Page 177 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Cuba

CENTR AL CUBA – WEST  175

P Cementerio
General La Reina
Ave. 50 y Calle 7, Reina.
Open daily. &
The municipal
cemetery of La Reina
is located at the
western end of
the city, and has
been declared a
national monument.
Laid out in the
1830s, this Neo-
Classical cemetery
includes a famous
funerary statue of
La Bella Durmiente
(Sleeping Beauty).
The statue of Sleeping Beauty in La Reina cemetery in Cienfuegos
+ Castillo de
Jagua was inhabited by a mysterious above. Most visitors arrive
Poblado Castillo de Jagua. g Tel (43) lady dressed in blue, who every by ferry from Pasacaballos
965 402. Open 9am–5pm Tue–Sat, night walked through the hotel (29 km/18 miles south
9am–1pm Sun. & 8 Note: fee for rooms and corridors, frightening of Cienfuegos), or from the
photography may apply. the guards. It is said that one dock in Cienfuegos.
Built by engineer José Tantete, morning one of the guards was
following a design by Bruno found in a state of shock while Environs
Caballero, to protect the bay wringing a piece of blue cloth in Cienfuegos province is
and the region from Jamaican anguish. The unfortunate man interesting to eco-tourists.
pirates, the Castillo was the third never got over this experience Besides the Ciego Montero
most important fortress in Cuba and ended up in an asylum. spa north of the capital, other
in the 18th century and the only At the foot of the Castillo is noteworthy sights are El Nicho,
one in the central region of the the fishing village of Perché, to the southeast, which is
island. The original moat and with picturesque wooden famous for its waterfalls,
drawbridge are still intact. houses, in striking contrast to and the conservation area
According to legend, the citadel the majestic military structure of Aguacate.
However the main sight
is the Valle de Yaguanabo,
Benny Moré in the southern region, which
A great source of pride to Cienfuegos is the figure of Maximiliano is traversed by the river of
Bartolomé Moré, better known as Benny Moré, who was the same name, which forms
born at nearby Santa Isabel de las Lajas on small waterfalls and clear
24 August 1919. Moré inspired many freshwater pools. On the
generations of Cubans and foreigners slopes of one of the mountains
with his supple, unique voice, which in this valley, populated by
enabled him to interpret a variety of mammals such as boar,
musical genres. For this reason the deer and opossums, is the
artist was nicknamed el bárbaro del ritmo entrance to the Cueva de
(the barbarian of rhythm). He was self- Martín Infierno. This cave
taught, and when still quite young has been a national
performed with famous orchestras such monument since 1990,
as those led by the Matamoros brothers
and Pérez Prado (see pp34–5). He died because it has one
in the early 1960s. For some time of the largest stalag-
Cienfuegos – a city with a great mites in the world
musical tradition and the birthplace of (67 m/220 ft high) and
cha-cha-cha – has paid tribute to him other rare mineralogical
with the Benny Moré International sites such as Moonmilk
Festival. The Cabildo Congo de and Flores de Yeso.
Lajas in his home town puts on About 20 km (12 miles)
performances of Afro-Cuban south of Cienfuegos are
popular songs and dances. the golden sands of Playa
Rancho Luna. The beach
The Cuban singer, Benny Moré is popular with tourists
and local families alike.

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