Cuba - Lonely Planet [289]
Fábrica de Órganos (Map; Carretera de Gibara No 301; 8am-4pm Mon-Fri) is the only mechanical music-organ factory in Cuba. This small factory produces about six organs a year, as well as guitars and other instruments. A good organ costs between the equivalent of US$10,000 and US$25,000. Eight professional organ groups exist in Holguín (including the Familia Cuayo, based at the factory), and, if you’re lucky, you can hear one playing on Parque Céspedes on Thursday afternoons or Sunday mornings.
Festivals & Events
The Romerías de Mayo, in the first week of May, is a week-long art party with exhibitions, music, poetry and festivities; the national rap competition and La Loma de la Cruz pilgrimage are among the highlights. Holguín’s Carnaval happens in the third week of August with outdoor concerts and copious amounts of dancing, roast pork and potent potables.
Sleeping
IN TOWN
Casas Particulares
Maricela García Martínez (Map; 47-10-49; Miró No 110 btwn Martí & Luz Caballero; r CUC$20-25) If you can negotiate your way around the motorbike in the front room, the place is yours. The downstairs bedroom is a little on the dark side, but it has an en suite bath and is a block from the central parks.
‘La Palma’ – Enrique R Interián Salermo (Map; 42-46-83; Maceo No 52A btwn Calles 16 & 18, El Llano; r CUC$25; ) Poor Enrique’s neocolonial house dating from 1945 near the Loma de la Cruz was caught in the eye of Hurricane Ike and his beautiful garden patio was flattened. Nonetheless, he’s stoically rebuilding. His son is a talented painter and sculptor and you can check out the terra-cotta bust of Che Guevara in the living room next to a 3m-long canvas of the last supper (with St John as a woman). Truly fantastic hosts.
Milagro López Felipe (Map; Miró No 207; r CUC$25) The blue-and-white sign outside makes this place difficult to miss. One upstairs room with all mod cons and terrace is shielded from the street by a pretty curtain of begonias.
Raciel Laffita Rodríguez (Map; 42-59-30; cnr Cables & Manduley; r CUC$25) A friendly Holguiñero who rents two small upstairs rooms con terraza slap-bang in the middle of town. The TVs here can (unusually) pick up a couple of English-language channels.
Hotels
Hotel Pernik (Islazul; Map; 48-10-11; cnr Avs Jorge Dimitrov & XX Aniversario; s/d with breakfast CUC$45/60; ) Holguín’s only tourist hotel is a notch above its Soviet-inspired competitors and of late has countered its ‘overpriced’ reputation with some quirky improvements. On a whim, a handful of the rooms were given over to a group of local artists who ran amok covering every available space (including the sinks and toilets) with colorful art. As for the basics, the breakfast buffet is plentiful and the information desk helpful enough; but the hotel suffers from the usual foibles of interminable renovations and blaring late-night music.
OUTSIDE TOWN
Motel Mirador de Mayabe (Islazul; off Map; 42-54-98; Alturas de Mayabe; s/d CUC$45/60; ) This motel, high up on the Loma de Mayabe 10km southeast of Holguín, has 24 rooms tucked into lush grounds. The views, taking in vast mango plantations, are especially good from the pool. The Mirador de Mayabe’s claim to fame is a beer-drinking donkey named Pancho, who hangs out near the bar. Typical Cuban lunches are served at the Finca Mayabe, just above the motel, where there’s also a cockfighting ring. A bus runs to Holguín from the bottom of the hill, 1.5km from the motel, three times a day.
Motel El Bosque (Islazul; Map; 48-11-40; Av Jorge Dimitrov; s/d incl breakfast CUC$45/60; ) One kilometer beyond Hotel Pernik, the 69 duplex bungalows here are set among extensive green grounds, making it feel more removed than it is. There’s a relaxing bar beside the swimming pool (nonguests can use it for a small fee). El Bosque is perennially popular on the tour bus circuit.
Eating
RESTAURANTS
Dimar (Map; cnr Mártires & Luz Caballero;