No description foundMATANZAS: Cacti gardens are common in Matanzas. In Varadero's Varahicacos Ecological Preserve there is the Patriarca Cactus, which is more than 20 feet tall and is presumed to be more than 500 years old.MATANZAS: This is the building in the two of Australia that Fidel Castro used as a commander center during the Bay of Pigs invasion in area of Playa Giron.MATANZAS: The water glimmers at Varadero, Cuba, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Cuba.The water glimmers at Playa Giron, Cuba, where the Bay of Pigs invasion took place April 1961.The water glimmers at Playa Giron, Cuba, where the Bay of Pigs invasion took place April 1961.The red sign announces the entrance to a museum in Girn, Cuba. The exhibits commemorate Cuba's victory during the Bay of Pigs invasion.MATANZAS: A Cold war episode is documented in this museum at Playa Giron open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.This is a replica of the Soviet tanks the Cuban military used to foil the Bay of Pigs invasion.On April 17, 1961, about 1400 Cuban exiles landed on Playa Girn. Ignacio Rolando Abreu died about 2 p.m. during combat that day, according to the Cuban government. The father of two was from Santa Clara.On April 17, 1961, about 1400 Cuban exiles landed on Playa Girn. Ignacio Rolando Abreu died about 2 p.m. during combat that day, according to the Cuban government. The father of two was from Santa Clara.A retired Cuban Air Force plane stands as a monument at a museum guarding military history. Fidel Castro freed some of the Cuban prisoners who surrendered during the Bay of Pigs invasion months after the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis.Somehow Fidel Castro was aware of the Bay of Pigs plans. Castro's troops foiled the CIA's plans. More than 1,100 Cuban exiles were taken prisoner and 114 died before the April 19, 1961 surrender.Fidel Castro used the Bay of Pigs attack to fuel Cuban nationalism on the island. The disaster had a lasting impact on the Kennedy administration.Each plaque on the wall has a name of a Cuban soldier who was killed during the Bay of Pigs invasion. The monument is part of the exhibit at Museo Girn.MATANZAS: Cuban Baroque architecture is a simplified version of the original European Baroque. This was due to the lack of skilled craftsmanship of the slaves who built them.MATANZAS: The former Spanish Casino now houses the library Gener y Del Monte.MATANZAS: In the Park of Freedom, there is 1909 statue of Jose Marti, the son of poor Spanish immigrants. The first newspaper he published in 1869 was called La Patria Libre, which means "the free fatherland."MATANZAS: The sign over the horseshoe entrance says, "Alley of Traditions."MATANZAS: Artists decorated a wall near downtown in the city of Matanzas. The text surrounding the drawings says, "I am looking at you" and "We are faithful to our roots.'MATANZAS: An orange brick street has sculptural wall art.MATANZAS: An orange brick street has sculptural wall art.MATANZAS: An orange brick street has sculptural wall art.MATANZAS: An orange brick street has sculptural wall art.MATANZAS: The artwork in Matanzas includes these three-dimentional heads made out of clay. There is a government sponsored movement to promote artistic ceramics. From Nov. 16 to Nov. 26, the V Bienal Arte del Fuego, which attracts artists from all over the country, will be held in Matanzas.MATANZAS: Cuban artist Lazaro Gertrudis Muniz Hernandez and other artists were part of the 'Projecto Mural Colectivo El Espiritu de la Ciudad en the ACAA in 2002 and other murals in the city.MATANZAS: This sculpture inspired on sea shells is at the center of the city of Matanzas.MATANZAS: This government propaganda sign says, "The Mercenaries Were Stopped Here."A Chinese motorcycle with a side car is parked in Matanzas, Cuba. Cuba has imported numerous vehicles from China, including Geely sedans that are used as police cars and Taxis.MATANZAS: A car is parked in a garage in Matanzas, Cuba.A man hops on a motorcycle in Matanzas, Cuba. Motorists struggle to find replacement parts, so Cubans are forced to use their ingenuity to fabricate parts to keep their engines on the road.MATANZAS: Cuban workers have wheeled construction tools to carry heavy items down the street.MATANZAS: Air conditioners are uncommon, so at temperatures close to reaching 90 degrees, the fashion is light clothing and flip flops.MATANZAS: Without access to affordable gas, Cubans often add baskets to their bicycles to carry heavy items.MATANZAS: The people from Matanzas are known as "Matanceros" or "Matanceras."A girl wears a T-shirt with a picture of a much younger Miley Cyrus in Matanzas, Cuba.A barefoot boy plays with a ball at the entrance of his home in Matanzas, Cuba.A teen in wears a sports terry cloth headband in Matanzas, Cuba.MATANZAS: A woman walks up a street in the city of Matanzas, which means massacre. The city was founded in 1693 as San Carlos y San Severino de Matanzas. The Spaniards had 30 families from the Canary Islands to settle there Sept. 25, 1690.MATANZAS: The city was named after a mass slaughter of wild pigs to