GRANMA PROVINCE and Latinamerica’S–Culturalmap
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
© Lonely Planet Publications 384 Granma Province Granma has ‘made in Cuba’ stamped all over it. This is the land where José Martí died, where Fidel Castro landed with his band of shipwrecked revolutionaries, and where Granma native Carlos Manuel de Céspedes freed his slaves and formally declared Cuban independ- ence in 1868. And, if history doesn’t swing it, you can always ponder over the geographical significance of Cuba’s longest river (the Cauto), its most pristine coastal marine terraces (in Parque Nacional Desembarco del Granma) and its third-highest mountain (Pico Bayamesa; 1730m). With much of its interior and southwestern coastal areas cut off from the main transport grid, one of Granma’s primary attractions is its isolation and the feisty individualism that goes with it. Street parties in towns such as Bayamo, Manzanillo and Pilón are a weekly occurrence here and are uniquely enlivened with homemade street snacks, hotly contested games of chess, and the kind of archaic street organs that were last seen in Europe when Cuba was still the property of Spain. Juxtaposing pancake-flat rice fields with the soaring peaks of the Sierra Maestra, Granma is more rural than urban and even the two main cities of Bayamo and Manzanillo retain a faintly bucolic air. But far from sucking on sugar stalks in the safety of their remote backcountry refuges, the GRANMA PROVINCE resourceful locals are renowned for their creativity, particularly in the field of music. Two of the giants of Cuban nueva trova (philosophical folk guitar music) were born in Granma (Pablo Milanés in Bayamo and Carlos Puebla in Manzanillo), and in 1972 the province hosted a groundbreaking music festival that helped put this revolutionary new music style on Cuba’s – and Latin America’s – cultural map. HIGHLIGHTS DIY Hike Break out of the Marea del Portillo hotels and hike up to El Salto (see boxed text, p402 ) Guerrilla Watching Trek up to La Plata in Gran Bayamo Parque Nacional Sierra Maestra ( p393 ) Gran Parque The Flower of the Revolution Drop by Media Nacional Sierra Media Luna Maestra Luna and learn about the life of Celia Sánchez, Pico Turquino Castro’s longtime muse and confidante (see El Salto boxed text, p399 ) The Roof of the Nation Stand atop Pico Turquino and admire the bust of José Martí (see boxed text, p395 ) Street Party Make time for pork roast, street organs and a game of chess in Bayamo’s Fiesta de la Cubanía (p389 ) TELEPHONE CODE: 023 POPULATION: 829,333 AREA : 8372 SQ KM lonelyplanet.com 0 20 km GRANMA PROVINCE 0 12 miles Frank País Charco 77°30'W 77°00'W To Las 76°30'W To Holguín Tacajó Tunas (14km) Airport (3km) Prieto L a s T u n a s Amancio Ojo de Río Sevilla Mir Antonio P r o v i n c e Agua Dormitorio Maceo Báguano Cacocum La Caridad PROVINCE GRANMA Puente Tacamara Guillén Vado del Central Yeso Guayabal Naranjal Cueto Guamo H o l g u í n Urbano Carretera P r o v i n c e Noris Marcané Miradero Río Cauto Cauto Río Cau Río Cauto Embalse Cristo to Cauto Alto Laguna Las Cedro Playas del Paso Río C Dos Ríos on 20°30'N Babiney t 20°30'N ra G o l f o d e Monument to m José Martí a tre G u a c a n a y a b o Carlos Manuel es de Céspedes Las Palmas Corralito Airport Villa El Yarey Mella Bayamo Jiguaní Embalse Río Yara Mabay Protesta de Manzanillo Baraguá Baire Santa Rita Contramaestre Museo Histórico Sierra Maestra Barranca El Horno La Demajagua Airport Veguitas Embalse Carlos La Demajagua Yara Guisa San Los Manuel de El Pozón Bueycito Céspedes Campechuela Francisco Jardín Negros Botánico Palma Soriano San Ramón ὈὈὈὈ Río Guá Los Victorino Horneros Presa Bartolomé Masó Buey Matias Cruce de Gilbert Media Luna Cayo Arriba los Baños To Santiago Espino Embalse de Cuba Cayos Paso Malo (9km) Balandras Campismo i e r r a S M a e La Sierrita Gran Parque s t r Santo Nacional Sierra Pico Bayamesa a S a n t i a g o d e El Cobre Domingo Maestra (1730m) La Alcarraza C u b a P r o v i n c e Niquero 20°00'N t r a Villa Santo Alto del Río Seco Aserradero e s Domingo Naranjo 20°00'N ὈὈὈὈa R Chivirico M í r a o Pico Turquino Uvero Sevilla r Comandancia (1972m) Playa Sevilla Caletón Playa Alegría e Guarico Blanco i M La Plata Mar Verde Playa Las Belic del Pío S El Salto Marea del a La Plata Ocujal Coloradas Portillo c Las Cuevas Parque Nacional ío Museo Las Cayo See Trekking Gran Parque Nacional Coloradas Desembarco del El Plátano Pilón Granma Blanco El Cristóbal Sierra Maestra Map (p394) C A R I B B E A N S E A Sendero Arqueológico Ensenada Colón de Mora Natural El Guafe 385 Cabo ὈὈὈCruz 77°30'W ὈὈὈὈ77°00'W 76°30'W 76°00'W GRANMA PROVINCE PROVINCE GRANMA.