Cienfuegos will be strengthened by the implementation of the local development project "Ruta Jagua", which will connect the city, a World Cultural Heritage Site, with the Fortress of Our Lady of the Angels of Jagua and the network of adjacent communities.

With the support of the United Nations Population Fund, UNDP, and with the participation of the French Agency for Development, as well as local authorities, the project under development aims to link the communities  Jagua Castle and El Perché with the center of the city of Cienfuegos.

    According to Marisol Otero Álvarez, director of the Fortress of Our Lady of the Angels of Jagua, National Monument, by turning this itinerary into a tourist product for nationals and foreigners, the idea confers an important value of use to both the tangible and intangible heritage treasured by this part of the geography in south-central Cuba.

In addition to the above and guided visits to one of Cuba's 18th-century military fortifications, the Jagua Route includes a visit to the nearby fishing community of El Perché.

Marisol explained that ten fishing families have been selected in that village. The purpose of the project is to visit their homes, to be present when they work in their fishing gear, in their boats; to learn how they prepare the meals that are typical of this place, she said.

Another option is the Jagua Fortifications trail. Historically, the defense of Jagua Bay not only included the fortress but also other cannon batteries, located in strategic sites studied by Engineer Joseph Tantete (builder of the military enclave in 1745) since his arrival in the area.

There is a trail that leads to Punta Sabanilla. Currently there is the Carbonell Battery, composed of two howitzers and all the factory work that is in perfect condition. In addition, the Pasacaballos Battery, said Marisol.

This route is an old desire, as it is part of a site of historical and cultural significance, such as the Jagua Castle, the only fortification of its kind that remains in the five provinces of the center of the island.

During the 17th century, that fortress stopped filibusters like Francis Drake, Jacques de Sores, Lorenzo Graff and others no less feared in the waters of the Caribbean; and in 1762, it occupied an important place in the history of Cuba, when it served as the headquarters of the Spanish military command in the face of the very brief English occupation.

More than two centuries after that event, the Fortress Museum Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles de Jagua was inaugurated there, a cultural institution in whose eight rooms visitors can learn about the socio-economic background and the historical-constructive development that led to the origin of the building.

In addition, objects related to  local history are exhibited, such as weapons of the time, fishing gear used by the inhabitants of the area, shackles, chains and handcuffs, among other pieces of great value, evidence of the material of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

(Taken from Cubadebate)

English version Hector Hdez.