The Museum of the Cuban Revolution, once the residence of the President of the Republic, reached its 65th anniversary today.
This organization collects and preserves materials and artifacts related to the Cuban Revolution. It was established on December 12, 1959, by a decree issued by the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR), signed by the then minister and current leader, Raúl Castro.
The Presidential Palace was built between 1909 and 1920 to serve as the seat of the provincial government of Havana. However, in 1917, President Mario García Menocal decided to make it the headquarters of the national Executive.
It was transformed into the Museum of the Revolution in 1974 and designated as a National Monument in 2010.
The foundation of the museum’s initial holdings was the material collected by Celia Sánchez Manduley, a member of the 26th of July Movement in the Sierra Maestra, who passed away in 1980.
The museum’s extensive and valuable collections, along with its ongoing cultural, historical, and political activities, make it the most significant history museum in the nation. It has more than 30 exhibition halls with about nine thousand pieces from different stages of the independence struggle.
The main entrance of the Museum is flanked by the remains of the Garita del Ángel, part of the wall that surrounded Havana in colonial times, and the SAU-100 self-propelled cannon used by Fidel Castro during the Bay of Pigs fighting.
Alongside its permanent exhibitions, this center also shares the history of Cuba with local schools. Its experts deliver lectures to the younger generations, and on weekends, they engage in regular cultural outreach initiatives.
