantoja Flores managed to evade the prison.
  • Manuel Rodríguez Cajides, managed to evade the prison.

Hotel la Favorita.

It was a colonial construction located on the corner formed by Bruno Hernández (26) and Antonio Maceo (35) streets. Later it was built in a more modern version, compared to its original location, today occupied by a multi-family building.

In this building, and in a very close one, used as a fence for roosters, and located in what is now the Brisas Pineras or Casa del Arroz restaurant, the conspirators residing in Nueva Gerona and its surroundings met on July 26, 1896, waiting for the cavalry that would leave Santa Fe and its surrounding farms, with Bruno Hernández as leader.

La Favorita was founded on November 22, 1923, the spineIsla de Pinos National Defense, chaired by the public prosecutor and retired teacher Enrique Bayo Soto; He was supported by Ramón Llorca Soto, teacher and municipal mayor; Sergio Montané, accountant of the Fiscal Zone, Dr. Enrique Vignier, municipal judge and other personalities and representatives of local social institutions. The objective of this movement was to fight for Cuban sovereignty over Isla de Pinos in conjunction with other Columns created for this purpose in the country. The most important patriotic action carried out was the reissue ofthe invasionfrom Maceo from East to West, by the same route, although in the opposite direction. Its purpose was to publicize the objectives of that fight through rallies, propaganda, etc.

Isle of Pines Town Hall.

 

Current photo of the building, headquarters of the Municipal Museum of History.

Historically nestled in the lands occupied by the Military Command of the Reina Amalia colony founded in 1830, it functioned as a town hall from the year 1874. It is located on Calle 30 between 37 (Carlos M de Céspedes) and 39 (José Martí) Nueva Gerona . The municipal Museum of History currently resides in this building. It is one of the most important buildings of colonial architecture on the Island and has undergone several architectural modifications; initially, inside it had corridors with columns, as well as an interior staircase to access the roof, with clay tiles and then zinc. Currently, the staircase is exterior and the concrete deck; in addition, the columns with capitals of the interiors disappeared.

In the first decade of the 20th century, it was considered one of the most important in the country, both in terms of architecture and its good construction status. A great clock stood out in this set, placed in a tower, in the main facade of the building and that was the pride of all the inhabitants of the city of Nueva Gerona.

As a government house and military command, the presence of the political deportee José Martí is associated with this building, who had, according to what is established in the Regulations, to register here upon arrival in the Register of deportees and to appear once a week, until they moved him to Havanaon December 18, 1870 to then leave for their first exile in Spain, on January 15, 1871. Gathered before their portals, the Pinero people supported their mayor Juan Manuel Sánchez Amat, against the annexationist attempts of 1905 and 1906 , led by some North American settlers based on the Island; It was also the scene of Fidel Castro's first public appearance on the island, on June 7, 1959, where he announced the Minimum Plan for economic and social rehabilitation and the repeal ofthe Free Zone and Special Tourist Island of Pinos.

In the sixties of the 20th century, on its front, extending towards the street and from its main staircase, a platform was built, integrated into the complex called Heroic Guerrilla, through which the old Lacret Park was converted into a square for public events, transforming into a large space for meetings and political gatherings and massive parties.

Remodeling of the building began in 1990; the main entrance was recovered, the aforementioned platform was demolished, and other construction actions were undertaken that included various works objects to bring it as close as possible to its original version. As part of the local heritage rescue policy, the municipal Museum of History was located in this building in 1990.

The Cavalry Barracks.

 

 

Cavalry Barracks, demolished in 1947 to construct a new building for the “Evangelina Cossío Cisneros” primary-higher school. Currently it is the primary school"Josué País.

 Despite having been the first and most important military fortress on the Island and having had a strong popular movement, led by the judge and journalist Waldo Medina to prevent it, it was demolished in 1946, to build the primary school on its foundations. Superior Evangelina Cossío, today occupied by the semi-boarding school Josué País, located at Calle 20 between 37 (Carlos M. de Céspedes) and 39 (José Martí).

It began to function as a school from 1853 and its original design was that of a U-shaped building, with an interior courtyard, at the end of which was located the powder keg and the corresponding stables. The main access was a large wooden door reinforced with ironwork, and in the east and west corners it had two large artillery towers. It was also used as a prison, hospital and part of its facilities as a school, already at the time of the republic.

Taking this fortress, the weapons and supplies stored in its powder keg, once the surrender of the military commander José Bérriz had been achieved, was the immediate objective of the patriots raised in arms on July 26, 1896, to later join the forces of Antonio Maceo In the Habana.

At the initiative of the pinero mayor Elías Sardá Valdés, during his mandate from the year 1913 to 1916, a building commemorating the patriot pinero Bruno Hernández Blanco was placed in this building. It was replaced by the current obelisk in the Nueva Gerona cemetery in 1947 with the demolition of the barracks.

