Located in the center of the island, 9 kilometers from the Caibarién harbor and approximately 50 kilometers from Santa Clara, Remedios is a National Monument, rich in history and cultural traditions.
Although the Village of San Juan de los Remedios was founded in 1578, the 8th village founded by the Spanish colonists, there are documents testifying that the first houses of the village were settled by 1515. By the beginning of the Colonial period Remedios was a victim of attacks from pirates and buccaneers, and as a result the town decided to move away from the coast more than once.
It’s a small city, with excellent buildings, beautiful promenades, lively parks, schools and monuments. During the last decades it has undergone significant social and cultural development thanks to, amongst other things its proximity to Cayo Santa María (a major Cuban beach resort) and the publicity it has received for its famous “Parrandas” (a unique Christmas festivity in Cuba).
Remedios is the only town in the country with two churches: that of Nuestra Señora del Buen Viaje, and the Parroquial Mayor de San Juan Bautista. The latter holds an enormous gold-plated altar and an admirable sculpture representing the Blessed Virgin inside a display cabinet. She is pregnant, and it’s been said that this is the only one in the world where she is represented like that.
The city is also characterized for its irregular streets, with big eaves protecting the walkers from the intensity of the sun rays, and at the same time they create an environment that invites you to stroll around the arteries of the centenary metropolis.
The city is not equipped for tourism. The Mascotte hotel or the “casas particulares” are highly recommended to those willing to stay more than a day in the town. With only 10 standard rooms, the Mascotte Hotel turns out to be charming and comfortable, elegant and sober at the same time, and it’s an excellent venue for enjoying the celebrations of the Parrandas de Remedios for its wonderful vantage points over the Plaza Mayor.
However, the biggest treasures of this city are its Parrandas that take place every December 24th. It’s a friendly competition being held between the neighborhoods of San Salvador and El Carmen. They start with the lighting of the “trabajos de plaza” (creative works done over the course of the year by the locals), traditional music, and an “artillery” of fireworks. The opposite contestant responds the same way, and so on and so forth, each quarter presenting its own material, until late in the night, when the admirable floats appear, whose designs and building have been kept in secret the whole year.
If you cannot make it on December 24th, the city has prepared an ethnographic museum of the Parrandas, housed in a 20th-century building featuring the mementoes of all celebrations and preserving the heritage by means of photos, documents, models, costumes, musical instruments, and handcrafted pieces related to these festivities.