Description

Baracoa, the fist villa founded in the Spaniards in Cuba, was discovered by Christopher Columbus on November 27th, 1492. Its name has an Araucan origin and it mens existence of sea.

It is also knows as the Prime City, other prefer to call it City of Rain or landscape City, the latter due to its beautiful nature, surrounded by mountain mass in which a vigorous woods, plethoric of endemic flora and fauna predominates. Baracoa also has crystal-clear water river and beachs bordered by sea-grapes, almond and coconuts tress. It has a physiognomic and ecological diversity in its vegetation and treasures the principal and greatest reserves of wood, coconut and cocoa of the country. In this scenery, three of the four palm tree species existing in Cuba can be observed.

We can also find endangered species of fauna such as the almiqui, the royal woodpecker and the canguero sparrowhawk or Cuba kite. Also nature jewels such as polymita snails, considered by the snail experts as the most beautiful mollusc of the world.this paradise -city, unique in the island, is discernible by the Yunque, a meseta that can be seen from several points. A tour of about 2 km. On car boats, form a pier at Bahia de Taco, where the manati inhabits. There is interaction with mangrove vegetation.

We can see a small key formed by volcano sedimentary bed of tuff According to legend, Admiral Christopher Columbus put a cross called Cruz de la Parra in the sands of what would later become Baracoa harbor, on a Saturday, December 1st, 1492, four days after he had arrived to this western territory. The Santa Cruz de la Parra was ignored by the original inhabitants from this land for 18 years, until Spanish conquistador Diego Velázquez and the expeditionary men who came with him discovered it at the moment of the foundation of the villa of Baracoa, first capital of Cuba, on august 15th, 1511. It is called Cruz de la Parra because when it was found by the founders of the village it was tied by a reed of wild grapevine leaves that grew on the place. The colonizers worshipped it and Friar Bartolomé de las Casas use it in his religious tasks, as a symbol of Spanish Catholicism. It was used in the evangelization process of the aborigines from Baracoa and probably it was present at the first mass presided by the parish priest, known as the protector of aborigines. The Cruz de la Parra has been preserved by centuries in the Parrish Church Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Baracoa.

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