The upper primary school (today called basic secondary education) located there after its demolition was the first of its kind and level that the Isle of Pines had, once the building was built on the foundations of the old barracks.

The Catholic Church of Nueva Gerona.

It was part of the urban development cell established by the Spanish metropolis for all its colonial cities, based on a central square, called Isabel II (now a heroic Guerrilla park); the government house and military command, residence of this authority (Municipal Museum of History), the Protectorate (art school), some main family houses and the town church.

The oldest antecedent of a religious institution on the Isle of Pines was a chapel in 1630, managed by Francisco Manrique de Rojas, although it was not until September 15, 1788 that the first church was erected, in the San Antonio de los Almácigos, under the original dedication of Our Lady of Sorrows and San Nicolás de Vari, with the category of auxiliary church of the parish of San Pedro del Batabanó. This first church disappears and a few years later another one is built in San Francisco de las Piedras. In 1809, when the Duarte founded the town of Santa Fe, a third church was erected there. However, at the time of founding Nueva Gerona, this church resumes the original dedication of the first, from 1788: Our Lady of Sorrows and Saint Nicholas of Vari as patrons of the nascent population,

Due to cyclone and hurricane scourges, this building was destroyed several times, although the most important reconstruction was carried out after the passage of the cyclone in 1926, as it virtually destroyed it. As evidence, at the top of its main door you can see engraved in gray marble, the following inscription. "This Church was built at the expense of theEXMO (most excellent) Mr. Manuel Ruiz and Rodríguez Archbishop of Havana who blessed and solemnly inaugurated it on September 29, 1929. The island de Pinos and his Presidio Modelo dedicate this simple tribute of thanks and admiration ”.

In this Church, Father Guillermo Sardiñas Menéndez began to officiate as parish priest on February 27, 1954, until his incorporation into the Sierra Maestra, on June 2, 1957. At the proposal of Camilo Cienfuegos, Father Sardiñas was promoted to commander and he held the post of chaplain of the Rebel Army. After the revolutionary triumph, he worked for the government and the country, in the Cristo Rey church until his death. His attitude set an important precedent in the incorporation of priests into the libertarian struggles in Latin America. He died on December 21, 1964 in the students' clinic (today "Comandante Manuel Fajardo" hospital).

Hotel Isla de Pinos.

 

 

Hotel Isla de Pinos was located in the current park "May 15".

It was located in the space that today occupies the 15 de Mayo park, the southeast corner at the intersection of José Martí streets (39) and 20th street. Despite the fact that the remains of the elevated water tank have an inscription from 1912 The truth is that the hotel dates from the beginning of the 20th century and was built by the Americans. Its original name was Burnside. Then it was sold and passed to successive owners, one of whom renamed it Isla de Pinos. It remained standing until the last decade of the sixties.

It is a historical place for the pineros since, on May 15, 1955, Fidel Castro, together with Jesús Montanè Oropesa, gave his first press conference there, at the exit of the prison, where he confirmed the firmness in the struggle of the group of moncadistas .

Customs Building.

 

Current photo of the building, used as a passenger terminal for maritime transportation between the ports of Nueva Gerona and Batabanó.

It is located between Calle 24 and the east bank of the Las Casas River. It is a building of great architectural value, and despite having been built in the 20s of the last century, it was integrated into the building complex of the historic center of the city. In its surrounding areas some sections of the old cobbled streets are still preserved. Until the end of the sixties, its main facade was adorned with a beautiful Cuban shield of regular proportions, which was removed when the building was used as a pasteurizing plant and a shipping center for fluid cow's milk to Havana.

Within the Free Zone and Special Tourist Island of Pinos (1955-1959), gained considerable importance in the economic scheme designed by Batista for Isla de Pinos.

Currently, there is the Viajeros terminal for maritime passengers.

Museo Casa Natal de Jesús Montané Oropesa:

 

 

Los Montanè- Oropesa, emblematic pine family.

 

It is located at the current streets 24 (Benito Ortiz) and 45 (Segunda), in Nueva Gerona. The Montanè-Oropesa, an emblematic pine family, lived in this building. Sergio Montanè (father) and Zenaida Oropesa (mother) were linked to the fight for the ratification of the Hay-Quesada Treaty, the defense of public education, to the efforts to develop the Pinero territory and in the last stage of the fight they organized in this place the Pro-Amnesty Committee of Political Prisoners (Moncadistas). Jesús Montanè, participated in the assault on the Moncada Barracks and in the landing of Granma; his sister Magali Montanè joined the fight in the Sierra Maestra.

Nueva Gerona; brief history of its streets.

