More than 300 years of history

REGLA

By Aixa Alfonso

THE picturesque waterside town of Regla is more than 300 years old. As recorded by historians of the area, it is an important economic, social and cultural area both for Havana and in the history of Cuba. It was founded on 3rd March 1687, prior to which it was an indigenous settlement, according to evidence archived at the Eduardo Gomez Luaces Museum.

This municipality is typified by its culture, religion, idiosyncrasy, strong sense of identity, and other distinctive characteristics of its inhabitants, enhanced by its inseparable links with the Bay of Havana, the port and surrounding areas.

REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY AND TRADITIONS

Renowned persons of action and words have left indelible traces on the area. While it is impossible to express much accumulated glory in few words, we cannot fail to recall the words of José Martí who, at the inauguration event of the Artistic and Literary College on February 8, 1879, said "(…) I do not know what these streets of Regla hold that, even being pebbled, it seems that flowers sprout from them…" Years later, it would become a center of conspiratorial activity against Spanish colonial rule.

Regla is an industrial zone with strong working class roots, covering a small area, but big on courage, proven by the impact of the clandestine movement in the immediate lead up to the Revolution, earning it the accolade of "Little Sierra" from Fidel Castro.

Many young Cubans were murdered by Batista's henchmen, among them Alberto Alvarez Díaz, Leonardo Valdés Suárez, Reinaldo Cruz Romeu and Onelio Dampiel Rodríguez, known as the Martyrs of Regla, who died for the freedom of the homeland. Revolutionary heroines and messengers for the Rebel Army in the Sierra Maestra, Lidia Doce and Clodomira Acosta, were also captured, tortured and later disappeared.

LENIN HILL AND THE JULIO ANTONIO MELLA PARK

The events of 1920’s Regla had widespread repercussions in Cuba and throughout Latin America. In 1921, Mayor Antonio Bosch Martínez decreed May 1 a day of universal commemoration and on January 24, 1924 he ordered an olive tree to be planted in memory of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. This was the first such honor outside the newborn Soviet Union.

In that same period, another event had a profound political impact: a locally built boat was named after the leader of the international workers movement. A number of ships loaded with supplies for the Soviet Union also set sail from the Regla port, an activity in which the trade union leader Lázaro Peña played an important role.

The Julio Antonio Mella Park, popularly known as the Mandarria (Sledgehammer) Park, is another place of profound political and patriotic significance. On May 1, 1927 a statue was erected in honor of labor: the figure of a man holding a sledgehammer as symbol of human dignity.

A tour of the living memory of this waterside location confirms the validity of continuing to restore and safeguard this heritage, pride of the people of Regla and all of Havana. (Taken from Tribuna)

GRANMA