Cardenas, closer to its bicentennial

One year after the declaration of the Historic Urban Center of the city of Cardenas as a National Monument, expectations about the salvage of its built heritage continue to grow and now are based on more than just promises.

On March 8, the city of San Juan de Dios de Cárdenas, founded exactly 195 years ago, is living through a crucial stage of works such as the restoration of La Dominica, the building where Cuba's national flag was hoisted for the first time in 1850, an endeavor that triggered a far-reaching construction movement that spread to other sites of interest, including parks, museums and Columbus Square, where the discovery of the original cobblestones under the asphalt offered a glimpse of its former beauty.

Few know the so-called Flag City more intimately than the respected architect Augusto Bueno García, a passionate advocate and pioneer of major efforts to preserve it without detriment to its sustainability.
Since it was born as a wharf in 1828, Cárdenas, located on the northern coast of Cuba some 140 kilometers east of Havana, went through several stages until it became a city in 1866, as a result of the dizzying sugar cane-based economic development.

“What were dreams just a few years ago have become realities,” the expert says. “A sign that we have made progress is the way former residents react when they come to visit every year and notice the encouraging changes in emblematic buildings and public spaces.”

Although with the passage of time much has been lost due to lack of resources and neglect, there is still plenty to be salvaged in terms of buildings of different architectural styles marked by the prevalence of eclectic and neoclassical facades.

Cárdenas’s 200th anniversary in 2028 seems closer and closer, a reason for those who love this city to try to heal its wounds and make it a better place across the board in which they can carry out their life projects.