The so-called “helmet” or historical center of the city is framed between Calle 18 (north), Calle 32 (south) and from 33 (east) to Calle 41 (west). It is the most important heritage site in the colonial history of Pinera, since the original perimeter of the city was located here.

Historical version of the General Lacret park from the 1920s.

In the town of Santa Fe there are, as in Nueva Gerona, buildings from that time with the following architectural features: long brick buildings, covered with clay tiles and capital columns and ornamentation with few representations of flora or fauna , unlike the rest of the country. The arrangement of the U-shaped ships, with a water tank supported on four large columns, next to a well for their supply, located in spacious interior courtyards, is another important feature in both towns.

If we compare a city with the human body, we could say that the buildings constitute the muscle mass of the city and its streets would be like the arteries, through which the life of the body or social fabric passes. Both express the adaptive resistance of physical space to the passage of time. The design and construction of the streets constitutes an important part of the founding ritual of a city, the plot that draws the characteristics of the space, now for social purposes (physical-social space).

In 1831, the lieutenant of cavalry and public surveyor, Alejo Helvecio Lanier, represented the urban cell of Nueva Gerona on the topographic map of the Reina Amalia neighborhood. It consisted of a rectangular path, with three streets oriented from north to south and four from east to west, on the banks of the Sierra de Casas river and the old course of the Júcaro stream (currently streets 41 and 32).

In the Statistical Table of the always faithful island of Cuba, from 1846, reference is made to the existence of four streets from north to south and seven from east to west. This allows us to infer that there was a growth of the main arteries of the city of Nueva Gerona, over a period of fifteen years: one from north to south and three from east to west..


Plan of Nueva Gerona, from the Hydrography Department. Madrid, year 1883.

During Charles Magoon's military intervening government (1906-1908), a significant part of the money from the national coffers was used in road construction; Only in Isla de Pinos, $ 175,000 were executed for the so-called “Magoon scuffs”, wide avenues, carefully leveled and finished, with long drains and cement culverts where necessary. The pluvial drainage system was inherited from the colonial era in which it was built, from the current 51st street in a north-south direction (royal ditch and for military purposes) and extended until 18 and 32, to join, in this place, with the course of the Júcaro stream (already disappeared). Subsequently, these trenches were covered with marble stones at various points in the city, with the workmanship of the inmates of Presidio Modelo, a coating that was later extended to the highway from Nueva Gerona to Presidio and Bibijagua beach. In some sections of this route you can still see remains of these works.

Today, an old street name from the North American era persists; the so-called Abraham Lincoln avenue (now called avenue of the port) and that then linked Nueva Gerona with the town of Mc Kinley, the rustic farms of Palm Grove and the ancient settlement of the Colonists. Today it is one of the courses that define the north end of the city.

 

 

Street names in the city of Nueva Gerona.

Period 1830-1898.

Streets from North to South

Names in colonial times

18

San Manuel; Wide North

twenty

from the Barracks

22

del Tejar

24

Sierra de Casas

26

San Clemente

28

of the church; Andrés Acosta

30

Isabel II

32

of the Marine

Streets of East to west

Names in colonial times

33

Valdés walk

35

Scratch; river street

37

Vives walk

39

Toothbrushes

41

Paseo O 'Donnell; Heel.

As it is possible to appreciate, most of the street names are dedicated to distinguish personalities of the metropolitan, Havana and local colonial politics, likewise, the street names reflect uses, customs, constructions, buildings and economic activities that serve of references for spatial orientation of residents and foreigners.

San Clemente: It seems to have been a tribute to Lieutenant Colonel Clemente Delgado and Spain, the first military commander, founder and director of the Reina Amalia neighborhood. He also held the position of Navy and Ports subdelegate, from 1826 to 1833.

San Manuel: The origin of this name is unknown. It can be assumed that it was in the honor of some colonial personality.

Andrés Acosta: He was one of the main owners of Isla de Pinos and a pedneous judge between 1785 and 1824. He fought against illegal immigration and proposed the construction of the first church in the Almácigos.

Isabel II:She was the heir to the throne of Spain, after the death of her father, King Fernando VII, when she was only three years old. Until her coming of age, her mother María Cristina ruled in her place.

Valdés walk: Refers to the Captain General of Cuba, Gerónimo Valdés. In 1841, at the proposal of the then director of the Reina Amalia neighborhood, José María Isla, he set out to found a town in the place where the Florida militiamen settled, known as the Colonists, and to call it Valdés in honor of said colonial authority, but finally the project was not carried out.

Scratch: He refers to Francisco Rasco who served as interim military and political commander of Isla de Pinos and in 1845 assumed office with all his prerogatives.

do you live: in honor of General Francisco Dionisio Vives, who was appointed since mid-1843, Captain General of Cuba and President of the Junta de Fomento y Population Blanca.

