Cuba Guide
Cienfuegos and Villa Clara
Plaza de la Revolución
Address: On the southwestern outskirts of the city, fifteen blocks along Rafael Tristá from Parque Vidal
Santa Clara pays tribute to its adopted son and hero, Ernesto Che Guevara with a monument in classic Cuban revolutionary style: simple, bold and made of concrete. On a thick, table-top base stand four concrete slabs; towering down from the tallest one is a burly-looking statue of Guevara, on the move and dressed in his usual military garb, rifle in hand. Inscribed on the concrete podium are the words "Hasta La Victoria Siempre" ("Ever onwards to victory"), one of the catch phrases of the Revolution. The slab next to the statue depicts, in a huge, somewhat jumbled mural, Guevara's march from the Sierra Maestra to Santa Clara and the decisive victory over Batista's troops.
Spreading out before the monument, the Plaza de la Revolución, like its counterpart in Havana, is little more than an open space. From the monument, head down towards the Carretera Central for the shop on the edge of the road junction for a selection of memorabilia and books on Che, as well as more general books, CDs, T-shirts and postcards. The shop, and the small café next door, are open daily from 9am to 5.30pm.