Granma Province
province of Cuba From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
province of Cuba From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Granma is one of the provinces of Cuba. Its capital is Bayamo. Other towns on it include Manzanillo (a port on the Gulf of Guacanayabo) and Pilón. Cuban military leader and founding father Carlos Manuel de Céspedes was born in the province.
The province was named after the yacht Granma, used by Che Guevara and Fidel Castro to land in Cuba with 82 guerrillas in 1956. The American who sold them the secondhand yacht in Mexico apparently had named it after his grandmother Archived 2006-08-21 at the Wayback Machine and so the name of this vessel, with its non-standard spelling, became an icon for Cuban communism. Not every Cuban realizes that the name would translate as abuela, although all can name the mothership of the revolution.
The province is full of reminders of the Cuban Revolution, and the Cuban Wars of Independence. There are many plaques in the mountains that commemorate the struggle against Fulgencio Batista. The struggle took place in 1959. It is believed there are many unmarked grave sites from the different wars. The sites of the various palenques, the fortified hamlets of escaped slaves can be found. These have been uncovered by archaeological digs. Most of these are not specially marked. Recently a hurricane destroyed the site of Castro's headquarters at La Plata. Cuba's highest point is located in Granma.
There are numerous abandoned gold, silver, and manganese mine sites. This is the area where Raúl Castro holds his centre of power and it is said to be the site of secret garrisons.
Coffee is grown in the mountainous regions of the province, and during the coffee harvest, there may be road blocks, where soldiers ensure that the coffee is delivered to the government and not the black market.
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