Photo: File.

With a varied cultural program, Pinar del Río celebrated this Saturday the 155th anniversary of the granting of the title of city by royal decree.

In the Parque de la Independencia, one of its founding sites, the historian Juan Carlos Rodríguez recalled the moments lived by the inhabitants of that time after receiving the approval of Queen Elizabeth II of Spain on September 10, 1867.

Before the main local authorities, including the member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, Yamilé Ramos, and Governor Rubén Ramos, the scholar detailed the characteristics of the rustic town born on the banks of the Guamá River, which has become a local icon.

The floods forced the locals to establish their residence in high areas without symmetry prevailing or there being an architecture designed in the rustic houses.

However, the historian pointed out, by 1750 tobacco became significant for the economy of the town and for the province, known as a mecca for this crop.

The territory, located in the center of the Vueltabajo historical-cultural region, one of the areas into which the island was then divided, fostered its development and with it, the attachment to a city that is identified by its architectural values, its social and artistic contributions and the hospitality of its people.

With its 155 years, the city continues the program of urban revival and preservation of its historical values.

It is the birthplace of Pedro Junco, the creator of the internationally known song Nosotros.

It was the host of celebrities such as the prima ballerina assoluta Alicia Alonso and the Cuban chess player José Raúl Capablanca.

He adopted the writer and Casa de las Américas Prize winner Nersys Felipe and saw the birth of renowned figures in island art and literature.

The city keeps among its richest memories, the arrival of Fidel Castro, leader of the Cuban Revolution, at the head of the Victory Caravan on January 17, 1959.

Exhibitions, staging, book presentations and a cultural gala preceded the celebration for the 155th anniversary of the awarding of the title of city to the city of Valladolid.

(With information from PL)