The only sight of interest is in the town of Yaguajay, 40 kilometers east of Caibarién [1], where a five-meter-tall bronze statue of Camilo Cienfuegos stands one kilometer north of town. Within its base is a museum (tel. 041/55-2689, Mon.–Sat. 8 a.m.–4 p.m., Sun. 9 a.m.–1 p.m., CUC1) dedicated to the revolutionary commander and the battle he led here against Batista’s troops in the closing days of December 1958.
This excellent museum displays maps, armaments, models, etc. Camilo’s ridiculously stuffed horse is enshrined in its own glass-cased mausoleum.
To the rear of the museum, the Mausoleo Frente Norte de las Villas has an eternal flame and marble tombs for all Camilo’s troops (those still alive, and those dead). They’re surrounded by 24 palms symbolizing the date of liberation of Yaguajay.
Schoolchildren are bused in each October 28 to toss “a flower for Camilo” into a moat on the anniversary of his death in a mysterious plane crash in 1959.
The hospital opposite the monument was formerly an army barracks, captured by Cienfuegos’s Rebel Army in 1958. A small tank (converted from a tractor) used in the assault on the barracks stands outside.
Links:
[1] http://www.moon.com/destinations/cuba/cienfuegos-and-villa-clara-provinces/eastern-villa-clara/caibarien