The town of San Salvador de Bayamo is considered the cradle of the consolidated national sentiment for hosting great events and personalities of the Cuban independence history, as well as for being one of the first colonial settlements on the island. The preservation of its patrimonial values can be observed in the walks through the city and the surrounding fields, which surprise by the iconic institutions and squares where the symbols of the Republic in Arms, as well as its defenders and detractors, made vibrate a location that has survived to dissimilar attacks of pirates, fires and decisive combats.

Founded in 1513 by Diego Velázquez, the settlement of the Holy Saviour of Bayamo became a region for pottery and farming that fl ourished economically in the first decades of the Spanish colonial period thanks to the smuggling, favoured by the conditions for navigation on the Cauto River, the richness of its basin and the access to the sea.

The historic merits of this town and its inhabitants since the conquest up to present day have turned it into a symbol of the aborigines’ resistance and rebelliousness, insurgent thinking, fight for the independence and support to the Cuban revolutionary movement in the last phase of the national liberation.

In the 19th century, Bayamo was the centre of conspiracies against the Spanish colonial power and in 1868 the patriots from Bayamo led the first national uprising for the independence. The town became the first capital of the Republic in Arms, where the national anthem was composed and sung for the first time, and Céspedes’ flag, which presides the sessions of the Cuban parliament, was hoisted. The heroism of the local people wrote one of the transcendental pages of the national history when in 1869 they decided to set the town on fire knowing that the Spanish army would take it. In order to rebuild Bayamo, the architectural codes existing between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century were used, which created an urban landscape where emblematic colonial buildings with very high historical values and which amazingly survived the ravages of the wars of independence, coexist harmonically with others, mainly domestic constructions of eclectic nature or representative of the art nouveau, art deco and neoclassical styles characterised by the simplicity of their façades and the ornamental moderation.

This town, birthplace of fi ghters for the independence and cradle of the Cuban nationality, and which treasures signifi cant historical sites, was declared as a National Monument in 1935, a well-deserved acknowledgement that was ratifi ed once again in 1978. Bayamo also inspired Cuba’s fi rst literary work and contributed to the national culture with the fi rst troubadour’s song.  

The city stillkeeps musical, culinary and festive traditions, which along the emblematic horse carriages, the local popular means of transport, enrich and boost its cultural life.