"La Gran Señora"

La Gran Señora or The Great Lady is a shopping store in the city of Camaguey. But behind this store there is a legend. It tells that a poor married couple, after getting married went to live to a very old house located in the same corner where the store is located today. The time passed and the lady of the house was looking everyday a hand in one of the old columns inside the house. "There is a hand", she said to her husband, but he didn't see it, and neither others, so nobody believed her. This could only be seeing by her. One day, after being insisting again and again about the same thing, her husband decided to destroy the column to make this disappear and break the mystery. But the most amazing was what she found inside the column. She found a treasure chest full of gold coins. With all the money found inside the column and thankful to his wife, this good man build a shopping store in that corner and named it The Great Lady in honor to his wife.

"El Tinajon Camagueyano"

The Tinajon Camagueyano, is a symbol of all the Camagueyanos around the entire world. This clay peace was brought by our Spanish ancestors to Camaguey, Cuba during the XVII century. It served as storage of rain water. This precious piece kept multiplying and multiplying more in the city, until the year 1900 were around 16 thousands of them in the city. That’s why this beautiful piece represents us and our city inside and out of our country. That is why you can see many houses here in Miami that has a tinajon in front of their houses, representing us as Camagueyanos. Each person that visits the city and stay there to live, it is said that “he was drinking water of a tinajon”.

"The White Vulture"

This legend occurred around 1940's in Camaguey. The people who know this story can be counted with your hands. It is about a priest, Padre Valencia who dedicated his entire life to service of poor people and orphan children. The legend tells that a white vulture appeared in front of the Padre Valencia. There were short resources that he had in that time to sustain and orphanage that he established and manage his all life. But one day this white vulture appeared in front of him, an animal never seen before in Cuba. The priest domesticated the bird, which was used to pose in his shoulder the whole day. Later the priest made a plan that all people who wanted to see the rare animal, had to pay. Then, he used all the collected money to support the orphanage until he died. After his death the white vulture was never seen again. One of the streets of the city of Camaguey has the name of Padre Valencia. This was the street where he was around every day of his life with the white vulture on his shoulder. His noble and fruitful life was dedicated to the service of the ones more in need. He was an example of hope, and faith, that he professed. People who believed used to say that the appearance of this rare animal was a sign of God existence. Today we can find in the city a statue of the priest, with happy children around him and the white vulture in his shoulder.

"Dolores Rondon"

Inside the cementery of the Santo Cristo Del Buen Viaje in the city of Camaguey, there is a tomb. In there is written an eternal epitaph that says:

"Aqui Dolores Rondon finalizo su carrera.

Ven mortal y considera, las grandezas cuales son:

el orgullo y presucion, la opulencia y el poder,

todo llega a fenecer, pues solo se inmortaliza el mal
que se economiza y el bien que se puede hacer."

(“Here Dolores Rondon ended her race.
Come mortal and consider the greatness which they are:
The pride and presume, the opulence and power,
Everything got to an end, because only is immortal the wrong
That can be economized and the good that can be made.”)

This poem as epitaph appeared there in the year 1883. The legend says that Dolores Rondon was a beautiful lady, daughter of a Spanish man and a black slave. In the barber shop close to her house worked a man like her and his name was Juan de Moya y Escobar. She always treated him with disdain, never accepting the love he was feeling for her. The cheerful Dolores married a Spanish official, who died really soon, leaving her alone and helpless. A short time passed when she was found in a Hospital alone, almost dying. The only person who was there beside her bed was el mulato Juan de Moya until she died. Poor was the burial, and poor was the tomb of Dolores Rondon. The rumor was that this epitaph was made by the unfortunate man who always loved her. This legend is framed by the impossible love and the things that sometimes happen in this live for not really appreciate the chances it gives us. This whole story is enclosed in a little flowers bouquet, the cross and the epitaph.

Introduction..

Hi. My name is Ailyn Naranjo, and I am a Journalism student at the Florida International University. This is my junior year at FIU and I love this career. I'm originally from Camaguey, Cuba. I love my city, since I was born and grown up there until I was 16 years old when I moved to the United States. Camaguey is a beautiful city. It says that is one of the most traditional cities of Cuba. Founded in 1514 by the Spanish conquistadors, and named then with the name of Santa Maria del Puerto Del Principe. Named later by the name the natives used to call this city. Camaguey is a city full of traditions and legends.

As I would never forget my roots, I'm making a recompilation of old stories or legends that I have heritage from my parents and grandparents and I would like to make them public here to all others that don't know about and for the ones that have more to share about the beautiful city of Camaguey.