Page 94 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Cuba

92  HA V ANA AREA B Y AREA

q Museo de la Revolución

The idea of putting the Museum of the Revolution in the former
presidential palace of the dictator Fulgencio Batista was clearly
symbolic. Designed by the Cuban architect Rodolfo Maruri and
the Belgian architect Paul Belau, the building was inaugurated
in 1920 by Mario García Menocal, and it remained the residence Statues of Che Guevara and
for all subsequent presidents until 1965. The building has Neo- Camilo Cienfuegos
Classical elements, and was decorated by Tiffany of New York. These life-size wax statues depict
the two heroes in combat.
It contains works by the leading Cuban decorators of the early
1900s and by sculptors such as Juan José Sicre, Esteban
Betancourt and Fernando Boada. The museum features
documents, photographs and memorabilia presenting an
overview of the Cubans’ struggle for independence from
the colonial period on, focusing in particular on
the 1959 Revolution – from the guerrilla war
to the Special Period in the 1990s.

Granma Memorial
The large glass and cement pavilion in the tree-lined plaza
behind the museum contains the yacht Granma (named after
its first owner’s grandmother). In 1956, this boat brought Fidel
Castro and some of his comrades from Mexico to Cuba to begin
the armed struggle against Batista (see p52). There are also
objects and vehicles relating to the
invasion of the Bay of Pigs (1961),
remains of an American spy plane
shot down in 1962 during the missile
crisis, and the delivery truck that was
used by revolutionaries to attack the
palace in 1957.
The remains of a plane

For hotels and restaurants in this area see pp256–7 and p271

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