After Caibarién in the north we headed south again, with a stopover in Santa Clara, the city where Che Guevara became famous in a decisive battle and where he is buried today. Of course his myth is celebrated everywhere here.
A student town with a punk scene
Santa Clara is a pleasant little student town and quite different from the towns before: lots of young Cubans bring the streets and parks to life, and there is even a lively punk scene. An open-air museum shows the train wagons that Che Guevara and Fidel Castro destroyed in the fight against the government troops – although the wagons themselves weren’t very exciting. Much more interesting was a small, inconspicuous café close by, the Café Revolución: a Cuban displays old documents, photos and objects there and serves good coffee and delicious mojitos with them.
Sunset at the tomb
That was more worthwhile than the museum, we thought. For sunset we went on to the imposing tomb of Che Guevara.
Balconies and arches, the faded lettering Villa Clara below.A façade against the clouds and the chrome front of a Chevrolet.An orange classic car in front of a pink façade with an open door.Colourful rows of houses and a corner house with balconies in Santa Clara.An older man in a straw hat outside his wooden door, a bottle beside him.Columns, chandeliers and the altar – a church nave in Santa Clara.A book stall against a house wall, the covers as colourful as the town.A white-and-red bus turns into a residential street.Africa in my Heart, it says on the wall – Santa Clara is quite different from the towns before.Laundry and a menu behind the barred window.Two dark doors and the words Baños públicos.People waiting at a snack window, a rusty No pase sign beside them.Logistica S-4 on riveted steel – one of the carriages in the open-air museum.Photos of the derailed train, an M-26-7 armband in the display case.A white star in a circle on the side of a freight car.The freight car marked Logistica S-4 – the carriages themselves were not all that exciting.A panel with a quote by Che Guevara about El Vaquerito.Independencia – a street sign on a blue wall.Che por siempre Comandante – his legend is celebrated everywhere here.Café Revolución: photos and a clock on the wall, the host behind the counter.A wall full of framed photos, an old camera hanging below.An old newspaper in a frame: Santa Clara te espera el 26.Che Guevara in a picture frame, large leaves above.Book spines by Che Guevara and Fidel Castro on the café's shelf.Thumbs up against a yellow wall.Figures on rails and a face with the Cuban flag – murals in Santa Clara.A motorbike, classic cars and a green car on the street.A man photographing a blue classic car – we are not the only ones.Cap, cross necklace and a finger pointing at himself: Me?Fighters above railway carriages – the stone relief at Che Guevara's mausoleum.Che Guevara's imposing mausoleum with its statue and relief wall.Che on the Cuban flag and his statue above Hasta la victoria siempre.A rainbow arches across the heavy, cloudy sky.From the coach box: the horse in front, the road ahead.Cyclists and a woman in yellow trousers on the pavement.From the carriage: pedestrians, one in a flag shirt.A Paleticas ice-cream cart and a schoolgirl with a bicycle by the door.A cart under arches and a face against green – a narrow slice.Two towers and statues of saints: a church façade in Santa Clara.A man with a long pole and two schoolgirls on the pavement – lots of young Cubans liven up the town.
