Cuba - Lonely Planet [307]
History
Founded in November 1513 as the second of Diego Velázquez de Cuellar’s seven original villas (after Baracoa), Bayamo’s early history was marred by Indian uprisings and bristling native unrest. But with the indigenous Taínos decimated by deadly European diseases such as smallpox, the short-lived insurgency soon fizzled out. By the end of the 16th century, Bayamo had grown rich and was established as the region’s most important cattle-ranching and sugarcane-growing center. Frequented by pirates, the town filled its coffers further in the 17th and 18th centuries via a clandestine smuggling ring run out of the nearby port town of Manzanillo. Zealously counting up the profits, Bayamo’s new class of merchants and landowners lavishly invested their money in fine houses and an expensive overseas education for their offspring.
One such protégé was local lawyer-turned-revolutionary Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, who, defying the traditional colonial will, led an army against his hometown in 1868 in an attempt to wrest control from the conservative Spanish authorities. But the liberation proved to be short-lived. After the defeat of an ill-prepared rebel army by 3000 regular Spanish troops near the Río Cauto on January 12, 1869, the townspeople – sensing an imminent Spanish reoccupation – set their town on fire rather than see it fall into the hands of the enemy.
Bayamo was also the birthplace of Perucho Figueredo, composer of the Cuban national anthem, which begins, rather patriotically, with the words Al combate corred, Bayameses (Run to battle, people of Bayamo).
Orientation
Bayamo is centered on Parque Céspedes. The train station is located to the east of the park and the bus station to the southeast; they’re about 2km apart. General García (also known as El Bulevar), a bustling pedestrian shopping mall, leads from Parque Céspedes to Bartolomé Masó. Many of the facilities for tourists (including the bus station, Servi‑Cupet gas station and main hotel) are along the Carretera Central, southeast of town.
Information
BOOKSTORES
Librería Ateneo (General García No 9) On the east side of Parque Céspedes.
INTERNET ACCESS & TELEPHONE
Etecsa Telepunto (General García btwn Saco & Figueredo; per hr CUC$6; 8:30am-7:30pm) Quick, easy internet access.
LIBRARIES
Biblioteca Pública 1868 ( 42-64-87; Céspedes No 352; 9am-6pm Mon-Sat)
MEDICAL SERVICES
Farmacia Internacional (General García btwn Figueredo & Lora; 8am-noon & 1-5pm Mon-Fri, 8am-noon Sat & Sun)
Hospital Carlos Manuel de Céspedes ( 42-50-12; Carretera Central Km1)
MONEY
Banco de Crédito y Comercio (cnr General García & Saco; 8am-3pm Mon-Fri, 8-10am Sat)
Banco Financiero Internacional ( 42-73-60; Carretera Central Km 1) In a big white building near the bus terminal.
Cadeca (Saco No 101; 8:30am-noon & 12:30-5:30pm Mon-Sat, 8am-noon Sun)
POST
Post office (cnr Maceo & Parque Céspedes; 8am-8pm Mon-Sat)
TRAVEL AGENCIES
Campismo Popular ( 42-42-00; General García No 112)
Cubanacán ( 42-22-90; Hotel Royalton, Maceo No 53) Arranges hikes to Pico Turquino (two/three/four days per person CUC$45/65/99), El Yarey (CUC$19) and Parque Nacional Desembarco del Granma (CUC$45), among other places.
Sights
One of Cuba’s leafiest and friendliest squares, Parque Céspedes is an attractive smorgasbord of grand monuments and big, shady trees. Facing each other in the center are a bronze statue of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, hero of the First War of Independence, and a marble bust of Perucho Figueredo, with the words of the Cuban national anthem carved upon it. Marble benches and friendly Bayameses make this a nice place to linger. In 1868 Céspedes proclaimed Cuba’s independence in front of the Ayuntamiento (city hall) on the east side of the square.
The birthplace of the ‘father of the motherlands,’ Casa Natal de Carlos Manuel de Céspedes (Maceo No 57; admission CUC$1; 9am-5pm Tue-Fri, 9am-2pm & 8-10pm Sat, 10am-1pm Sun), is on the north side of the park. Born here on April 18, 1819, Céspedes spent the