Sights in Matanzas
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Teatro Sauto
Wilting from the outside, the Teatro Sauto is one of Cuba’s finest theaters (1863) and famous for its superb acoustics. The lobby is graced by marble Greek goddesses and the main hall ceiling bears paintings of the muses. Three balconies enclose this 775-seat theater, which features a floor that can be raised to convert the auditorium into a ballroom. A work of art, the original theater curtain is a painting of the Puente de la Concordia over the Río Yumurí. Enrico Caruso performed here, as did the Soviet dancer Anna Pavlova in 1945. Your best chance of catching a performance is on Friday, Saturday or Sunday nights.
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Cuevas de Bellamar
The Cuevas de Bellamar, 5km southeast of Matanzas, are 300,000 years old and are promoted locally as the oldest tourist attraction in Cuba. The 2500m-long caves were discovered in 1861 by a Chinese workman in the employ of Don Manual Santos Parga. There’s an underground stream inside; two restaurants, a pool and playground outside. One-hour visits into the cave leave every hour seven times a day starting at 9:30am. To get there, take bus 16, 17 or 20 east toward Canímar and ask the driver to let you out near Calle 226. From there it’s a 30-minute walk uphill to the caves.
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Castillo de San Severino
The formidable Castillo de San Severino was built by the Spanish in 1735 as part of Cuba’s defensive ring. Slaves were offloaded here in the 18th century and, later, Cuban patriots were imprisoned within the walls – and sometimes executed. San Severino remained a prison until the 1970s and in more recent times became the Museo de la Ruta de los Esclavos, a rather scant slavery museum.
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Castillo del Morrillo
The Castillo del Morrillo (1720) is now a museum dedicated to the student leader Antonio Guiteras Holmes (1906–35), who founded the revolutionary group Joven Cuba (Young Cuba) in 1934. After serving briefly in the post-Machado government, Guiteras was forced out by army chief Fulgencio Batista and shot on May 8, 1935. A bronze bust marks the spot where he was executed.
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Museo Farmacéutico
The Museo Farmacéutico is the city's showcase sight. Founded in 1882 by the Triolett family, this antique pharmacy was the first of its type in Latin America and continued to function until 1964 when it became a museum. The fine displays include all the odd bottles, instruments, porcelain jars and medical recipes used in the trade.
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Estadio Victoria de Girón
From October to April, baseball games take place at this stadium, near the Río San Juan, 1km southwest of the market. The schedule varies, so ask when the local team, Citricultores, will be playing. Don't expect Cuba's best ball here: this is equivalent to a farm team.
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Puente Calixto García
The steel, 1899 Puente Calixto García - number one bridge in a city that boasts 21 of them - spans the Río San Juan and leads directly into Plaza de la Vigía from the south. Three centuries ago the original settlement of Matanzas was established on this site.
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Casino Español
At the former Casino Español, the first performance of the danzonete (ballroom dance) Rompiendo La Rutina, by Anceto Díaz, took place. It’s now the Biblioteca Gener y Del Monte.
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Cuartel Goicuría
On the corner of Calles 63 and 260 stands the sinister-looking Cuartel Goicuría, a former barracks of Batista's army that was assaulted on April 29, 1956, by a group of rebels led by Reinold T García. Today it's a school.
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El Retablo
Kids and theater lovers shouldn't miss El Retablo, a gallery filled with all the fantastic costumes, marionettes and creations made by Cuba's masterful puppet makers. Performances are held here every second Saturday of the month.
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Archivo Histórico
The city’s Archivo Histórico, is in the former residence of local poet José Jacinto Milanés (1814–63). A bronze statue of Milanés stands on the Plaza de la Iglesia.
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Parque Libertad
A few blocks directly west of Plaza de la Vigía is Parque Libertad with several more of Matanzas' most stimulating sights, including a bronze statue (1909) of José Martí in the center.
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Iglesia de Monserrate
For an excellent view of Matanzas and the picturesque Valle del Yumurí, march north up Calle 306 to the ruined Iglesia de Monserrate, dating from 1875 and perched loftily above the town.
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Catedral de San Carlos Borromeo
Catedral de San Carlos Borromeo is a once-great neoclassical cathedral constructed in 1693 and rebuilt in the 1750s that has suffered terribly after years of neglect.
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Palmar del Junco
Baseball fans might want to make the pilgrimage to Palmar del Junco in the southern part of the city, site of Cuba's first baseball field (1904) and a source of much civic pride.
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Museo Histórico Provincial
The double-arcaded Museo Histórico Provincial, aka Palacio del Junco (1840) showcases the full sweep of Matanzas’ history from 1693 to the present.
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Versalles Quarter
The Versalles quarter was colonized by French refugees from Haiti in the 19th century and by the 1890s this area was the font of an exciting new musical genre called rumba.
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Palacio de Gobierno
The eastern side of Parque Libertad is dominated by the orderly Palacio de Gobierno dating from 1853, now the seat of the Poder Popular (Popular Power).
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Palacio de Justicia
The imposing Palacio de Justicia, opposite the Teatro Sauto, was first erected in 1826 and rebuilt between 1908 and 1911.
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Parque de los Bomberos
The Matanzas fire brigade still has its headquarters in the 1897 neoclassical Parque de los Bomberos just opposite.
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Iglesia de San Pedro Apóstol
The neoclassical Iglesia de San Pedro Apóstol is a Matanzas jewel in need of a makeover.
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