"Eddy Suñol"
theatre is the home site of the "Rodrigo Pratts" Opera
Company.
Check if they have any presentations
during your stay.
Address: Calle Marti in front of "Calixto
Garcia" Central Park Square
Museums
Holguin Provincial Museum
"La Periquera"
This
monumental building facing the Central Park was ironically baptized "La
Periquera" (the parakeet cage) because of the colors of the uniforms
worn by the Spanish soldiers that were stationed there when it was the seat
of colonial power.
The museum treasures an extraordinary
collection, since the province of Holguin was one of the areas most densely
settled by aboriginal communities. One of its most precious relics, a unique
piece -- a stone ax worked in the shape of an idol -- is on permanent
display and has been adopted as the symbol of the province because of its
rebellious implications.
The museum also exhibits a collection on
the wars for independence, comprising numerous documents, weapons and
personal belongings of several Cuban patriots, among them, Major General
Calixto Garcia.
Address:
Calle Frexes # 198, Holguin.
Open: Monday to Saturday: 12:00 to 19:00. Closed on Sundays.
Telephone:
42-3973
Carlos de la Torre Museum of
Natural Sciences
This museum houses one of the most
significant natural sciences collections in the country: stuffed birds and
mammals, sponges, conchs and shells, and a large collection of polymites.
Among its most valuables treasures are the only two specimens of the royal
woodpecker to be found in any Cuban museum.
This bird is practically extinct and the
few specimens that have been seen recently were located in the most abrupt
places of the Sierra Maestra range, where they have found refuge and
protection against predators. Several expeditions organized by natural
science clubs and domestic and foreign scientific Institutions to locate the
royal woodpecker and take pictures of it have so far met with no success.
The museum also has a specimen of the manatee (seacow). This autochthonous mammal is virtually extinct due to indiscriminate killing.
The manatee belongs to the order Sirenia,
made up by several species of dugongs and manatees, which are very similar
and whose existence on the planet dates back thousand of years. Due to its
habits, the manatee has been the subject of old legends. It is believed that
mythical mermaids
were the fruit of the imagination of mariners who saw these animals
breastfeeding their young in the water, in a maternal, almost human,
attitude.
Open:
Tuesday to Saturday: 08:00 to 18:00. Sundays: 08:00 to 12:00. Closed on
Mondays.
Address:
Calle Maceo No. 129 e/ Martí y Luz Caballero, ciudad
de Holguín
Telephone:
42-3935
Museo del Deporte
Estadio "Mayor
General Calixto García"
Ave. Libertadores, Holguín
Telephone: 46-2014
Mausoleum
and Forest of the Heroes
At the Revolution Square Major General Calixto Gracia. This complex that forms the square has a monument in whose
frieze the fight of the Cuban people is symbolized. Where Calixto Garcia
Mausoleum is found, in the Forest of the Heroes, is the Mausoleum of Lucia Iñiguez
and the monuments to the heroes of the bloody Easter Day and Jesus Menendez.
Address:
Ave. XX Aniversario de la Victoria. Holguín
Telephones: (53 24) 42-5578
Museo Ambiente Cubano
Calle Independencia No. 19 e/ Céspedes y
J. Peralta, Altos. Holguín
Telephone: 42 4407
Museo del Ejército Oriental
Ave. Libertadores km. 3 1/2. Holguín
Telephone: 46-9205
Museum-House where Calixto
Garcia was born
The
Major General Calixto Garcia Iñiguez, one of the national heroes of our
independence wars, was born in this house on August 4, 1839. Currently is
the headquarters of the memorial museum and information center on the
independence wars.
Address: Calle Miro No. 147 esq. a Frexes. Holguín
Telephone:
42-5610
Chorro
de Maita Site Museum
In
the late 20s, archaeological evidence started to accumulate on the existence
of an aboriginal settlement in the area of Chorro de Maita, a country
location in Banes, in the eastern region. Excavations following the chance
finding of an aboriginal skeleton by some of the dwellers, led to the most
important discovery in Cuban-Indian archaeology: a burial ground with the
remains of 108 human bodies, the largest funeral site thus far found in the
Antilles. Firstly, never before had there been any evidence of the burial
customs of the agricultural and pottery-making Indian communities that had
settled in this area. Also, the position in which many of the bodies
were buried was quite unusual: arms crossed over the chest, thereby leading
to the supposition of some Indian- European contact in Chorro de Maita.
This
hypothesis is reaffirmed by the fact that, among the remains, a Caucasoid
skeleton was found, presumably one of the conquistadors who died of unknown
causes. The date of the burial ground has been estimated between 1490 and
1540, which further substantiates the hypothesis.
Another
curious finding was skeleton No-57, that of a female, age 18-22, among whose
remains lay a gold idol, the second that was found in a
Cuban
archaeological site, as well as copper objects and ornaments, all of which
seems to indicate that she enjoyed some superior hierarchy in the community.
Declared
a National Monument, the Chorro de Maita burial site was turned into a
museum and a center of archaeological research, open to all those
interested.
Address:
Chorro de Maita, Banes
Open: Tuesday to Saturday: 09:00 to 17:00. Sundays: 09:00 to 13:00. Closed
on Mondays.
Indo-Cuban Bani Museum
There are important samples of the
Indo-Cuban archeology, although among the ones exhibited, two pieces have a
particular interest: a golden idol, the first one that was found in the
area, and an indigenous skull that has in the forefront a hole very similar
to that of one made by a bullet. -Indo-Cuban archeology -Pre-Columbian
history of Cuba
Address: Calle General Marrero No. 305 e/ Ave. José Martí y
Carlos M. de Céspedes, Banes. Holguín
Telephone: 48-2487
Art Galleries
Sala "Moncada"
It
has on display paintings, engravings and sculptures from local artists
Address:
Calle Maceo, esquina a Martí
Galería
"Holguín"
Expo
and sell of paintings and precious wood engravings
This
monumental building facing the Central Park was ironically baptized "La
Periquera" (the parakeet cage) because of the colors of the uniforms
worn by the Spanish soldiers that were stationed there when it was the seat
of colonial power.
At the Revolution Square Major General Calixto Gracia. This complex that forms the square has a monument in whose
frieze the fight of the Cuban people is symbolized. Where Calixto Garcia
Mausoleum is found, in the Forest of the Heroes, is the Mausoleum of Lucia Iñiguez
and the monuments to the heroes of the bloody Easter Day and Jesus Menendez.
In
the late 20s, archaeological evidence started to accumulate on the existence
of an aboriginal settlement in the area of Chorro de Maita, a country
location in Banes, in the eastern region. Excavations following the chance
finding of an aboriginal skeleton by some of the dwellers, led to the most
important discovery in Cuban-Indian archaeology: a burial ground with the
remains of 108 human bodies, the largest funeral site thus far found in the
Antilles. Firstly, never before had there been any evidence of the burial
customs of the agricultural and pottery-making Indian communities that had
settled in this area. Also, the position in which many of the bodies
were buried was quite unusual: arms crossed over the chest, thereby leading
to the supposition of some Indian- European contact in Chorro de Maita. 
Another
curious finding was skeleton No-57, that of a female, age 18-22, among whose
remains lay a gold idol, the second that was found in a