Cuba - Lonely Planet [287]
Holguín was the setting of much fighting during the two wars of independence when ferocious Mambí warriors laid siege to the heavily fortified Spanish barracks at La Periquera (now the Museo de Historia Provincial; Click here). Captured and lost by Julio Grave de Peralta (after whom one of the squares is named), the city was taken for a second time on December 19, 1872, by Cuban general and native son Calixto García, Holguín’s posthumous local hero.
With the division of Oriente into five separate provinces in 1975, the city of Holguín became a provincial capital. It suffered a severe mauling from Hurricane Ike in 2008.
Orientation
Parque Calixto García is Holguín’s most important central square; to the north is Parque Céspedes and to the south is Parque Peralta. Manduley (aka Libertad) and Maceo are the main north–south thoroughfares, running between the train station and the hills that border the city’s northern limits. The main bus station is to the southwest of the center, the main tourist hotels to the east.
Information
BOOKSTORES
ARTex (Map; Manduley No 193A) Sells books, CDs, posters and Che T-shirts on Parque Calixto García.
INTERNET ACCESS & TELEPHONE
Etecsa Telepunto (Map; cnr Martí & Maceo; per hr CUC$6; 8:30am-7:30pm) Three computer terminals in Parque Calixto García.
LIBRARIES
Biblioteca Alex Urquiola (Map; 42-44-63; Maceo No 178; 8:30am-9pm Mon-Fri, 8:30am-4:30pm Sat) On Parque Calixto García.
MEDIA
The local newspaper Ahora is published on Saturday. Radio Ángulo CMKO can be heard on 1110AM and 97.9FM.
MEDICAL SERVICES
Farmacia Turno Especial (Map; Maceo No 170; 8am-10pm Mon-Sat) On Parque Calixto García.
Hospital Lenin (Map; 42-53-02; Av VI Lenin) Will treat foreigners in an emergency.
MONEY
Banco de Crédito y Comercio (Map; 42-25-12; Arias) On Parque Céspedes.
Banco Financiero Internacional (Map; 46-85-02; Manduley No 167 btwn Frexes & Aguilera)
Cadeca (Map; 46-85-03; Manduley No 205 btwn Martí & Luz Caballero; 8:30am-6pm Mon-Sat, 8am-1pm Sun)
POST
Post office Manduley No 183 (Map; 46-82-54; 10am-noon & 1-6pm Mon-Fri); Parque Céspedes (Map; Maceo No 114; 8am-6pm Mon-Sat) There’s a DHL office at the first branch, on Parque Calixto García.
TRAVEL AGENCIES
Havanatur Frexes (Map; 46-80-91; Frexes No 172 btwn Morales Lemus & Narciso López); Hotel Pernik (Map; cnr Avs Jorge Dimitrov & XX Aniversario)
Sights
Base yourself around the four central squares and you’ll see most of what’s on offer. Of course, no walk is complete without a climb up to La Loma de la Cruz Click here, a little off the grid, but well worth the detour.
PARQUE CéSPEDES
Holguín’s youngest park is also its shadiest. Named for ‘Father of the Motherland,’ Carlos Manuel de Céspedes – his statue stands center-stage next to a monument honoring the heroes of the War of Independence – the cobbled central square is dominated by the Iglesia de San José (Map; Manduley No 116) with its distinctive dome and bell tower (1842) that was once used by the Independistas as a lookout tower. Locals still refer to the park by its old name, San José.
In a colonial building behind the church is the Galería Holguín (Map; 42-23-92; Manduley No 137; admission free; 8am-6pm Tue-Wed, 8am-10pm Thu-Sun) displaying a revolving cache of good local art. The small Museo Eduardo García Feria y José García Castañeda (Map; cnr Agramonte & Maceo; admission free) on the square’s northwestern corner documents the life and work of two local archaeologists and naturalists. Eduardo was responsible for creating Holguín’s first museum and he once boasted the largest snail collection in Cuba.
PARQUE CALIXTO GARCíA
Wide, expansive ‘El Parque,’ as it’s known among the Holguiñeros, is more visceral than visual. It was laid out in 1719 as the original Plaza de Armas and served for many years as the town’s meeting point and marketplace. The centerpiece today is a 1912 statue of General Calixto García,