Cuba - Lonely Planet [254]
MEDIA
Radio Surco Broadcasting over 1440AM and 98.1FM.
MEDICAL SERVICES
General Hospital ( 22-24-29; Máximo Gómez No 257) Not far from the bus station.
MONEY
Banco Financiero Internacional ( 22-52-74; cnr Honorato del Castillo & Joaquín Agüero Oeste)
Bandec ( 22-23-32; cnr Independencia Oeste & Antonio Maceo)
Cadeca ( 26-64-18; Independencia Oeste No 118 btwn Antonio Maceo & Simón Reyes; 8:30am-6pm Mon-Sat, 8:30am-12:30pm Sun)
POST
Post office (cnr Chicho Valdés & Marcial Gómez)
TOURIST INFORMATION
Havanatur ( 26-63-42; Libertad btwn Antonio Maceo & Honorato del Castillo; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 9am-noon Sat)
Infotur ( 20-91-09; Doce Plantas, cnr Honorato del Castillo & Libertad; 9am-noon & 1-6pm Mon-Sun) Cuba’s premier information outlet offers advice on less-heralded attractions.
Sights & Activities
Manageable and friendly, Ciego de Ávila engenders a leisurely pace. The city has worked hard to make its relatively low-key history appear interesting and relevant and deserves at least a two-hour visit!
Check out Parque Martí first – with the inevitable monument to José Martí (1925) – which is overlooked by the 1911 Ayuntamiento (City Hall; no visitors), now the provincial government headquarters, and the Museo de Artes Decorativas ( 20-16-61; cnr Independencia & Marcial Gómez; admission CUC$1; 8am-5pm Mon & Tue, 8am-10pm Wed-Sat, 8am-noon & 6-10pm Sun). This thoughtful collection contains quirky items from a bygone age, such as a working Victrola (Benny Moré serenades your visit), antique pocket watches and ornate canopy beds with mother-of-pearl inlays. A CUC$1 tip gets you a typically enthusiastic local guide (in English or Spanish). The only other notable building is the grand Teatro Principal ( 22-20-86; cnr Joaquín Agüero Oeste & Honorato del Castillo), built in 1927 with the help of local financier Angela Jiménez.
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FESTIVALS & FIREWORKS
New Orleans’ Mardi Gras might win the populist vote, but if you’re the type of traveler who likes sniffing out obscure festivals in even more obscure places, Ciego de Ávila could be your nirvana.
Every November the rural town of Majagua celebrates the Fiesta de los Bandos Rojo y Azul, when the populace splits into two teams – one red and one blue – to re-enact an old caringa dancing competition played out to a background of traditional guajiro (country) music.
Meanwhile in Baraguá, the Fiesta del 1 de Agosto on slave emancipation day includes an 80-year-old cricket tournament Click here, a legacy of West Indian immigrants from Jamaica who came here in the 1920s to work on the sugar plantations, bringing their googlies, reverse sweeps and silly mid-offs with them.
Remedios in Villa Clara isn’t the only place to catch a cacophonous fireworks party. The towns of Chambas and Punta Alegre in the northwest of Ciego de Ávila province host their own version of the ebullient Parrandas, with papier-mâché effigies, colorful floats, winding processions and mucho rum.
Festivities take a Haitian turn further east where immigrants from the former French colony have recreated their voodoo-influenced liturgies in annual ceremonies in the towns of Bolivia, Venezuela and Primero de Enero.
For more information on the above try the helpful staff at the Infotur office in Ciego de Ávila Click here.
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Duck under the signature Ciego porches along Calle Independencia to reach the Centro Raúl Martínez Galería de Arte Provincial (Independencia Oeste No 65 btwn Honorato del Castillo & Antonio Maceo; 8am-noon & 1-5pm Mon & Wed, 1-9pm Thu & Fri, 2-10pm Sat, 8am-noon Sun), where works by Cuba’s king of pop art are on permanent display, along with many new works by local artists.
The newly renovated Museo Provincial Simón Reyes ( 20-44-88; cnr Honorato del Castillo & Máximo Gómez; admission CUC$1; 8am-10pm) is quite possibly the best-presented municipal museum in Cuba and one buck well spent. Fascinating exhibits include a scale model of La Trocha, detailed information on Afro-Cuban culture and religion, and explanations on the province’s rich