The mausoleum of El Cacahual
The province of Artemisa has five sites declared National Monuments: The Mausoleum to the Martyrs of Artemisa; The Birthplace of Rubén Martínez Villena and that of Carlos Baliño; the old Angerona coffee plantation, and the Antonio Maceo Monumental Complex.
The Antonio Maceo Monuments Complex is made up of a set of tarjas, niches and obelisks, established in the places where the patriot Juan Delgado's mambisa troop made a stopover during the transfer of the mortal remains of Antonio Maceo and Francisco Gómez Toro until El Cacahual, where they were buried.
The different zones are identified with small obelisks and informative cards, which are located in the municipalities of Bauta, San Antonio de los Baños and Bejucal. The first historical site of that Complex of Monuments is in San Pedro, where the Bronze Titan and his assistant Panchito Gómez Toro died. A tarja, in the Montiel farm, indicates the route of those who protected the corpses of Maceo and Panchito during the transfer to the grave.
On the San Pedro to San Antonio de los Baños road, there is a sign indicating the entrance to El Lombillo Pozo, a territory where the blood-stained bodies of Maceo and Panchito were washed. There appears another tarja with the description of the wake and the honor guard offered to both mambises.
The Cooperativa Gilberto León, the town of La Ceiba and the road from Bejucal to El Cacahual have other monoliths indicating the path followed by the mambises to El Cacahual.
In El Cacahual there is a mausoleum created initially by the architect Esteban Duque de Estrada. After the first half of the 20th century, the monument was transformed. The pentagonal base was modified, the points of the star were eliminated and a higher column was raised. On the front, a plaque of the Italian sculptor and politician Hector Ferrari was placed and the five tombstones were placed in different cardinal points.
The current Mausoleum of El Cacahual belongs to the sculptor Teodoro Ramos Blanco and the architect Edmundo Montelier García. It consists of two identical sarcophagi, joined by an equal number of truncated columns that symbolize the sacrifice of our heroes and the homage of the Cuban people; the three steps represent the struggle during the colonial period.
The mausoleum of El Cacahual is distinguished by its historical values, as a scene of significant patriotic ceremonies, and by its attractive ecosystem.
