August has a lot of significance for Baracoa, in the north easternmost region of Cuba. It is the month in which the first village founded by the Spaniards on the island celebrates the 510th anniversary of its foundation.

 Baracoa is magic and enchantment, said Alejandro Hartmann Matos, historian of the Villa Primada, with cultural roots that merge the Hispanic heritage and the typically Cuban.

   It looks like a postcard to those who contemplate the mixture of a typical urbanization with other more contemporary details, all combined with that atmosphere that emanates from the sea and the mountains and give it a very seductive air, which is why many want to know it for being a destination of nature, culture and history.

   It was founded by the conqueror Diego Velázquez on August 15, 1511 and on its 510th anniversary it appears to us so far away in time, but so current and lively for that substance that mixes its typical flavors, its colors, the accent of its inhabitants, the magic of its red roofs, the freshness of its rivers, the greenery of coconut and palm trees, along with vegetation and trails that invite ecotourism.

   Among the natural attractions of the First Village are the Yunque de Baracoa (500 m), which has the category of National Natural Monument, the La Farola Viaduct, the military fortresses La Punta, Matachín and Seboruco built between 1739 and 1742, as well as the Major Parish Church, which has the value of treasuring the Cruz de Parra, the only one of the 29 that Christopher Columbus placed on the island. (María Elena Balán, ACN)

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