This is the most important park-plaza in the city. Sited at the far end of the historical city center it occupies the space that the used to be the Arms Square in the colonial era and where some of the bloodiest combats in the different captures of the city by Cuban rebels were decided. In the square’s design prominently features the monument that gives the park its name, which was raised to pay homage to Major General Vicente García: the most important patriot born of the region who distinguished himself during the struggles for liberation from Spanish dominion. The monument, the work of an Italian artist who sculpted in it Carrara marble, was unveiled in 1915.
Also part of the plaza is the Church of Saint Geronimo, which had an antecedent in a catholic Shrine that had existed on the site since 1510, and according to existing historical records was the place where the Virgin Mary was first spoken of on Cuban soil.