HAVANA, Cuba.- Ancient chronicles place a first settlement in a spot on the south coast of the west of the island, back in 1514, but the Spanish conquistadors themselves repented their decision.

They say the swampy ground, the mosquito plague, the infertility of the land and the lack of gold in the rivers, pushed the newly-released settlers to search a better place.

And this one was found on the north coast, near the mouth of the Casiguaguas or Almendares River. At least it seemed to be, until someone took note of the bay, wide and protected.

After so many adventures, the town of San Cristobal de la Habana was finally born, registered definitively on November 16, 1519.

A Starting Point

hlush Ceiba served as a shelter to the ceremonial that made official the emergence of a villa in the beautiful land discovered for Spain by Christopher Columbus, the intrepid Genoese sailor. The first Cabildo met and the first mass was officiated.

Everything was about to be done. It was just the starting point. San Cristobal de La Habana began its metamorphosis process, until it became the main city in the country. That which celebrates now 499 years of founded in its definitive settlement, and does it without pretensions of great metropolis.

It is enough to know it has enough charms, recognized in its architectural features, in its luminosity, in its lineage, in its history and in its cozy people.

In order to captivate Havana does not need to be an imitation of other cities, but to preserve the atmosphere that distinguishes it.

Always in Debt

For years, on November 16 hundreds of people arrive to the Templete, next to the Armas Square.

Now a young ceiba grows there, and the Office of the Historian of Havana has undergone a thorough restoration work on that small temple of Greco-Roman style, built in 1828 and has even recovered its original perimeter area.

There the founding moment of the town is evoked and people ask for blessings. Perhaps many do it for the city itself.

So that its physiognomy continues incorporating elements that emphasize its personality. For every citizen to feel more attached to it, take care of it as it deserves and keep passionate fidelity. We have to bequeath a prosperous and beautiful Havana.

So Havana tests the ability of his natural and adoptive children to love her.