Cuba - Lonely Planet [355]
Information
BOOKSTORES
Universal (Pedro A Pérez No 907; 9am-noon & 2-5pm Mon-Fri, 9am-noon Sat)
INTERNET ACCESS & TELEPHONE
Etecsa Telepunto (cnr Aguilera & Los Maceos; per hr CUC$6; 8:30am-7:30pm) Four computers.
LIBRARIES
Biblioteca Policarpo Pineda Rustán (cnr Los Maceos & Emilio Giro; 8am-9pm Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm Sat, 9am-noon Sun) An architectural landmark.
MEDIA
Radio Trinchera Antimperialista CMKS Trumpets the word over 1070AM.
Venceremos & Lomería Two local newspapers published on Saturday.
MEDICAL SERVICES
Farmacia Principal Municipal (cnr Calixto García & Aguilera; 24hr) On the northeast corner of Parque Martí.
Hospital Agostinho Neto ( 35-54-50; Carretera de El Salvador Km 1; 24hr) At the west end of Plaza Mariana Grajales near Hotel Guantánamo. It will help foreigners in an emergency.
MONEY
Banco de Crédito y Comercio (Calixto García btwn Emilio Giro & Bartolomé Masó)
Cadeca ( 32-65-33; cnr Calixto García & Prado; 8:30am-6pm Mon-Sat, 8am-1pm Sun)
POST
Post office (Pedro A Pérez; 8am-1pm & 2-6pm Mon-Sat) On the west side of Parque Martí. There’s also a DHL office here.
TRAVEL AGENCIES
Havanatur ( 32-63-65; Aguilera btwn Calixto García & Los Maceos; 9am-noon & 1-4pm Mon-Fri)
Dangers & Annoyances
Guantánamo is a big city with a mellow town feel that pickpockets sometimes exploit. Stay alert especially on public transport and during Noches Guantanameras.
Sights
Ostensibly unexciting, Guantánamo’s geometric city grid has a certain rhythm. The tree-lined Av Camilo Cienfuegos with its morning exercisers, bizarre sculptures and central Ramblas-style walkway is the best place to get into the groove.
Though it’s no Louvre, the esoteric Museo Municipal (cnr José Martí & Prado; admission CUC$1; 2-6pm Mon, 8am-noon & 3-7pm Tue-Sat) contains some interesting US Naval Base ephemera including prerevolutionary day passes and some revealing photos.
The unspectacular but noble Parroquia de Santa Catalina de Riccis, in Parque Martí, dates from 1863. In front of the church is a statue of local hero, Mayor General Pedro A Pérez, erected in 1928, opposite a tulip fountain and diminutive glorieta (bandstand).
Local architect Leticio Salcines (1888–1973) left a number of impressive works around Guantánamo, including the turreted market building Plaza del Mercado Agro Industrial (cnr Los Maceos & Prado), the train station, and his personal residence, the 1916 Palacio Salcines (cnr Pedro A Pérez & Prado; admission CUC$1; 8am-noon & 2-6pm Mon-Fri), a triumph of eclecticism and a monument said to be the building most representative of Guantánamo. The Palacio is now a small museum exhibiting colorful frescoes, Japanese porcelain and a rusty old music box that pipes out rather disappointing Mozart. A guided tour (CUC$1) makes the dull exhibits infinitely more interesting. On the palace’s turret is La Fama, a sculpture designed by Italian artist Americo Chine that serves as the symbol of Guantánamo, her trumpet announcing good and evil. Salcines also designed the beautiful provincial library Biblioteca Policarpo Pineda Rustán (cnr Los Maceos & Emilio Giro), which was once the city hall (1934–51). Trials of Fulgencio Batista’s thugs were held here in 1959, and a number were killed when they snatched a rifle and tried to escape.
For a fuller exposé of Guantánamo’s interesting architectural heritage you might want to stop by at the Oficina de Monumentos y Sitios Históricos (Los Maceos btwn Emilio Giro & Flor Crombet). Ask about a map of city walking trails.
The huge bombastic Monument to the Heroes, glorifying the Brigada Fronteriza ‘that defends the forward trench of socialism on this continent,’ dominates Plaza Mariana Grajales (opposite the Hotel Guantánamo),
one of the more impressive ‘Revolution squares’ on the island.
Sleeping
CASAS PARTICULARES
Lissett Foster Lara ( 32-59-70; Pedro A Pérez No 761 btwn Prado & Jesús del Sol; r CUC$20-25; ) Like many Guantanameras, Lissett speaks perfect English and her house is polished, comfortable