Las Tunas, Cuba.- Those who spend 60 years remember it as a small town divided by the Central Highway. Everything was concentrated around its main park, the "Vicente García."
It was also a city divided by a river, El Hórmigo. More than by the flow of its waters, it is evoked by the bridge that served as a shelter for families who found in that concrete massif, a refuge where being protected from rain, sun and wind.
Criers that went around their streets, announcing avocado, plantain or orange, were part of an everyday panorama; like the carts of frits, guaraperas and wagons drawn by horses to sell drinking water.
And outside downtown only a sawmill belonging to the Lima family was notable, whose chimney let a whistle heard at certain times of the day, which was heard throughout the region, to give the hour before or after starting the classes or work.
Many inhabitants still call it a small city; but foreigners or those who have been absent for decades, when they return today are amazed by its transformation, hustle and bustle, and knowing that it already has more than 162 thousand inhabitants, a figure higher than that of provincial capitals such as Pinar del Río, Matanzas, Sancti Spíritus, Cienfuegos, Ciego de Ávila and Bayamo, according to updated data from the National Statistics Office.
Las Tunas is no longer that "village," its heart goes beyond the tiny Vicente García Park. Its boulevard, its enviable network of restaurants and cafes, its sculptures and its well-preserved eclectic architecture, make it an attractive and functional city, as well as a powerful industrial zone in its western part.
For some time Las Tunas remained asleep, but since the leader of the Revolution Fidel Castro, called the locals -31 years ago - to work to turn it into a "golden cup," its metamorphosis began.
None can stop joy in the Balcony of Eastern Cuba, the aggressions of the empire have become a reason for their children to find a solution to each obstacle. And today, on the day of Saint Jerome, its patron saint according to the Catholic faith, the 223 birthday of a city three times fired by the mambises is celebrated, now full of vitality and future.
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