The emblematic museum of Holguín reopens its doors
- Written by Flavia L. Dotres Sánchez
- Published in Holguin
- Hits: 1000
What in the times of the Spanish colony was a bourgeois recreational society to gather the Spanish residents in Cuba or their descendants, became in 1967, at the request of Professor José García Castañeda, the Natural History Museum "Carlos de la Torre y Huerta", which opened its doors to the public on May 31st 1969. The collections that the institution has treasured since its beginnings come essentially from donations made by Professor Castañeda himself and from the Guamá Museum, the first museum in the city.
However, more than three years ago, the Natural History Museum closed its doors to the public in Holguin due to the waste of construction materials from the neighboring Saratoga Hotel.
The Museum began to perceive in all its facilities these remains which obviously could affect the samples on display, even breaking one of its showcases product to the vibrations. For this reason, the National Heritage Council decided to close it to protect all the collections until the most complicated parts of the construction of the hotel were completed.
However, the demands of a public avid to know more about the local and national flora and fauna made that a few days ago the so acclaimed museum reopened its doors, even though the construction of the hotel is not finished.
For now, the museum staff (12 workers) is trying to protect all its exhibitions not only from the construction, but also from the continuous social indisciplines that are commented on in its emblematic portal and that damage its cleanliness and image.
The Museum preserves collections of malacology, ornithology, lepidoptera, insects, rocks, minerals, and paleontology, among others. Such a wide range of collections is what has made this museum a favourite with Holguineros, mainly the youngest in the house, who, fortunately, tend to be the most curious. /Radio Angulo
