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Havana, the Jewel of the Caribbean
By: Ileana González González
Each November 16, Havana performs one of its rituals. On that day, many thousands fill the streets around the Plaza de Armas in the city's historic center and form long lines to enter the garden at the Temple. This neoclassic building was built in 1828 to commemorate the founding of San Cristobal de la Habana that took place in the shadow of a great tree, where the first town council gathered and where the first Catholic mass was performed to bless the settlement, presumably on November 16, 1519.
There is an old and leafy ceiba right next to the entrance. The original has been replaced several times and the present one was sown some 50 years ago. The tree is an important symbol of the city's founding. So every year on Havana's anniversary, many people walk three times around the ceiba, throw a coin at its foot and, in silence, ask for three wishes.
Havana began its metamorphous 491 years ago, gradually transforming itself until it became the capital of Cuba. Without the vanity of a great metropolis, but with sufficient charm in its architectural features, its ancestry, history and friendly people
