Sites Linked to Cuba’s Patron Saint Declared National Monuments

HAVANA TIMES — The eastern Cuban regions of Cayo la Virgen and Barajagua were declared National Monuments of the Republic of Cuba thanks to their connections with the history of the island’s patron saint, La Virgen de la Caridad, reported the Juventud Rebelde newspaper this weekend.

Both sites figured in the journey made by the figurine from when it was discovered in 1612 floating in the Nipe Bay, in Holguin Province, to when it was placed in the El Cobre Sanctuary, in Santiago de Cuba Province.

Activities held in the context 400th anniversary of the discovery of the statuette included the presentation of the book “The Cuban Virgin in Nipe and Barajagua,” by researchers Angela Peña, Roberto Valcarcel and Miguel Angel Urbina.