The city of Matanzas celebrates its 330th birthday

 There is a recurring image scene in the imaginary of the native children of the Cuban city of Matanzas: the Guanima Bay fully outlined by the night lights as a welcome sign for those who return home after a few hours, a few days or many years.

This city brimming with rivers, bridges and poets, which turns 330 years old today, October 12, oversteps physical and cultural boundaries to bring together people of very different beliefs but a common origin.

San Carlos y San Severino de Matanzas, established in 1693 at about 100 kilometers east of Havana, exists despite the ravages of time and neglect in a perpetual exercise of resilience, thanks mostly to its most valuable treasure: its people.

Among the city’s proud residents, the will to overcome the difficulties undoubtedly faced by the first 33 families—arrived from the Canary Islands— is likely to stem from the fierceness of those who carried out in 1510 the first documented act of aboriginal rebellion in Cuba, an event to which a proper monument is yet to be dedicated.

Five years after the comprehensive program of works developed in the city on its 325th anniversary, Matanzasis once again decking itself despite the lashing of an economic crisis that weighs down on society as much as on the efforts to preserve the local heritage.

The urbanization of public spaces and streets and the restoration of buildings, monuments and other architectural and cultural landmarks are a typical feature of the new anniversary, which is worth celebrating not only for the glory of days gone by but also on behalf of the local population’s commitment to a more prosperous future that encourages the return of those who yearn for Matanzas from afar.