waste o time place

Day 3 in Cuba. We had a pretty full schedule set for today:
Sanctuary of LA Caridad del Cobre
the Momument to the Cimarrón
the house of spiritist Juan González Pérez "Madelaine"
and saw the groups Cabildo Cimarrón and Voces del Milagro.

(I don't remember these details. It's what I took off of our info FAQ of the tour).

So then, started off with breakfast at the hotel. I really like breakfast. Plus, we get an awesome view of the city from the roof top.
This is looking SW. The harbor would be a bit to the left in the image.


So then, off into the bus and to El Cobre. It's about 30 minutes west of Santiago in the foothills of the Sierra Maestra. Nearby are the old copper mines. It's supposed to be the most important church in Cuba where people come from all over to pay their respects. Inside is the Virgen de la Caridad - the protector of Cuba. Her parallel figure in Afro-Cuban worship is Ochún, goddess of love and femininity, who is also dark-skinned and dressed in bright yellow garments. The place was built in 1927 and has a super long name: El Sanctuario de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Cobre.









From the parking lot area of this church we could see our next destination: the Monument to the Cimarrón.
When we got to the monument, I decided on not climbing up the stairs in the heat and staying below with the metal man (statue).
The photo of the monument is from wrayb cuz he climed up those stairs! Later during our trip, we would meet Alberto Lescay - the sculptor and visit his workshop too!

" “El Monumento al Cimarron” (the Monument to Runaway Slaves), a towering sculpture created in bronze and iron, was built on a hill near the town of El Cobre, in Santiago de Cuba Province, to honor one of the earliest slave revolts that took place in the country.

This region, with its great tradition of struggle, was the scene of many acts of insubordination and mass slave escapes in the years 1673, 1691, 1731, 1737 and 1781. But the uprising of July 24, 1731 qualifies as one of the most important slave protests in Cuba, noted by historians for its character and importance.

The work that marks this revolt was produced by artist Alberto Lescay Merencio, a sculptor and painter highly recognized in contemporary international and Cuban visual arts. He wanted to pay tribute to this event in history, so in 1997 he constructed the monument." (Source)






Below where I waited was a sculpture that surprised me when I got closer. I didn't realize he did't have pants on n stuff. From here though, you can see the church in the distance.









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From the written journal:

To the bus! Went tto the Sactuario del Cobré. Walked around it. Saw religious stuff. Ran away.
Back on the bus! Idid not combust.
Some pretty spots inside of there but those kinds of places to not make me feel comfortable.
Went to a monument accessible by stairs. A lot of stairs. Skipped seeing the monument. Took photos of the art piece with a big dick.
Back on the bus.
Then into town to see the spiritist and dancers. Fun. Everyone danced.
Not me. I don't dance.
Now at Los Morros taking too long for lunch. This is cutting into my sleep. Already nodded off on the bus on the way here. Supposed to check out the castle. It's over there. Checked it out.
Boom. Done.
Irritated. Easily irritated. Want to explode. Or implode. Or something. Had to step away.