Pinillos:Since 1825 and during the second quarter of the 19th century, Claudio Martínez de Pinillos served as head of the Spanish Government's Finance Intendancy in Cuba and was one of King Fernando VII's trusted men, although he was of Havana origin. He carried out and supported works in favor of the progress of the Cuban colony.

Heel: Lieutenant General Miguel Tacón was named Captain General of Cuba in the year 1834. The king granted him all-encompassing powers or faculties to govern, in the face of Cuban separatist attempts and conspiracies.

O 'Donnell: Lieutenant General Leopoldo O'Donnell replaced Tacón in mid-1843, and made the omnimous powers an instrument of abuse and notable cruelties to suppress rebellion in the colony. Under his name there was a marble quarry on the Island.

Period 1898 to 1960

Streets from North to South

Names in the Republic

18

San Manuel; North street.

twenty

from the Barracks; Antonio Guiteras.

22

Emilio Vargas

24

Benito Ortiz.

26

Bruno Hernández.

28

church

30

Zayas Bazán; Town hall.

Streets from East to West

Names in the Republic.

33

Castell.

35

Antonio Maceo.

37

Carlos Manuel de Céspedes.

39

Jose Marti.

41

Cosme de la Torriente; Libertad street.

At this stage, the pine streets stop honoring the old Spanish colonial authorities to do it to the main patriots of the Cuban libertarian exploits, such as the father of the country, Carlos Manuel de Céspedes; the national hero and apostle of Cuban independence, José Martí; the lieutenant general, Antonio Maceo; to the outstanding revolutionary fighter and bulwark of the Thirty Revolution and the Hundred Days Government, Antonio Guiteras. Likewise, the importance of the independence uprising of July 26, 1896 is recognized under the name of patriots Bruno Hernández and Emilio Vargas.

The naming of one of its streets Cosme de la Torriente confirms the importance that the pinaros attached to this standard-bearer of the fight for the ratification of the Hay-Quesada Treaty, in which this Cuban ambassador in Washington concretized the definitive actions to enforce the Cuba's right over the island of Pinos.

However, the republican urban pinera continued to honor politicians and that is why they named Benito Ortiz to one of its arteries, in honor of who was the local mayor from 1908 to 1913. The same happened with Zayas Bazán street, in allusion to Rogerio Zayas Bazán, Gerardo Machado's Secretary of the Interior and promoter of the Presidio Modelo construction project. This was the case with Castell Street, to flatter Pedro Abraham Castell y Varela, head of the works and first military supervisor of the Model Prison.

Population growth expanded the city limits; Thus we see the first extension of the historic center towards what was called, Pueblo Nuevo, between the current streets 18 and 32 to the east and to the southwest, 43 and 51; These new streets were named as follows:

Streets

 Names that identified them.

43

 First.

Four. Five

 Second.

47

 Third.

49

Quarter.

51

Calle de la Zanja (old royal ditch)

Since the nineties, on the occasion of the V Centennial of the arrival of Columbus, the Center for heritage and personalities of the island's culture proposed to recover the old names of the streets in the historic center, lost as a result of a decision by the local authorities in the 60s, to remove them and replace them with numbers. Even the corresponding signs were placed on various streets of the city, but it did not go beyond an intention; the population and the media have continued to name them by the numbers. To date, the aforementioned project continues without the necessary official approval.

  1. Proposal to rename the streets of Nueva Gerona.

 Streets from North to South.

Streets

Proposal

18

Héctor Pérez Llorca

twenty

Evangelina Cossío.

22

Emilio Vargas (ratify it).

24

Juan Manuel Sánchez Amat.

26

Bruno Hernández (ratify it).

28

Commander Sardiñas.

30

 Ángel Galañena.

32

José Almuiñas.

  

 Southwest streets.

Streets

Proposals

33

Captain Lawton.

35

Antonio Maceo (ratify it).

37

Carlos Manuel de Céspedes (ratify it)

39

José Martí (ratify it).

41

Freedom (ratify it).

As can be seen, the proposal ratifies the names in tribute to the personalities of history with a national and local significance in the earliest stages of the struggle, and incorporates figures from the last feat of the nation to achieve total independence and practice of internationalism:

Evangelina Cossío: Participant in the independence uprising in Nueva Gerona, on July 26, 1896 with a group of pines and political deportees. She was known internationally as the Cuban Joan of Arc.

Juan Manuel Sánchez Amat: Chief of the escort of Antonio Maceo during his passage through the province of Havana. First pinero mayor and defender of the Cuban island of Pinos against the annexationist attempts of the Yankee settlers based in the territory.

Héctor Pérez Llorca: Young revolutionary of pinero origin who participated in the uprising of the Navy in the city of Cienfuegos, where he falls on September 5, 1957.

