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Granma
Known as the province of contrasting landscapes, Granma features plains along the Cauto River and heights in the glorious Sierra Maestra mountain range; facing the Caribbean Sea on the south coast, featuring fascinating scenes of marine terraces. Bayamo, the capital of the province, is a National Monument since it was the second city founded in Cuba (1513) and was declared Capital of the Republic-in-Arms during the 1868 war of independence. The city was burnt to the ground by its inhabitants on January 12th, 1869. Standing out as key historic elements are the Plaza del Himno (Anthem Square), where the Cuban national anthem was first sung; the Casa de la Nacionalidad Cubana (House of the Cuban National Spirit), the Parish Church of San Salvador de Bayamo, which preserves the only fresco on a patriotic theme found in a church and maintains open a baroque chapel built in 1740 known as Capilla de Dolores (Dolores Chapel).
Also in Bayamo is the birthplace of the Father of the Country, Carlos Manuel de Céspedes; the Santo Domingo Convent and the renown Ventana de Luz Velásquez (Luz Velásquez Window), where Cuba’s first trova song was sung,: La Bayamesa. One-horse carriages, direct descendants of the colonial two-wheeled “quitrin”, are still utilized by Bayamo inhabitants today.
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