Ten kilometers south of Manzanillo is the moving sight of the sugar estate of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, whose outcry, known as Grito de Yara, and the subsequent freeing of his enslaved people on October 10, 1868, marked the opening of Cuba's independence wars. Renovated in 2018 on the 150th anniversary of independence, the small museum has well-organized interpretive displays. Outside, find the Demajagua bell that Céspedes tolled to announce Cuba's (then unofficial) independence, plus remnants of the sugar mill machinery.
In 1947 an as-yet-unknown Fidel Castro 'kidnapped' the bell and took it to Havana in a publicity stunt to protest against the corrupt Cuban government.
Also at La Demajagua are the remains of Céspedes' original ingenio (sugar mill) and a poignant monument (with a quote from Castro). To get here, travel south 10km from the Cupet-Cimex gas station in Manzanillo, in the direction of Media Luna, and then another 2.5km off the main road, toward the sea.
