The village of Bayamo entered the history of Cuban culture a few decades after its foundation. The events motivating the apparition of the first epic poem of Cuban literature took place in that village in 1604. The picturesque features that appear in this population, derived from varied literature influences and the presence of different ethnic groups among the militias participating in the rescue of Bishop Altamirano, had their origin there. Bayamo was a city of great importance given the momentum of contraband commerce in a city not wanting to be behind Havana´s economical and cultural development.
Together with his rebel spirit, Bayamo gave birth to patricians that sought in culture an appropriate path for their eagerness of progress. They opted for journalism, laws, poetry, music, and others. Thus, heroic people of Bayamo chose their way in life: Francisco Vicente Aguilera abandoned his comfortable cult and wealthy life to devote his efforts to organize the war of independence; in the same way acted Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, amateur musician linked to the beginnings of the "trova" in Bayamo; Pedro Figueredo Cisneros (Perucho) improvised the National Hymn during his natal city takeover; and José Fornari, tightly linked to the politics of his time, used journalism as a way to defend the independence ideals and cultural identity of his people.
Already in the 20th century, José Manuel Poveda, illustrious poet from Manzanillo, led in 1913, together with Agustín Acosta and Regino Boti, a movement of poetic renovation that placed Cuban poetry in the top levels of the continent.
Inheriting the patriotic and cultural virtues of her predecessors, Celia Sánchez Manduley, covert fighter and heroic guerrilla in the National Liberation War, devoted herself after the triumph of the Revolution in 1959, to promote culture and recreation in facilities like Lenin Park in Havana, to create agricultural communities, and to guarantee the custody of the historical legacy of the quest for liberty.
The events motivating the apparition of the first epic poem of Cuban literature took place in that village in 1604. The picturesque features that appear in this population, derived from varied literature influences and the presence of different ethnic groups among the militias participating in the rescue of Bishop Altamirano, had their origin there. Bayamo was a city of great importance given the momentum of contraband commerce in a city not wanting to be behind Havana´s economical and cultural development.
Manzanillo, led in 1913, together with Agustín Acosta and Regino Boti, a movement of poetic renovation that placed Cuban poetry in the top levels of the continent.
