Guáimaro travel guide

Heading southeast by road towards Las Tunas, you can stop in Guáimaro, just before the provincial border. It is a small town about 80 km from Camagüey, with a population of about 20,000 and a lively agricultural fair, Feria Agropecuaria, every early October, when stalls are set up in the park and rows of people sell roast pork at the side of the street. However, it is notable for its historical connections: Carlos Manuel de Céspedes was elected first president of the Republic here by the constituent assembly of 1869. The assembly’s other task was to draw up the first Cuban constitution. Seventy years later the town got round to commemorating the event with a monument in Parque Constitución dedicated to the men who fought for Cuban independence including Céspedes and José Martí.