Province in western Cuba was the epicenter of COVID-19 in 2021, but...

July and August 2021, the usual time to enjoy summer, brought plenty of misfortune to the province of Matanzas due to the spread of COVID-19’s Delta strain. However, things are quite different there today.

The local residents will always remember the polyclinics bursting with patients awaiting the rapid antigen test as the virus spread like wildfire and tampered with the province’s efforts to have most of its people vaccinated.

Hundreds died as over 18,000 active cases piled up and more than 3,000 new infections were diagnosed in just one day, a difficult situation that the health system and the political and government authorities had to face with ingenuity and, above all, with a lot of heart.

Nowadays the province of Matanzas boasts one of Cuba’s highest vaccination rates (more than 90% of the population) and lowest infection figures, albeit the risk of contagion remains high.

Without neglecting the health protocols, Varadero Beach made the most of the lockdown to prepare its hotels and opened its doors in November 15 to inbound travelers from Russia, Canada, Mexico and other countries who consider Cuba as a safe destination.

Local oil production has reached the one-million-ton mark for 26 years in a row; culture thrived; important online events such as Juntos por la Danza 2021 were organized and attended by prestigious national and foreign musicians… The world’s largest mural of a Cuban flag, 44 meters high and 12 meters wide, was displayed in October on one of the 13-story buildings of the city of Matanzas, together with another giant painting with the 26th of July pennant and the ranks of Commander of Fidel Castro, historical leader of the Cuban Revolution.

The Plaza de la Bandera earned President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez’s praise during his most recent visit to the province, whereas long-awaited events such as the 11th Street Theater Conference revealed Cuban science’s role in the immunization campaign and others like the 2nd edition of the project Ríos Intermitentes, which will bring the XIV Havana Biennial to the province in 2022 are already in the process of organization.

Food production, despite the U.S. economic and financial blockade and the lack of resources, remains a priority: the granting of loans to farmers with attractive interest rates and flexible guarantees, the development of the Agricultural Development Bank, and the introduction of magnetic cards, are some of the steps to strengthen alliances between the banking and agricultural sectors in 2021.

The three-year-old Housing Policy continued against all odds with the construction of more than 1,000 new homes, almost 85% of the annual plan.

For 2022, the province of Matanzas, where people are used to rising to the occasion, will once again have difficult challenges ahead, including the achievement of good agricultural yields, the permanent observance of the sanitary measures, the revival of tourism, and the start of the National Baseball Series.

Only two local sugar mills will be busy at the beginning of the year’s harvest, but others will soon join the fray after a process of repair and maintenance works.

After an atypical and difficult year, the residents of Matanzas will commemorate on January 7 the arrival of the Rebel Army’s Caravan of Freedom and ratify their commitment to turn their province into one of the most productive in the country.