Page 117 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Cuba

FUR THER AFIELD  115

dominating the port in a de Armas y
more effective manner, so, Fortificaciones is
on 4 November 1763, con- a military museum.
struction work began on the However, the
new Cabaña fortress. No fewer one museum not
than 4,000 men laboured on to miss is the
the project, including Mexican Comandancia del
and Indian prisoners transported Che: on 3 January
from the Yucatán peninsula in 1959 the barbudos
conditions of semi-slavery. (as Castro and
The new fortification cost his bearded revolu-
14 million pesos, a sum so tionaries were
large that, according to an known) occupied La
old legend, when King Carlos III Cabaña and set up
of Spain was informed of the their headquarters
expense, he asked for a spy- in the 19th-century
glass and reputedly com- building that was
mented: “Such an expensive once the residence
construction should be visible of the Spanish
from Madrid.” military governor.
La Cabaña, which extends Today it is a
for more than 700 m (2,300 ft) Entrance to the de La Cabaña parish church, which stands museum containing
along the entrance canal in the fortress parade ground various items
of the bay, is a huge 10-ha that belonged to
(25-acre) polygon designed San Ambrosio bastion and Che Guevara, including his
in keeping with the principles the Terraza de San Agustín, weapons, glasses and camera.
of French military schools, where the poet Juan Clemente The revolutionary’s original
but with detailing by the Zenea was executed for his office, which has been left
Spanish engineer Silvestre separatist ideas in 1871. In the intact, is also open to visitors.
Abarca. With its crown-shaped same area some Soviet nuclear
plan, it is considered a fine missiles, left over from the 1962
example of a bastion-type Cuban Missile Crisis (see p56), 5 Casablanca
defence fortification. are on display. 4 from Muelle de Luz, La Habana
A visit to the fortress offers The Museo Monográfico Vieja, every 15 mins; 7794 5466. £
a variety of experiences. illustrates the history of the
The fortress’s central thorough- fortress through documents This fishing village was built
fare leads up to the Baluardo di and photographs. The Museo in the 1700s on the other side
of the Bay of Havana from
the city. Casablanca is
The Cañonazo
best known for the
Every evening, at 9pm exactly, the picturesque “Cañonazo” huge Cristo de la
ceremony is held in the La Cabaña fortress. On the hour, Habana, an 18-m
a volley of cannon shots is fired by a group of young soldiers (60-ft) tall white
of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, dressed in 18th-century marble statue of
uniforms. This theatrical ceremony is interesting from the Christ, which looms
historical point of view: in the colonial period, a volley of over the village.
cannon shots was fired at the end of each day to tell citizens The work of the
that the city gates were closed and access to the bay had Cuban sculptress
been blocked by a chain (see p89). Jilma Madera
(1958), it was
commissioned by The colossal Cristo
President Batista’s de La Habana
wife, Marta. She
had made a vow that she
would finance a large statue
of Christ if her husband
survived the attack by
students on the presidential
palace in 1957, during which
he risked his life. The statue
was completed a week prior
to the Revolution. It can be seen
The Cañonazo ceremony, a commemoration in historic costume from many parts of the city
and is familiar to all Cubans.

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