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The History and the Cornito
The Cornito, also well-known as The Cucalambe Park, it is the sanctuary of the decima (poetry style) in its oral and written manifestations. In that picturesque place, only five kilometers from the oriental Las Tunas City, Juan Cristobal Napoles Fajardo, The Cucalambe, composed great part of his work and he is considered as the main exponent of this gender (decima) in the XIX century. What today is the recreational complex The Cornito, in 1930 was limited to the ruins of the sugar factory of the Napoles Fajardo Family, declared in 1945 as Municipal Monument by the city council. To this place artists and fraternal societies come on pilgrimage to surrender tribute to the poet. That tradition carried out that personalities like Jesus Orta Ruiz (The Indian Nabori), Angel Augier, Jose A. Portuondo, Raul Ferrer, Pepe Ramirez and Manuel Fernandez created what today is known as the Cucalambeana Day, encounter that has contributed to the development and protection of the values of the poetic culture of the country.
The Cornito and the Cucalambeana Day
In these celebrations countless rural games have been rescued, among those we can highlight the ribbon races, horses races, the mount of bull, calf knock down, buried duck, the greased stick and the greased pig. Likewise, it is stimulated the elaboration of traditional plates and drinks that it is another of the spaces of these parties. In its beginnings these parties were carried out as a great guateque (peasant party) whose main attractiveness was the election of the Virama Flower. The party is always organized in two teams, the red one and the blue one, in which each one has a group of youths that represents it and defends it. This way, each day enhances the Cuban traditional dances. It is possible to enjoy the children presentations, as well as youths and adults in the tapping, the son, the caringa, the dance of the sparrow hawk, the papalote, the male goat, the papelon, the nengon, among other traditional Cuban rural dances. This party with national character took place during several years in The Cornito. In each one new elements were added, until it was transformed into an event that gathers the most representative of Las Tunas popular culture. In 1968 it is instituted “The Cucalambe in Decima National Contest “and in 1969 the path that communicates the city with The Cornito is built. In this environment it took place the first festival of rural music until in the year 1974 the first Spanish American Encounter took place hosted by the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP) and the House of The America. This brought as a consequence that in 1986 the rural parties extend to other regions of the country.
The Cornito and its Infrastructure
As the event became to win in national and international projection the place began to be developed from the point of view of its infrastructure. Between their imposing bamboo forests and precious trees one hundred rooms were built, as well as gastronomic units, an amphitheater, pool and a set of sculptures was placed. Among the monumental works in the place those that evoke to the national aboriginal culture highlight like it is the case of Taina Column of Pedro Vega. Likewise we find “Aboriginal Elements” of Herminio Escalona and “Opposed Heads” of Jose Fuentes, this last one inspired by the legend about the rivalry of two aboriginal chiefs. Among the first pieces of that type that were located in The Cornito it is “Rural Minstrel” – of Angel Iñigo -, which has become in one of the symbols of the place. The architecture recreates fundamentally constructive bucolic models, such as those “stick in the ground” and the bohio, while the amphitheater is a unique construction that takes advantage for its location the surrounding light hill of abundant vegetation. The Provincial Council of Cultural Patrimony declared it Local Monument and the population transformed it into scenario of festivities and other recreational activities to enjoy the nature.
