REMEDIOS

This time-warp town (pop. 18,000), 45 kilometers northeast of Santa Clara, is one of the most beautiful little towns in Cuba, full of Spanish colonial charm. It is in a good state of preservation, with a graceful symmetry and charisma. The entire city was justifiably named a national monument in 1979.

Remedios was founded in 1514 when a land grant was given to a conquistador named Vasco Porcallo de Figueroa. A city hall wasn’t built, however, and supposedly for that reason the town was never acknowledged as one of the first seven cities, despite its antiquity. It was originally situated closer to the shore. In 1544, it was moved a short distance inland to escape pirates. The town continued to come under constant attack and in 1578, the townsfolk uprooted again and founded a new settlement, which they renamed San Juan de los Remedios del Cayo. In 1682, a group of citizens uprooted and founded Santa Clara, which in time grew to become the provincial capital. Apparently, in 1691, the clique returned to Remedios, determined to raze it to the ground. They were rebuffed in a pitched battle.

Much of the pleasure today is to be had in roaming the back streets, especially in late afternoon and early evening, when the low sun glows richly against the pastel walls and the church bells ring through town, tolling the hour.

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Plaza Martí

The town’s main square is shaded by tall royal palms beneath which you can sit on marble and wrought-iron benches. Dominating the square is the venerable Parroquia de San Juan Batista (Camilo Cienfuegos #20; Mon.–Sat. 9–11 a.m.), dating from 1692. Its pious exterior belies the splendor within, not least a carved cedar altar that glimmers with 24-carat gold leaf, a statue of the Immaculate Virgin heavy with child, and—the pièce de résistance—a Moorish-style ceiling of carved mahogany, splendidly gabled and fluted. The church has an impressive bell tower with three stories (a bell in each). It was badly damaged by an earthquake in 1939 and restored over the ensuing 15 years at the behest of a local benefactor, who also donated European paintings.

The Museo de la Música Alejandro García Caturla (Camilo Cienfuegos #5, tel. 042/39-6851; Tues.–Sat. 9 a.m.–noon and 1–5 p.m., Sun. 9 a.m.–5 p.m.; CUC1), on the north side of Plaza Martí, honors one of Cuba’s foremost avant-garde composers. The house features beautiful green-tinted mamparas, period furniture, and many of Caturla’s original manuscripts. The musical prodigy began writing music in 1920, when he was only 14. He was heavily influenced by the rhythms and sounds of Africa and fell under the sway of Stravinsky. The iconoclastic composer (for example, he married a black woman; when she died, he married her sister) was a noted liberal and an incorruptible lawyer who rose to become judge for the city. He was assassinated in 1940.

On the park’s northwest corner stands the Iglesia Buen Viaje (Alejandro del Río #66), a prim little church with a three-tiered bell-tower with a life-size figure of the Virgin Mary and Jesus in the “dove-hole.” It is fronted by a marble statue of the Liberty-like Indian maiden hewn from marble.

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Museo de las Parrandas

This museum (Calle Máximo Gómez #71, no tel.; Tues.–Sat. 9 a.m.–noon and 1–6 p.m., Sun. 9 a.m.–1 p.m.; CUC1) celebrates the festivals unique to the region and contains costumes, flags, and banners, examples of homemade fireworks, and floats. Given the spectacular ostentation of the actual parrandas, the museum is almost boring.

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Entertainment and Events

Any time is a good time to visit, but if possible time your visit for Christmas week for the annual parranda. By December, the townsfolk are feverishly preparing for their parranda, which culminates on the last Saturday of the year. Bring your earplugs and camera for a wild and racket-filled revelry you’ll never forget. Be warned, it’s a dangerous business, as rockets whiz into the crowd and every year several people are injured. Don’t wear flammable nylon clothing. Be sure to check out the midnight Mass in the cathedral. The crowd drinks through the night and into next day, when the streets are littered with spent drunks and fireworks. Pickpockets abound.

On December 26 those citizens still sober enough to participate celebrate the city’s “liberation” by Che Guevara’s Rebel Army.

Traditional music and dance is performed at the Casa de la Cultura (Gómez, esq. José de Pena, tel. 042/39-5581; Tues.–Sun. 9 a.m.–11 p.m.) one block east of the main square. Las Leyendas (tel. 042/39-6264; 9 a.m.–2 a.m. daily), on the south side of the main square, has a pleasant open-air bar in the form of a faux cave with parranda elements; it hosts a cabaret espectáculo Wednesday–Sunday at 10 p.m. (CUC0.50).

The Teatro Ruben Mártinez (Cienfuegos #30; Mon.–Fri. 8 a.m.–5 p.m.), built in the late 19th century with a triple-tiered horseshoe-shaped auditorium, hosts classical and other performances.