Baracoa is a municipality and city in Oriente Province near the eastern tip of Cuba. It was founded by the first governor of Cuba, the Spanish conquistador Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar in 1511. It is the oldest Spanish settlement in Cuba and was its first capital referred to as "Ciudad Primada", ("First City").
Baracoa is located on the spot where Christopher Columbus landed in Cuba on his first voyage. It is thought that the name stems from the indigenous Arauaca language word meaning "the presence of the sea."
Baracoa lies on the Bay of Honey (Bahía de Miel) and is surrounded by a wide mountain range (including the Sierra del Purial), which causes it to be quite isolated, apart from a single mountain road built in the 1960s.
The original inhabitants of the island were Taíno. They were eradicated by the Spanish all over Cuba except here and this is the only place where descendants still live. A local hero is Hatuey, who fled from the Spanish in Hispaniola and raised a Taíno army to fight the Spanish in Cuba. According to the story Hatuey was betrayed by a member of his group and sentenced to burn at the stake. It is said that just before he died a Catholic priest tried to convert him so he would attain salvation; Hatuey asked the priest if Heaven was the place where the dead Spanish go. When he received an answer in the affirmative he told the priest that he'd rather go to Hell.
On October 27th, 1492, Christopher Columbus landed in Cuba in a place he named Porto Santo. It is generally assumed from his description that this was Baracoa, although there are also claims it was Gibara. But Columbus also described a nearby table mountain, which is almost certainly el Yunque. He wrote in his logbook ... the most beautiful place in the world ...I heard the birds sing that they will never ever leave this place.... According to legend, Columbus put a cross called Cruz de la Parra in the sands of what would later become Baracoa harbor.
Around August 15th, 1511 (the official foundation day) Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar was appointed the first governor of Cuba and built a villa named 'Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Baracoa', thus making Baracoa the first capital of Cuba. In 1518 it received the title of city and the first Cuban bishop was appointed here. As a result several remains of the Spanish occupation can still be seen, such as the fortifications El Castillo, Matachín and La Punta and the cemetery.
In the 16th and 17th centuries the isolated location made it a haven for illegal trade with the French and English. At the beginning of the 19th century many French fled here from the revolution of independence in Haiti, who started growing coffee and cocoa.
From the middle of the 19th century many expeditions of independence fighters landed including Antonio Maceo and José Martí which greatly helped the independence from Spain in 1902.
Before the Cuban Revolution the only access was by sea, but in the 1960s a 120 km long road from Guantánamo named La Farola was built through the mountains, which was one of the showcases of the revolution. The road had already been planned by the Batista government, but never got built. The highest point of the road is at over 600 m and it passes 11 bridges.
Cuba had Latin America's highest per capita consumption rates of meat, vegetables, cereals, automobiles, telephones and radios. In 1958, Cuba was a well-advanced country by world standards. Cuba attracted more immigrants, primarily from Europe, as a percentage of population than the U.S. The United Nations noted Cuba for its large middle class.
Since January 1st, 1959 Cuba has been ruled by the dictatorship of Fidel Castro and the communist party.
We hope to one day return to our Baracoa with the simple principles of "Human Rights", freedom and without the fear of persecution.
The music in the video are my interpretations of traditional Cuban compositions of Arruyo de palmas, Guajira Guantanamera, Me voy al pueblo, and Ya tengo la casita.
Enjoy,
Dulcerina Martinez
09/24/11
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baracoa de fiestaby miguelreyes19841,297 views
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