Conjunto Escultórico Comandante Ernesto Che Guevara
Santa Clara
The end point of many a Che pilgrimage, this monument, mausoleum and museum complex is 2km west of Parque Vidal (via Rafael Tristá on Av de los Desfiles),…
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Villa Clara Province
What is that word hanging in the air over Villa Clara, one of the nation's most diverse provinces? 'Revolution,' perhaps? And not just because Che Guevara liberated its capital, Santa Clara, from Batista's corrupt gambling party to kick-start the Castro brothers' 58-year (and counting) stint in power. Oh, no. Ultra-cultural Santa Clara is guardian of the Cuban avant-garde (having the nation's only drag show and its main rock festival). Meanwhile, the picturesque colonial town of Remedios and the beach-rimmed Cayerías del Norte beyond are experiencing Cuba's most drastic contemporary tourist development.
Attractions
Must-see attractions
Parroquia de San Juan Bautista de Remedios
Villa Clara Province
One of the island's most interesting and oldest ecclesiastical buildings, Remedios' main church dates from around 1550, although much of the current…
Santa Clara
A veritable alfresco theater named for Colonel Leoncio Vidal y Caro, who was killed here on March 23, 1896, Parque Vidal was encircled by twin sidewalks…
Santa Clara
Santa Clara is peppered with comic book–style murals, the work of a local graphic artists' collective called Melaíto, which produces a monthly supplement…
Museo de Agroindustria Azucarero Marcelo Salado
Villa Clara Province
Towards Remedios, 3km past the crab statue, lies this former sugar mill (decommissioned in 1998), which is now a museum. Of the four preserved sugar mills…
Sitio-Museo Acción Contra El Tren Blindado
Santa Clara
History was made at the site of this small boxcar museum on December 29, 1958, when Ernesto 'Che' Guevara and a band of 18 rifle-wielding revolutionaries…
Fábrica de Tabacos Constantino Pérez Carrodegua
Santa Clara
Santa Clara's tobacco factory, one of Cuba's best, makes a quality range of Montecristos, Partagás and Romeo y Julieta cigars. Tours here are lo-fi…
Museo Provincial Abel Santamaría
Santa Clara
Not actually a memorial to Señor Santamaría (Fidel's right-hand man at Moncada), but rather a small provincial museum quartered in former military…
Guidebooks
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