Cuba - Lonely Planet [81]
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Surrounded by grey, utilitarian buildings constructed in the late 1950s, the square today is the base of the Cuban government and a place where large-scale political rallies are held. In January 1998, one million people (nearly one-tenth of the Cuban population) crammed into the square to hear Pope Jean Paul II say Mass.
Center-stage is the Memorial a José Martí ( 59-23-47; admission CUC$5; 9:30am-5pm Mon-Sat), which at 138.5m is Havana’s tallest structure. Fronted by an impressive 17m marble statue of a seated Martí in pensive Thinker pose, the memorial houses a museum – the definite word on Martí in Cuba – and a 129m lookout (reached via small CUC$2 lift) with fantastic city views.
The ugly concrete block on the northern side of the Plaza is the Ministerio del Interior, well known for its huge mural of Che Guevara (a copy of Alberto Korda’s famous photograph taken in 1960) with the words Hasta la Victoria Siempre (Always Toward Victory) emblazoned underneath.
On the eastern side is the 1957 Biblioteca Nacional José Martí (admission free; 8am-9:45pm Mon-Sat) with a photo exhibit in the lobby, while on the west is the Teatro Nacional de Cuba (Click here).
Tucked behind the Martí Memorial are the governmental offices housed in the heavily guarded Comité Central del Partido Comunista de Cuba.
Quinta de los Molinos (cnr Av Salvador Allende & Luaces) is the former stately residence of General Máximo Gómez, which sits amid lush botanical gardens on land that once belonged to Havana University. The residence and grounds were halfway through an extensive and long-winded renovation project at the time of writing.
NECRóPOLIS CRISTóBAL COLóN
Declared a national monument in 1987, this cemetery (admission CUC$1; 7am-5pm) is one of Latin America’s most fascinating, renowned for its striking religious iconography and elaborate marble statues. Far from being eerie, a walk through these 56 hallowed hectares can be an educational and emotional stroll through the annals of Cuban history. A guidebook with a detailed map (CUC$5) is for sale at the entrance.
After entering the neo-Romanesque northern gateway (1870), there’s the tomb of independence leader General Máximo Gómez (1905) on the right (look for the bronze face in a circular medallion). Further along past the first circle, and also on the right, are the monument to the firefighters (1890) and the neo-Romanesque Capilla Central (1886) in the center of the cemetery. Just northeast of this chapel is the graveyard’s most celebrated (and visited) tomb, that of Señora Amelia Goyri (cnr Calles 1 & F), better known as La Milagrosa (the miraculous one), who died while giving birth on May 3, 1901. The marble figure of a woman with a large cross and a baby in her arms is easy to find, due to the many flowers piled on the tomb and the local devotees in attendance. For many years after her death, her heartbroken husband visited the grave several times a day. He always knocked with one of four iron rings on the burial vault and walked away backwards so he could see her for as long as possible. When the bodies were exhumed some years later, Amelia’s body was uncorrupted (a sign of sanctity in the Catholic faith) and the baby, who had been buried at its mother’s feet, was – allegedly – found in her arms. As a result, La Milagrosa became the focus of a huge spiritual cult in Cuba and thousands of people come here annually with gifts in the hope of fulfilling dreams or solving problems. In keeping with tradition, pilgrims knock with the iron ring on the vault and walk away backwards when they leave.
Also worth seeking out is the tomb of Orthodox Party leader