provision fleets when the Spaniards were at war with Holland. Some historians believe the name refers to the killing of natives in the bay once known as Guanima.MATANZAS: Cubans walk up and down the streets of Matanzas throughout the day.MATANZAS: The fragility of the electric power system stems from the use of a single source, so the malfunctioning of one high-tension line could cause outages in several provinces.MATANZAS: Cubans have not forgotten the blackouts of the 1990s during an economic crisis due to the island's dependence on the Soviet Union. Most of the electricity in Cuba is produced in eight thermoelectric plants.MATANZAS: The ugly side of the city is close to the industrial zone, where there are fertilizer plants, sugar mills, thermal power station and oil storage facilities.MATANZAS: The ugly side of the city is close to the industrial zone, where there are fertilizer plants, sugar mills, thermal power station and oil storage facilities.MATANZAS: The ugly side of the city is close to the industrial zone, where there are fertilizer plants, sugar mills, thermal power station and oil storage facilities.MATANZAS: The ugly side of the city is close to the industrial zone, where there are fertilizer plants, sugar mills, thermal power station and oil storage facilities.MATANZAS: The ugly side of the city is close to the industrial zone, where there are fertilizer plants, sugar mills, thermal power station and oil storage facilities.MATANZAS: The ugly side of the city is close to the industrial zone, where there are fertilizer plants, sugar mills, thermal power station and oil storage facilities.No description foundNo description foundNo description foundMATANZAS: The ugly side of the city is close to the industrial zone, where there are fertilizer plants, sugar mills, thermal power station and oil storage facilities.MATANZAS: The ugly side of the city is close to the industrial zone, where there are fertilizer plants, sugar mills, thermal power station and oil storage facilities.MATANZAS: The ugly side of the city is close to the industrial zone, where there are fertilizer plants, sugar mills, thermal power station and oil storage facilities.MATANZAS: The province has 13 municipalities. The most known were Varadero and Matanzas. But in 2011, Varadero became part of Cardenas. The others are Calimete, Cienaga de Zapata, Colon, Jaguey Grande, Jovellanos, Limonar, Los Arabos, Marti, Pedro Betancourt, Perico and Union de Reyes.MATANZAS: With refineries, petroleum wells and about 20 sugar mills to process sugarcane harvest, the province is the most industrialized.MATANZAS: Abandoned buildings are a reminder of the effect that the fall of the Soviet Union had on the island.MATANZAS: This mural depicts the C. Australia, a sugar mill in a small town south-east of Havana. It is now abandoned and out of service.MATANZAS: Production remains inefficient, both financially and in terms of energy.MATANZAS: There are four important bridges in the province. This is the Rotating Bridge, which has an iron structure resting on a solid foundation with a system of gears connected to a motor that rotates the bridges. The others are the Sanchez Figuera, La Concordia, Bacunayagua and Calixto Garcia.MATANZAS: There are four important bridges in the province. This is the Calixto Garcia, which connects the neighborhoods of Plaza de la Vigia and Pueblo Nuevo. The others are the Sanchez Figuera, La Concordia, Bacunayagua and Rotating.MATANZAS: La Concordia bridge is one of five important bridges in the city of Matanzas, also known as the Athens of Cuba.MATANZAS: La Concordia bridge is one of five important bridges in the city of Matanzas, also known as the Athens of Cuba.MATANZAS: Without access to affordable gas, horses remain an important mode of transportation.MATANZAS: The Yumuri Valley is the provincial capital's giant back garden with fields of palm trees and banana crops.MATANZAS: A sculpture warns visitors are at the crocodile sanctuary in Guama, Matanzas, Cuba.MATANZAS: A group of tourists get on a boat to explore the crocodile sanctuary in Guama's Laguna del Tesoro. The lake is in the Cuban province of Matanzas. The sanctuary has a crocodile farm touting to have an estimated 100,000 crocodiles.MATANZAS: A group of tourists get on a boat to explore the crocodile sanctuary in Guama's Laguna del Tesoro. The lake is in the Cuban province of Matanzas. The sanctuary has a crocodile farm touting to have an estimated 100,000 crocodiles.MATANZAS: Dense colonies of water lilies float at a crocodile sanctuary in Guama, Matanzas, Cuba.The construction of the Ermita de Monserrate began Sept. 8, 1871. The design of the church, which opened its doors December 1875. The Spaniards brought the four statues to represent Catalonia's four provinces, Cuban historians say.MATANZAS: The province is largely flat. The highest point is Pan de Matanzas, which is 515 feet above sea level.MATANZAS: The area where the city of Matanzas is today was settled in 1572. It was founded in 1693 and established as a city in 1695.MATANZAS: A rainbow glows after a storm in the second largest province in Cuba.
