By: Umbrella Travel

The Cuban Province of Pinar del Rio has added value to tourists visiting the Guanahacabibes peninsula, with its introduction of a new place resembling a Mesolithic aboriginal museum featuring the primitive communities that lived in that area three thousand years ago.

Archaeologists report that Guanahatabey Indian communities who lived on hunting, fishing, and gathering settled in Guanahacabibes, the easternmost peninsula of Cuba, which has been declared a Reserve of the Biosphere.

Their research sheds new light on the ways of life of the aboriginal natives of this Caribbean country, who originally came from the south of the American continent and were later exterminated, leaving little evidence of their daily lives.

At the time the Spaniards arrived in Cuba, historians believe that one hundred thousand aborigines lived in the Cuban archipelago, roughly subdivided into tainos, siboneyes, guanahatabeyes, and caribes. One can still see their characteristics in a few of those living in the communities of the eastern mountains.

The colonizers forced the native peoples to do such hard work that the majority died in a few years. Still, legend has it that some small groups survived, hidden in the hills and mountains.

When African slaves escaped their masters and founded small settlements, it seems that they discovered the refuges of the remaining natives. Out of their unions, people believe, emerged a new ethnic mix of African and indigenous people in Cuba.

Surprisingly, researchers found some artifacts of the Spanish occupation in these settlements, although inhabitants would probably not have made them or cohabited with the Spanish colonizers.

Experts propose further research into the plains of porous rock where the indigenous people took shelter, to deepen their understanding of this culture and of the historical identity of the province of Pinar del Rio, starting from the archeological evidence.

Contingents of speleologists, including the distinguished Guaniguanico group expert in the region, explored the caves of Pinar del Rio, unveiling in their extensive labyrinths the mysteries of its past.

As another project, the experts of the Cuban easternmost province are planning an archeological hall, to exhibit artifacts dating from before agriculture or pottery were part of guanahatabeyes culture.

The Pelegrin Patio, a community project in Pinar del Rio, will house this exhibition, which has its roots in the desire to go deep into local history and approximate the way of life of native peoples, who were decimated by conquest and colonization or absorbed into a large ethnic mix.

This other human group inhabited an explanade of what is El Palenque quartier today, located in the Consolacion del Sur municipality, where some 150 people are supposed to have lived, most of them children.

For at least three centuries, river sediment preserved the evidence of the presence of aborigines, who only abandoned these sites in the rainy season, since they moved to the mountains escaping frequent floods.

The study of this setting revealed that the living areas were ring-like constructions. At the center was the area for the fire; adjacent to this area was a space for food cooking. Next came a site for the making of tools, and lastly an area for resting and relaxation. All this was determined by the precise findings of researchers.

Other discoveries relating to the Guanicanicos indicate a relative primitiveness of these early inhabitants. However, in spite of being mesoindians, or “archaic Indians”, they demonstrated an awareness and knowledge of their environment.

According to the research, the aborigines of the Pinar area moved about a great deal, presumably on rivers, and reached the coast lying at a distance of 20 kilometers.

This demonstrated an indefatigable and intense desire to explore and finally locate areas more suitable for living.

By: Umbrella Travel

Amelia Goire de la Hoz, a lady of the 19th Century Cuban upper class, is a saint not included in the biblical canon by the church, at present known as “The Miracle Maker”, due to the statue built to pay her homage in Colon Cemetery, in Havana, and to the legend surrounding her.

Amelia Goire lost her mother at 13 years of age; as a result, she was sent by her father to be under her Aunt Ines de Balboa’s care, who was married to Marquis Pedro de Balboa. They lived in a residence on Egido Street, Old Havana.

The young woman’s star started to shine when she met Jose Vicente Adot, whom she fell in love with, even though she could only see him behind her family’s back: they preferred a man of a long established family and more financial resources.

A change in the attitude of the relatives of the beautiful Havanan lady occurred when Adot came back from the second stage of the Cuban Independence War with the rank of captain and a prominent position in the Capital.

By then, Amelia’s father and the Marquis of Balboa – both opposed to the marriage, had passed away.

With no further opposition were the lovers joined in marriage in a family celebration. Almost a year later, Amelia felt happier than ever when she discovered that she was expecting. The couple’s happiness did not last much since on May the 3rd, 1903, Amelia suffered a seizure of eclampsia as she was delivering a premature baby; neither she nor the baby could be saved.

The heartbroken husband had a humble tomb built in the center of the Havana cemetery; which, sheltering more than 1.5 million dead bodies, is one of the most outstanding graveyards worldwide on account of its funerary monuments – mostly built with marble from Carrara and characterized by their architectonic and artistic values

Jose Vicente went to the tomb every morning for many years, all dressed in black. Their child had been placed at Amelia’s feet.

He imposed on himself the ritual of knocking the right metal ring of the tombstone to the marble three times, in an attempt to wake up the lady. He would wait for a while and cover the sepulcher with flowers as he walked around it. He used to tell her about his concerns, ask for advice and help until he left for work, which went better every day.

Curiosity on the one hand, the extraordinary qualities that Jose Vicente attributed to the dead woman on the other, drove people to imitate him. The mourner complained about the intruders to the cemetery management but, not pleased with their answer, placed a plaque banning the frequent visits to the tomb and the flower offerings.

At the exhumation, the bodies were found to be untouched by decay and Amelia, as a symbol of maternal love, held her child in her arms. The sepulcher was sealed again.

But nothing could stop the legend; on the contrary, it became more and more popular after sculptor Jose Vilalta reproduced the young woman’s image in Carrara marble in 1909.

The statue’s left arm surrounds a new-born child; the right arm finds support on a Latin cross, which every person going to the tomb in search of protection for children or complicated pregnancies, or begging for miraculous solutions to their problems looks up to.

It is said that the “Miracle Maker” grants the requests of those who worship her, especially women who have not been able to conceive, but also that she represents the embodiment of maternal love.

The story has been transmitted by way of mouth and nobody dares to doubt its authenticity. Some even affirm that the “saint” has granted them the wonder of motherhood, after giving up medical treatments.

With its 57 hectares, Colon Cemetery is Cuba’s most important graveyard. Its construction started on October 30th, 1871, and was finished on July 2nd, 1886. A royal decree issued on July 28th, 1866, had provided permission for its construction, but it was delayed because of several difficulties.

Colon cemetery is the largest graveyard in America and one of the most valuable in terms of its cultural excellence based on the richness of the sculptures and architecture. Its countless mausoleums recreate different stages of Cuban life, and the beauty of its arches, domes and stained-glasses transform death into art.

Nevertheless, the Miracle Maker excels over all other funeral monuments in that cemetery, inasmuch as she embodies the gentlest, most enduring emotion: maternal love.