Camaguey

After lunch, we walked to Parque Agramonte. It was late Sunday afternoon and families were gathered in the park.

The parque is filled with tamarind trees and marble benches. In each corner is a royal palm, planted to symbolize the deaths of 4 independence fighters--Joaquin Aguero, Miguel Benavides, Tomas Betancourt y Zayas and Fernando de Zayas.

The center of the park is dominated by a statue of Agramonte, a Cuban revolutionary. He was born in Camaguey to a wealthy family, became a lawyer and fought for independence from Spain.

Details of the base of the statue.

Casa de la Diversidad, to the west of the parque, is a museum highlighting the history and culture of Camaguey.

Iglesia Catedral de Nuestra Senora de la Candelaria--the Camaguey Cathedral, is located on the southern end of the parque

From there, we walked up Calle Maceo. One block north is Plaza Antonio Maceo. There is a bust of Maceo, 2nd in command of the Cuban Army of Independence.

Calle Maceo is a pedestrian street.

Iglesia de la Soledad at the end of Calle Maceo. As with other churches in town, there's a story as to why this one was built. An animal carriers' cart was stuck in the mud and as everyone gathered to push the cart free, a box bounced off the cart. Inside was a statue of the Virgin and since the cart driver knew nothing about the box, it was taken as a sign that the Virgin Mary wanted a church built here. The original church was built in 1697 but the current one dates from 1758.

Calle Maceo ends at Calle Republica and continues as a pedestrian street for a while. You can tell where the wifi zones are. Everyone is hunched over their smart phones.

Hotel Colon, located on Calle Republica between San Jose & San Martin. It's one of a dozen hotels in town. It was built in 1927 and its rooms have reproduction 1920s furniture.

Retrace your steps on Calle Republica from Hotel Colon. Walk down Popular to Plaza de los Trabajadores.

One of the colorful buildings on the plaza is the Santa Cecilia building--a convention center.

There is a dedication to Che on another building on the plaza.

Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de la Merced is on the eastern edge of the plaza. The church was built as a convent in 1747.

A short walk up Padre Valencia from Plaza de los Trabajadores is the Teatro Principal or main theater in town. You can see ballet and other performances there now.

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