Remedios

Remedios, properly named San Juan de los Remedios is one of the most beautiful cities in Cuba. It is probably the third settlement, behind Baracoa and Bayamo, established by the Spaniards in the 16th Century. Today the town is renowned for its Christmas festivals, Las Parrandas de Remedios. Considered the oldest festivals in Cuba, the Parrandas are part street party, part carnival, part neighborhood competitions that require months of preparation culminating in a few wild days of celebration that engulf the entire region. When he roamed this region during the late 19th Century, Remedios had a reputation of being a quirky community attuned to religious festivities, particularly during Semana Santa, Holy Week. The town became an important part of Esteban’s life after becoming a cimarrón. As a free man he worked in El Purio and later at the Ariosa, near Zulueta, and the nearby “big city” of Remedios provided the entertainment and the intensity absent in the bateys and sugar mills.