The province of Granma is known as the cradle of the Cuban nationality. It preserves a rich historical and cultural heritage, evident in traditions such as car rides in Bayamo, the provincial capital, or the famous oriental organ in Manzanillo and Niquero. The celebration of San Juan Bautista, mainly in the mountainous municipalities of Guisa and Buey Arriba.
The custom of offering coffee to visitors or preparing the aliñao when the woman becomes pregnant is still very much alive to entertain friends who are going to meet the newborn.
One of the most picturesque traditions is that of the quinceañera's carriage ride throughout the city, she dressed in queen dress, but dancing a strident and contagious conga, which is performed from a nearby carriage that makes up the procession.
Without the carriages, Bayamo is not Bayamo. It is a very old means of transport but it guarantees the life of this city, the only place in the world where the carriages of the Duquesa and Milord models are reproduced in La Calesa factory with the exact measurements of the former, even, in miniature, respecting the 143 pieces they carry”.
Volantas and quitrines used to travel, but other models that are already part of the Bayamese identity have survived to this day. There is a Coachmen's Association, the only one of its kind in the country, and it was established on January 8 as Coachman's Day.
Among the most deeply rooted traditions is the commemoration of the historic burning of Bayamo every January 12, as well as the celebration of the Day of National Culture, on October 20, in remembrance of the day that was sung in Bayamo for the first time, the one that became the national anthem of Cuba.
The Bayamese regional cuisine can be considered one of the most exquisite and authentic in the Cuban archipelago: the sweet fruits that come from the most important mountain range in the country (La Sierra Maestra); the incomparable richness provided by the waters of the Cauto River, inhabited by several species of amphibians, reptiles, fish and molluscs; Bayamo's evolution as a livestock area and as a business center frequented by corsairs and pirates, allow it to be distinguished within the national heritage for its ancestral recipes, flavors and remarkable diversity. No one can deny that the torrejas in syrup, the basocos, the rosquitas matahambre, the bollo prieto, the tamales in sheets or in a casserole, the roast pork on a tine, and the casabe, leave us with a delicious taste of Cuba.
The Flower Fair is a traditional popular festival in the San Juan neighborhood, one of the oldest in the City of Bayamo.
Among the activities carried out, the contest for the election of the queen and her six ladies, traditional and competitive games, Cuban and Mexican music, the "A Bayamo en Coche" festival, a culinary festival, a florist festival, a doll festival, meeting of mariachis, children's shows, conferences on topics related to the Fair, exhibitions of other reigns of the Flower Fair, carriages rides.
Popular festivals of yesteryear coexist with the hurried walk of the Bayamese, and poetry does not leave its streets. In Manzanillo, carnivals are a tradition in itself, the sum of customs and spontaneous expressions on the one hand and induced on the other. During those days of revelry, joy and expansion, people from Manzanillo and visitors roll over to the rhythm of the comparsas, sing the anonymous refrains of the sogones of the moment, dance to the ground music of the organs or the fashionable genres, enjoy with the beauty of its women, the floats, the pyrotechnic effects, the Pinilla rum, the beer, the roast suckling pig or the liseta.
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