Celebrating its two hundred years without a wrinkle is this city, blessed by the sea and heir to ancient legends, founded in 1819 with the name of Fernandina de Jagua by Frenchman Don Luis Declouet, today Cienfuegos, loved by Benny Moré and all those who come to visit.
Cuba’s “Pearl of the South” is known for its modernity, architecture, and organization, as stated in the recognition of its central historic district as a World Heritage Site in 2007, “The first, exceptional example of an architectural complex representative of the new ideas of modernity, hygiene, and order, in the urban planning that developed in Latin America during the 19th century.”
Highlighted are the integrity and conservation of its architecture, its “elegant squares and promenades, stretches of façades…” but only those who have been here know its magic, which comes not only from the sober beauty of its buildings.
Cienfuegos moves in its history, written by more than 2,000 members of the brigade of that region in the Rebel Army, who rose up on a glorious September 5, 1957, and in more the than 60 years of its inhabitants’ commitment. And it lives in the pride of its people, in the industrial boom that distinguishes it, in the bay without which the city does not breathe.
Tonight, its art will be celebrated, and the stage could be no other than the mythical Tomás Terry Theater, also a Cienfuegos fixture. The history of this city will be revisited by musicians and actors, under the direction of José Oriol González.
But the 200 years are only a pretext. The beloved city is the subject of song, and venerated, every day.
(Granma)