Page 90 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Cuba

88  HA V ANA AREA B Y AREA

4 Parque de la
Fraternidad
Map 4 D3.
The spacious area of greenery
behind the Capitol was called
Campo di Marte (Parade
Ground) in the 19th century,
because it was near the Paseo
Militar, used frequently for
army drill. As the Parque de
la Fraternidad (since 1928),
it commemorates Cuba’s
common roots with the other
people of the Americas, with
monuments to major figures
such as the Argentine José de
San Martín, the Venezuelan Façade of the Partagás cigar factory with its prominent pediments
Simón Bolívar, and US president
Abraham Lincoln. 5 Real Fábrica de His factory was then purchased
In the middle of the park Tabacos Partagás by another shrewd business-
is a gate with a plaque bearing man, Ramón Cifuentes Llano.
an exhortation by José Martí: Calle Industria 524. Map 4 D3. Dozens of people work in the
“It is time to gather and march Tel 7879 1404. Closed for restoration; aroma-filled interior. Nowadays,
together united, we must go call for more information. 8 & there is no longer someone
= - ^
forward as compact as the silver reading aloud to alleviate the
in the depths of the Andes. monotony of the work by
Peoples unite only through Cuba’s largest cigar factory, with entertaining and educating the
bonds of friendship, fraternity its Neo-Classical façade, is a workers, as was the case in the
and love.” Beyond the gate is a good example of 19th-century 19th century (Partagás himself
monument to American industrial architecture. It was introduced this custom to
friendship and solidarity: a large founded in 1845 by the Cuba). However there is a
ceiba – a tree sacred to both the ambitious Catalan loudspeaker that
Amerindians and the African businessman alternates reading
slaves taken to the New World – Jaime Partagás passages with
planted here around 1920. Ravelo. How ever, music and news
In front of the square is a he never revealed Neon sign at the Partagás on the radio.
white marble fountain, sculpted the sources of his cigar factory Connected to the
in 1831 by Giuseppe Gaggini. tobacco leaves or factory is La Casa
The fountain is known as the how they were processed. del Habano, an excellent shop
“Fuente de la India” or “La Noble The only information that with a back room that is used
Habana” – an allegorical survives is that he was the first for sampling cigars.
representation of the city. person to use wooden barrels
Nowadays the to ferment the leaves in order 6 Palacio de
Parque de la to heighten the aroma.
Fraternidad is With the profits made from his Aldama
usually full of high-quality cigars, Partagás Avenída Simón Bolívar (Reina) y
old American bought a plantation in the Máximo Gómez (Monte). Map 3 C3.
cars, most of province of Pinar del Río. He Closed to the public.
which operate wanted to oversee all aspects
as private taxis. of the cigar-making process This mansion (see p29) was
personally, from growing the designed by Manuel José
plants to the placing of Carrera and built in the
a wrapper leaf middle of the 19th century,
around the filler having been commissioned
and binder leaves by the rich Basque industrialist
rolled by the Domingo de Aldama y
torcedor (see p37). Arrechaga. He had to depend
However, Partagás on his influential friends in
was assassinated in order to obtain permission to
mysterious circum- build his residence in front of
stances and the the Campo di Marte, or Parade
The Fuente de la India symbolizing Havana project failed. Ground, which was reserved for
For hotels and restaurants in this area see pp256–7 and p271

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