Returning Home from School, Bayamo, Cuba

The second oldest town in Cuba after Baracoa, Bayamo was founded in 1513 by Diego Velazquez. Until 1975, it was part of the large Oriente province, but after administrative reform, it became the capital of a new province called Granma.

It is a pasture and livestock breeding area but has also been the home of nationalists and the cradle of political revolts and struggles. In 1869, rather than surrender their town to the Spanish, the citizens burned Bayamo down, an act which later led to the choice of La Bayamesa as Cuba's national anthem.

We stopped in Bayamo for lunch and a short wander round this relatively compact town and of all the sights that caught my attention, this smartly dressed and very earnest little boy heading home from school gave me the best shot of the day.