Guillermo Sardiñas Menéndez: Parish priest of the Catholic Church of Nueva Gerona from February 27, 1954 to June 2, 1957, when he joined the fight against Batista in the Sierra Maestra. He reached the rank of chaplain commander of the Rebel Army.

Roberto Sánchez Bartelemí (Captain Lawton): Member of the invading column under the command of Camilo Cienfuegos. He participated in the guerrilla organized by Ernesto Guevara in the 1960s in the Congo and worked hard on the socioeconomic development of the territory. He died on July 27, 1989 on the Isle of Youth.

José Almuiñas: Outstanding leader of the PCC on the Isle of Youth. He dies in a regrettable car accident while fulfilling work missions related to the citrus development of the territory.

However, in this project, unknown to the majority of the Pinera population, only political figures are honored and other prominent local figures are not taken into account, such as Luis de la Masa Arredondo and other teachers; the popular cultural promoter Eugenio Gómez Pagés, known as El Loco, the initiator of the pinero pier and others who deserve remembrance, even if it is not in the streets of the historic city center.

Visitors attribute values, sometimes imprecise, to the streets and houses of historic centers; Specialists also find qualities in the older city road networks and this is not always the case in the new part of the city. Let's make the old space resist, but for this it will be necessary to preserve it without going against modernity, the city's own mobility, and to prevent it from languishing and forgetting.

Main authorities in pine history.

Colonial perio

In the colony, the main authorities were exercised, before the official foundation of Reina Amalia (1830), by the most important and trusted owners of the resident government in the territory. In a second moment the governmental structures were created, where characters with economic power or officials sent to the effect stood out. In general, the best known were:

1573- Alonso de Rojas: owner of Isla de Pinos, for a 10-year livestock grant granted by the King of Spain.

1576- Gerónimo de Rojas: main owner of the Island.

1590- Hernàn Manrique de Rojas and Francisco de Moncayo: owners of Isla de Pinos on this date.

1600- 1627-Hernán Manrique de Rojas: main owner and his relatives with the same last name.

1627- Hernando de Pedroso: owner of Isla de Pinos and main military chief.

1632- José Osorio de Pedroso: heir of Hernando

.

1650-1665: Don Diego Zayas-Bazán y Rojas; main owner of Isla de Pinos.

1665-1704: Fernando Zayas-Bazán and Cristóbal Zayas-Bazán: heirs of Diego.

1704-1740: Duarte and Acosta family.

1741-1758: Nicolás Duarte Osorio, captain and main owner. He divided into seven circular haciendas the enormous insular latifundia of Pinero among his sons, who, in turn, divided them into haciendas, daughters and granddaughters.

1763: Francisco Javier Duarte, pedáneo judge, was named by the Count of Ricla, captain to war and was the main owner of the Island at that time. He delegates the position to his son Domingo Duarte, pedáneo captain, after resigning for the null attention to his claims, to create a church and fortify the Island.

1785: Andrés Acosta grandson of Francisco Javier Duarte, pedáneo judge and main owner.

1824: Juan Nepomuceno Duarte; pedáneo captain and Andrés Acosta; pedáneo judge; both were majority landowners.

When the Queen Amalia colony was founded, a power structure was established whose highest authority was held by the military commander of the colony. Subsequently, he was added the deputy delegate of the Navy and ports and director of the penal colony. These positions were appointed by the Captain General and Governor of Cuba and were an instance of direct subordination to the central government, independently of being linked to other structures in the political-administrative division of the time.

1826-1833-Lieutenant Colonel Clemente Delgado and Spain: first military and political commander, founder and director of the Reina Amalia neighborhood, deputy delegate of the Navy and ports, and don Juan Dovos López, military chief.

1834-Narciso Arascat: acting military commander and then officially appointed military commander.

1835-Vicente Añeses: commander and director of the Reina Amalia neighborhood.

1836-1845-José María Isla: lieutenant colonel, military and political commander, registration assistant of Isla de Pinos and director of the Reina Amalia neighborhood, deputy delegate of the Treasury and Navy.

1845-Francisco Rasco: military and political commander of Isla de Pinos. In 1843 he fulfilled this function on an interim basis.

1846- Bernabé de Maydagán: Military Commander and Governor of the Island.

1849-Francisco Rasco: military and political commander, officially appointed to office.

 1850-José Antonio Morazán: military commander.

 1865- José Rodríguez and López Guaso: military commander.

1867- Pedro Mediavilla: Lieutenant Governor.

1870- Juan LLinás Manso: Lieutenant Governor.

1872- José Pacheco y Canasí: Lieutenant Governor.

1877- Miguel López de Ricòn: commander of the prison and in charge of the government after the conspiracy that yea

1882- Miguel Gómez: lieutenant colonel, military commander and mayor corregidor.

1891- Cándido Hernández y Velasco: lieutenant colonel, mayor, commander and lieutenant of the sea.

