The Pelú of Baracoa, Cuba’s easternmost city

One of the most interesting towns in all Cuba, Baracoa, has many legends and traditions, one of them about a Spaniard, El Pelú (the hairy man).

Baracoa, Cuba’s easternmost city, known as the “Primada,” was the first village founded by the Spaniards in 1511 and has a lot to contribute to tourism, which is on the rise in this Caribbean island. It treasures legends and traditions such as the one involving El Pelú (The Hairy), a Spaniard, whose sculpture was placed in one of the main promenades of the city.

Alberto, a parishioner who only wanted to be called this way, often goes to this city´s Casa de la Trova (Trova House), very close to where the sculpture is located.

He told a group of journalists passing by that a man had properties in the also eastern city of Santiago de Cuba but his business, which he did not reveal, went bankrupt, so he moved to Baracoa in pursuit of better luck.

He recalled that at that time Baracoa was part of the Oriente Province. This man arrived in this city and asked for help, water, food, shelter, but he was looked down on because of his looks. No matter how much he begged, nobody helped him, and then, down on his knees and raising his hands to the sky, he cursed the town.

In Baracoa even today the residents see the curse as true, when a harvest goes wrong, or a sea surge hits the coast, a cyclone destroys houses; all this is attributed to the curse of “El Pelú”.

The statue remembering him, placed in the promenade about four years ago, adds to mystery for tourists who visit the old town.