"It's falling apart": Alarm over the destruction of a historical jewel in Guanabacoa

The Escolapio Fathers of Guanabacoa broke their silence this Sunday with a public statement on Facebook demanding the immediate return of the former cloister and school of their order, warning that the city's historical heritage is being destroyed due to the regime's negligence.

"As the Escolapio Parents of Guanabacoa, we break the silence in the face of the unsustainable: the absolute neglect of Municipal Education and Municipal Government is reducing a treasure of Cuba to ashes and rubble," the statement notes.

The reported building is the old cloister of the Colegio de las Escuelas Pías, an architectural gem from the 18th century that is part of the Historic Center of Guanabacoa, declared a National Monument in 1990 and holds Grade I heritage protection, the highest category in Cuba.

In 1857, the Piarists established the first Normal School for Teachers in Cuba and Latin America there. The building was nationalized in 1961 under the Law of Nationalization of Education, and since then the state has allocated it for various purposes: a music school, a dental office, a cafeteria, and municipal offices.

The timeline of deterioration is devastating. In October 2025, criminals looted the church, stealing the Holy Candle holders, ornaments, and fans, and breaking showcases and display cases. Only a portion of the stolen items could be recovered.

At that time, the actor and theater director Jorge Mederos Reyes had already pointed out that "the mezzanines no longer exist, the railings vanish, and the grilles and doors have been completely stripped away with total impunity."

In March, a fire affected the abandoned cloister, which had been without supervision or security from the Municipal Education Department for over a year.

A month and a half after the fire, in April, the religious leaders reported that the "countless meetings and calls" with the three levels of government and party had only resulted in "promises and waiting."

The photographs published by the order show the coffered ceiling with bright green painted wooden beams, featuring damaged sections, gaps, and fallen parts that expose the exterior of the building.

The Escolapios directly point to the authorities: "Education abandoned the building without protection. The Government ignored repeated alerts from Heritage and from us. The Party endorses this criminal inaction: promises fade into bureaucratic silence while the looting takes place before everyone's eyes."

The case is not isolated. The deterioration of historical heritage in Cuba follows a documented pattern in multiple properties: the Convento Corazón de Jesús in El Cerro and another historical gem turned into ruins are recent examples of the same institutional neglect.

The order demands the immediate return of the cloister and the school, the end of fruitless promises, and public accountability for what they classify as criminal negligence.

"It is not a confessional claim: it is the identity of all the people of Guanabacoa that is fading away. Enough complicity. We still have time," concludes the statement from the Escolapios.