1896- José Bérriz: colonel, military chief and governor of the island of Pinos.

 

Republican era.

1898-1901- Period of American military intervention. Mandate of the commander of the Liberation Army Juan Manuel Sánchez Amat, representative of the Cuban government in arms and military chief of Isla de Pinos.

1901-1908-Juan Manuel Sánchez Amat: first mayor of Isla de Pinos in the Republic.

1908-1913- Benito Ortiz and Francisco Ortiz by substitution: mayors of Isla de Pinos.

1913-1916- Elías Sardá Valdés: Mayor.

1916-1920-Serafín Fernández García del Prado and Generoso López by substitution: mayors of Isla de Pinos.

1920-1933-Ramón Llorca Soto: Mayor of Isla de Pinos for two terms.

1933- Joaquín Ortiz Soto: Mayor of Isla de Pinos for six months.

1933-1936- Andrés González: de facto mayor.

1936-1940- Eduardo Escribano González: Mayor.

1940: Mercedes Manet Jenet: de facto mayor.

1940-1944-Dr. Luis Gualda Royo: mayor.

1944-1950- Eduardo Escribano: Mayor of Isla de Pinos for the second time.

1950-1954- Dr. Luis Gualda Royo: Mayor of Isla de Pinos for the second time.

1954-1958- Pedro Manuel Díaz del Valle: Mayor of Isla de Pinos until the triumph of the Revolutio

An important element to highlight within the power structure of the past republic is the role that the commanders of the Model Prison came to play in the stage of Machadist rule, the Batista, as well as in general throughout the period, due to their influences and participation in the political life of the locality. Among the most representative are:

1925- Pedro Abraham Castells y Varela: captain, chief of the Presidio Modelo buildings and first prison supervisor and Brigadier Manuel Hernández: delegate of Captain Castells (He was promoted to Commander afterwards).

1928-1933- Pedro A. Castell: Captain, supervisor of Presidio Modelo.

1933- Manuel López Migoya: captain, supervisor of Presidio Modelo.

1934-1940- Enrique Fernández Pulido: Captain, supervisor of Presidio Modelo.

In 1938, the Social Defense Code was created, stipulating civilian heads for the prison, but in practice, the military chiefs followed.

1940- Dr. Manuel Rodríguez Pérez: assistant delegate of the Superior Council of Social Defense, director of the National Prison for Men.

1940- Dr. Armando Reggi: delegate of the Superior Council of Social Defense, director of the National Prison for Men.

1941- Enrique Fernández Pulido: captain, head of the Isla de Pinos Regiment and director of the Reclusorio together with captain Carlos Viera La Rosa, also director of the National Reclusorio for Men in this period.

1944- Pedro J. Aragón Medinilla: director of the Reclusorio.

1945- Antonio López Rodón: director of the Reclusorio.

1946- Aniceto Sosa Cabrera: director of the Reclusorio.

1947-José J. Urquijo: director of the Reclusorio.

1948- Juan Varela Álvarez: director of the Reclusorio.

1949- Gregorio Querejeta Valdés: retired general, director of the Reclusorio.

1950- Pedro J. Aragón Medinilla: commander, director of the Reclusorio.

1952-1956- Juan M. Capote Fiallo: Commander, Supervisor of the Reclusorio.

1956- October 1957-Manuel Bartolomé Ugalde Carrillo: colonel, supervisor.

Oct.1957-Jan.1958- Dámaso Sogo: Brigadier and, subsequently, Commander José Juárez Rueda: supervisors of the National Reclusorio.

 Jan.-Dec. 1958- Joaquín R. Casillas Lumpuy: Colonel, Supervisor of the Reclusorio.

Dec. 1958- Carlos Viera La Rosa: Commander, Supervisor of the Reclusorio.

 

Socialist stage.

When the revolutionary triumph took place, the prison was run, until 1967, by officers of the Rebel Army. The first in 1959 were:

  • Jesús Saa González: Lieutenant of the Navy and ex-revolutionary political prisoner.
  • Dr. Jesús Portocarrero: captain of the rebel Army.
  • Enrique Ermos González: captain of the rebel Army.
  • Reinaldo Rivero: captain of the rebel Army.

In the 1960s, several moments were distinguished in which revolutionary power manifested itself in the locality according to the prevailing circumstances in the territory and in the nation; in such a way that in the first moments it was in the military leaders, shared with the partisan leaders and commissioners. In the municipality, a direct representation of the Political Bureau of the PCC (Delegate) was established, which was covered by the commander of the rebel Army, Carlos Mir Marrero.

January 10, 1959: Armando Hart, civil governor of Isla de Pinos, Jesús Montané as mayor and José Ramón Fernández, military chief. With the transfer of Hart to Havana, Jesús Montané Oropesa is appointed civil governor of Isla de Pinos and Mariano Rives as mayor and Fernández remains, who was replaced on day 2 by Navy Lt. Jesús Saa González.

