FINCA DE MONGUI
The place
FINCA DE MONGUI ("Mongui Farm") in the province of Holguín, Mayarí/Nicaro area (northeastern Cuba, Sierra Cristal, Cuba), at 54 m elevation, on the Atlantic-Caribbean coastal plain. Continuous Cuba cluster (batches 250-383). COUNTRY ANOMALY: Cuba added around batch 285. A rural farm (finca) in the Sierra Cristal (Mongui being a family heritage name; Sierra Cristal, 236 km², Cuba's first national park, established 1930; Nipe Bay, Cuba's largest bay; Holguín, Cuba's 4th-largest city, population 350,000; the Sierra Maestra, near Fidel Castro's 1953-1959 stronghold; the Moncada Barracks attack of 26 July 1953, launching the Movimiento 26 de Julio in Santiago); part of the heritage of the Taíno people (an ancient Arawak people of pre-colonial Cuba dating to around 1200 BCE, with Yoruba/Taíno-Yamayeka language influences; the Spanish arrival on 12 October 1492 with Columbus landing at Bahía de Bariay near Holguín; the colonial genocide that reduced the population from an estimated 50,000 to 3,000 within 50 years); of Fidel Castro (1926-2016), an icon of revolutionary anti-imperialism; and of Che Guevara, captured on 8 October 1967 at La Higuera, Bolivia.
The setting
Holguín Mayarí/Nicaro NE Cuba Sierra Cristal Cuba 54 m Atlantic-Caribbean coastal plain, continuous cluster batches 250-383, farm Mongui + Sierra Cristal 236 km² 1930 Cuba's 1st national park + Nipe Bay Cuba's largest + Holguín 4th-largest Cuba 350,000 + Castro Sierra Maestra 1953-1959 + Moncada 26 July 1953 Santiago, Taíno Arawak pre-colonial ~1200 BCE Yoruba/Taíno-Yamayeka + Columbus 12 October 1492 Bariay Holguín + genocide 50,000 → 3,000 in 50 years + Castro 1926-2016 + Che captured 8 October 1967 La Higuera Bolivia, ANOMALY Cuba absent/added.
