| The Cristo de la Habana (sculpture of Jesus Christ in | | | | chest and the other rose up, as whom blesses |
| Havana) has a privileged location for photographing | | | | somebody else and this way it faces all of the city |
| the capital city. Up from its hill, all the urban side of | | | | of Havana from above. |
| Havana can be seen, and this giant sculpture per se is | | | | With a height of 20 meters on top of a foundation |
| culture. | | | | of three, it weights 320 tons and it is made by 67 |
| Right at the entrance of the harbor, to the left, | | | | pieces. If we consider the plane on the hill where it is |
| there are some sites worth to see, such as the | | | | located, its height is around 51 meters above the sea |
| colonial fortress of San Carlos de la Cabaña, | | | | level. |
| the people of Casa Blanca and the huge statue of El | | | | The people of Casablanca, where the statue stands, |
| Cristo. | | | | used to be a town of fishermen and it helps so |
| The first thing Sailors see from their boats when | | | | quietly to complete the image of that giant statue, |
| sailing near the Havana Bay is the lighthouse of the | | | | interesting for believers passing by and for tourists |
| fortress El Morro, and once they point the boat's | | | | from all over the world. |
| bow into the harbor their attention is called by the | | | | This Christ was sculpted in Rome and blessed by the |
| white silhouette that rises up like when somebody | | | | Pope. During the mounting, Madera was helped by a |
| gives a welcoming. | | | | team of 20 marble workers and each fragment was |
| The monument is part of an architectural setting that | | | | tightened with steel turnbuckles to the central |
| characterizes the entrance of what it used to be | | | | structure. |
| Carenas port, discovered by the Spanish explorer | | | | There is a legend that bounds Fulgencio Batista, |
| Sebastián de Ocampo between 1508 and | | | | overthrown by the Revolutionary guided by Fidel |
| 1509. | | | | Castro. The legend reads that his wife Marta prayed |
| It has been built in marble of Carrara (province of | | | | for him during the failed attack to the Presidential |
| Toscana, Italy) contrasting with the grey stones in an | | | | Palace on March 13, 1957. |
| 4 hundred years old environment such as the | | | | If he survived, she would have sculpted a statue |
| fortresses of Los Tres Reyes del Morro, San | | | | similar to the Christ of Río de Janeiro, in Brazil. |
| Salvador de la Punta, La Real Fuerza and San Carlos | | | | But this legend is not true due to the fact that |
| de la Cabaña, the "castles" that once used to | | | | Madera won the contest for building the statue in |
| defend Havana from the attacks of corsairs and | | | | 1956. |
| pirates. | | | | With legends and myths, the site is really sacred, but |
| El Cristo was inaugurated on December 25, 1958, | | | | the biggest achievement is the marvelous and special |
| seven days before the triumph of the Cuban | | | | view to the vast Havana harbor with small and large |
| Revolution and it was built in Italy, by the late Cuban | | | | boats sailing while being watched by Madera's Christ |
| sculptor Gilma Madera. | | | | whom also cares for the capital city including the old |
| It is a figure of Jesus standing, with a hand in the | | | | area, declared Cultural World Heritage by UNESCO. |