January-April 1959: Mariano Rives Pantoja; mayor and then commissioner of Isla de Pinos, along with César Ferreiro and Felicindo Ferro. (The last two names, as they did not hold the position).

February 1959: Bartolomé Calafet: Captain, military chief of Isla de Pinos.

April 1959: Félix Moas; Isla de Pinos commissioner.

May 1959-1961: Martín Duarte; Isla de Pinos commissioner.

May 1959: Gerardo Nogueras Martínez; Captain, military chief of Isla de Pinos.

May 1959: Rolando Kindelán Bles; captain, military chief.

January 1960: René Rodríguez Cruz; commander, military chief.

1961-1963: William Gálvez; commander, military chief and president of the Control, Execution and Inspection Board (JUCEI).

1961-1962: Manuel Yebra; secretary of the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations (ORI).

1962-1966: Manuel Cuervo Méndez; secretary general of the United Party ofthe socialist revolution (PURS).

1963-1965: Antonio Sánchez Días, Pinares; commander, head of the military region.

1964-1966: José Morales, Barbarroja; Head of the Camilo Cienfuegos State Agricultural Group, created from the Special Plan of the same name, linked to INRA.

1965-1970: Carlos Mir Marrero; commander, head of the military region of Isla de

Pinos and delegate of the Political Bureau of the PCC in 1968.

1966-1968: Arturo Lince González; captain, chief of the AAE Camilo Cienfuegos.

1966: Evelio González; secretary of the PCC regional Committee of Isla de Pinos.

1967-1968: Roberto Ogando Zas; secretary of the regional PCC Committee.

1968-1978: Arturo Lince González; secretary of the regional PCC Committee.

1970: René Núñez Alvarado; commander, head of the military region of Isla de Pinos.

1976: Rolando Kindelán Bles; Colonel, head of the Isla de Pinos military region.

1978: Félix Mojena Beltrán; secretary of the PCC municipal committee.

May 1978: Ramón Valle Lazo; colonel, head of the military region.

December 1979: Armando Manresa González; First Secretary of the PCC Municipal Committee on the Isle of Youth.

1982: Marcelo Verdecia Perdomo; Brigadier General, Chief of the Isla de la Juventud Military Region.

1988: Félix M. Infante; Colonel, head of the Isla de la Juventud military region.

1990: Emilio González Farrat; First Secretary of the Municipal Committee of the PCC.

1995: Roberto García Díaz; First Secretary of the Municipal Committee of the PCC.

2002: Elizabeth Cámara Báez; first secretary of the PCC Municipal Committee.

2008: Ana Isa Delgado Jardines; first secretary of the PCC Municipal Committee.

2012: Ernesto Reynoso Piñera; First Secretary of the Municipal Committee of the PCC.

 

The local organs of Popular Power were the result of the institutionalization process developed in Cuba in the 70s of the 20th century, through the approval in a referendum on February 15, 1976 of the first socialist Constitution of the Republic of Cuba.

On the Island, the following colleagues have held the position of Presidents of the Municipal Assembly of People's Power:

 

October 31, 1976: Roberto Ogando Zas; I and II Mandate.

November 1, 1981: Jorge Víctor Antelo Pérez; III and IV Mandate.

November 9, 1986: Rodrigo Miguel Álvarez Sáenz; V and VI Mandate.

January 10, 1993: Miguel Oscar Marull García; VII Mandate.

July 30, 1995: Alcides Betancourt Tor; VIII Mandate.

November 3, 1997: Orestes Ramón Flores Espinosa; IX, X and part of the XI Mandate.

November 23, 2003: Roberto Francisco Unger Pérez; part of the XI, XII and XIII Mandate.

May 19, 2010: Ramón Sánchez Causelo; XIV Mandate.

November 25, 2012: Arelys Casañola Quintana; XV and XVI Mandate.

 

Deputies to the National Assembly of the Popular Power by the Special Municipality Isla de la Juventud:

Period 1976-1981: I Legislature.

  • Jesús Montané Oropesa, member of the Central Committee of the PCC.
  • Arturo Lince González, first secretary of the PCC in Isla de Pinos.
  • Roberto Ogando Zas, President of the Municipal Assembly of People's Power.

Period 1981-1986: II Legislature.

  • Jesús Montané Oropesa, member of the Central Committee of the PCC.
  • Armando Manresa González, first secretary of the PCC Isla de la Juventud.
  • Jorge Víctor Antelo Pérez, President of the Municipal Assembly of People's Power.

Period 1986-1993: III Legislature.

