photo by Jack Hopkins |
Santa Clara
is located in the heart of sugar cane country
and is the capital of Villa Clara Province. It was founded in 1689 and
currently has a population of more than 200,000. It is a city with something for
everyone - it is an old and beautiful colonial city with many historical
landmarks. It is home to one of Cuba's largest universities,
Universidad Central "Martha Abreu" de Las Villas. It is also a major
manufacturing center.
 |
Below are a few of
Santa Clara's beautiful landmarks: |
photo by Jeff Elder |
Parque
Vidal
This beautiful park is the central square
of Santa Clara. It has a charming gazebo which is still used for band concerts, as well as
a curious set of double sidewalks which curve throughout the park. |
Che
Guevara Monument
South of the city center is the museum of the
Plaza de la Revoluc’on and the Che Guevara Monument. The bronze statue of Che bears the
legend Hasta La Vistoria Siempre (Ever Onward to Victory), and was the site for
the re-burial of Che's remains discovered in Bolivia in 1997.
The museum features maps, documents, guns and some of the primitive
broadcasting equipment used by Radio Rebelde, set up by Che at La Mesa mountain station. |
photo by Jack Hopkins |
photo by Jeff Elder |
Tren
Blindado
This fascinating monument commemorates the derailment of an
armored train loaded with government soldiers and US Army weapons which was sent to stop
the Rebel Army's advance in 1958. A unit under Che Guevara's command bulldozed the tracks,
and the bulldozer and four boxcars are still there. They now house exhibits detailing this
decisive historical feat.
|
Despite the obvious differences in history and
culture, Santa Clara has many things in common with Bloomington. For one, it is the home
of Central University, one of Cuba's largest universities. It is also the site of the huge
INPUD factory, which is the largest producer of domestic appliances (refrigerators,
stoves, etc) in Cuba, similar to Westinghouse here in Bloomington. Lastly, it is
surrounded by stone quarries!
For more information about CUBAmistad,
contact amistad@bloomington.in.us.
This site designed by Kay Westhues and
maintained by Mike Gasser.
Last updated in Dec. 2004.