Located in the former Presidential Palace, the museum exhibits a large number of objects of extraordinary historical importance related to the struggle for independence of the Cuban people. The Granma memorial is situated in the surrounding area and exhibits the boat, protected by a glass case, that Fidel Castro and 82 revolutionaries used to return to Cuba from exile in Mexico and thus initiated the final struggle for the independence of Cuba.Place: Ciudad de La Habana. Calle Refugio Nro. 1 entre Monserrate y Zulueta. Old Havana.
The San Francisco de Asís Church and Convent is the current scenario of the richest cultural traditions. As the City Historian has said: “to collect, restore, conserve and exhibit are the classic principles that govern there.... so as to save from the offenses of time the endangered heritage.” The construction of the current set dates from 1738, and it replaced a more modest one completed in 1591. Since it was closed to worship in 1841, the building has seen the most diverse uses. After a restoration that brought back its original values in the nineties, the architectural group has harbored, also, a concert hall and the Holy, Sacred and Religious Art museums.
The Cannon Blast ceremony is one of the oldest and attractive traditions of Havana. In colonial days, the shots signalled the closing and opening of the gates of the walled city and the rising of the chain across the entrance to the harbour. The tradition of firing a cannon every night at 9:00 pm was kept even after the wall was torn down and is still used for checking your watch.
The oldest space of the city surrounded by the most important political, military, religious and civil buildings of the town: la Real Casa de Correos (1772-90), Palacio del Segundo Cabo and Palacio de los Capitanes Generales (1776-91). In 1955, a statue of the Father of the Homeland, Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, stands in the center of the square.
After more than fifty years of existence, this famous Cuban nightclub is internationally renowned for the virtuosity of its dancers, experience of its artistic directors and skill of its cast (made up by more than 200 professionals) and also because the performance is not presented in a theatre but rather, and true to its slogan, in a "Paradise under the Stars". Numerous prominent Cuban and American artists as well as countless of famed actors, actresses, businessmen and politician were regulars at this cabaret. Its show has toured the leading capitals of the Caribbean, Europe and the Americas.
The castle is located in Old Havana, in an attractive area of important architectural, urban, cultural and social values. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and is also the oldest fortress of the former fortification system of Havana. A replica of the La Giraldilla, the symbol of the city, can be seen on the highest tower of the castle (the original is in the Museum of the City).