  • Jesús Montané Oropesa, member of the Central Committee of the PCC.
  • Armando Manresa González, first secretary of the PCC Isla de la Juventud.
  • Miguel Álvarez Sáenz president of the Municipal Assembly of People's Power.

Period 1993-1997: IV Legislature.

  • Jesús Montané Oropesa, member of the Central Committee of the PCC.
  • Emilio González Farrat, first secretary of the PCC in the Isle of Youth.
  • Miguel Oscar Marull García, President of the Municipal Assembly of People's Power.
  • Mirurgia Ramírez Santana, district delegate.

Period 1998-2003: V Legislature.

  • Jesús Montané Oropesa, member of the Central Committee of the PCC. He was a deputy until his death, on May 7, 1999.
  • Roberto Fernando García Díaz, first secretary of the PCC in the Isle of Youth.
  • Orestes Ramón Flores Espinosa, President of the Municipal Assembly of People's Power.
  • Roberto Francisco Únger Pérez, district delegate.

2003-2008 Period: VI Legislature.

  • Roberto Fernando García Díaz, first secretary of the PCC in the Isle of Youth.
  • Orestes Ramón Flores Espinosa, President of the Municipal Assembly of People's Power.
  • Oslaida Duvergel Rodríguez, constituency delegate.
  • Alexis Leiva Machado, plastic artist.

2008-2013 period    : VII Legislature.

  • Elizabeth Cámara Báez, first secretary of the PCC.
  • Roberto Francisco Unger Pérez, President of the Municipal Assembly of People's Power.
  • Mirtha Millán Nieves, district delegate.
  • Alexis Leiva Machado, plastic artist.

At the end of their functions as First Secretary of the Party and the term of office as President, Deputies Elizabeth Cámara and Roberto Unger renounced this condition. The Municipal Assembly of People's Power was organized in an electoral college on December 7, 2008 and April 4, 2011, as provided in the current electoral law, and Ana Isa Delgado Jardines (new first secretary of the PCC) and Ramón were elected Sánchez Causelo (new president of the Municipal Assembly of People's Power

 2013-2018 Period: VIII Legislature.

  • Ernesto Reynoso Piñera, first secretary of the PCC Isla de la Juventud.
  • Arelys Casañola Quintana, President of the Municipal Assembly of People's Power.
  • Mirtha Millán Nieves, district delegate.
  • Alexis Leyva Machado, plastic artist

Some political commemorations of the Island of youth.

January 11: First independence action against Spanish colonialism; assault on the sloop Margarita (1896).

February 17: Camilo Cienfuegos visit to consolidate the power of the revolution (1959).

March 7: approval of the pinero coat of arms by the local council (1933).

March 13: ratification of Cuban sovereignty over Isla de Pinos (1925).

April 14: Isla de Pinos was decreed as a deportation center for the Spanish colonial government (1834).

May 15: release of Fidel Castro and other assailants at the Moncada and Carlos M. de Céspedes barracks, through the Amnesty Law (1955).

June 6: Fidel Castro's first visit to the islandafter the triumph of the Revolution. Announces the first program for the economic rehabilitation and repeal of the Isla de Pinos Free and Tourist Zone (1959).

June 12: arrival of the first group of young people from all over the country to rebuild the region, after the scourge of Hurricane Alma, under the slogan of "recover what was lost and advance much more" (1966).

June 13: One of the dates assumed for the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the Island and gives him the name of San Juan Evangelista (1494).

July 26: independence uprising against Spanish colonialism with the participation of pineros. Fall in combat of Bruno Hernández Blanco, Ninone (1896).

July 26: the Isle of Youth hosted the national event for the 41st anniversary of the assault on the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes barracks. The commander in chief Fidel Castro presides over the act (1994).

August 2: proclamation of the official change of the name of Isla de Pinos to Isla de la Juventud (1978).

September 15: Foundation of the first cell of the Revolutionary July 26 Movement (MR 26-7) on the Island (1955).

October 13: confinement of the apostle and national hero José Martí in the island de Pinos (1870).

October 13: Arrival at the National Prison for Men (Model Prison) of the first group of moncadistas as political prisoners (1953).

October 17: Arrival of Fidel Castro Ruz and Fidel Labrador as political prisoners at the National Prison for Men, after having presented their self-defense statement, on the 16th, History will absolve me (1953).

November 22: constitution of the spine of National Defense of Isla de Pinos for the fight for Cuban sovereignty over the territory, which organized a "patriotic mission", consisting of reissuing the route of the Mambisa invasion from east to west, but conversely, starting it in Pinar del Río , as part of the fight for the ratification of the Hay-Quesada Treaty (1925).

December 17: foundation charter of the Reina Amalia neighborhood and the population: Nueva Gerona (1830).

December 18: departure of the apostle and national hero José Martí de the island, to then leave deported to Spain (1870).

 

 

 

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