Regla, Guanabacoa & the Forts

Regla and Guanabacoa are two small towns on the eastern side of Havana harbor that got swallowed up during Havana's urban growth. Slow-paced and little visited by tourists, the municipalities retain an independent-minded and culturally distinct spirit. There are other spirits here too. Guanabacoa is sometimes called el pueblo embrujado ('the bewitched town') for its strong Santería traditions, while Regla – another Santería hotbed – was known as the Sierra Chiquita (Little Sierra, after the Sierra Maestra) in the 1950s for its bolshie revolutionary politics.