A garbage island made up of plastics, branches, bags, and animal droppings has taken over the course of the Yayabo River, the most recognizable natural symbol of Sancti Spíritus, right in front of the Yayabo Bridge, which has been declared a National Monument, documented this Friday by the official newspaper Escambray.
According to the testimony of Yoel Betancourt Muñoz, manager of La Taberna Yayabo, since the establishment opened in 2014, there has never been such an accumulation of solid waste in the area.
"This is a center of recognized prestige that serves both national and international tourism. Due to its location, right next to the Yayabo bridge, one of the architectural jewels of the city, it enjoys high demand. However, for years, we have been accompanied by the battered image of the river, filled with logs that were once carried away by a flood and upon which the waste from the surrounding population has accumulated and is dumped into the waters of the river," Betancourt stated.
The accumulation not only affects the appearance of the environment; local workers report that the air is unbreathable. "We are breathing dirty air, the foul smell when the wind shifts is unbearable, along with the presence of pests and rodents," they stated, while warning that manure from horses and pigs is being dumped into the river from nearby homes.
When it rains heavily, the current does not carry the debris downstream; instead, it pushes it to the sides, worsening the situation and disrupting the operation of the tavern itself.
The administrator notes that the construction of a wall at the base of the bridge to dam the water and improve the aesthetics of the area ended up trapping branches and debris carried by the rains.
"This does not mean it has to remain this way for all eternity; the river and its iconic bridge are a source of pride for this town, which has just celebrated its 512th anniversary, a date on which we thought this issue could have been resolved, but that was not the case," he lamented.
The management of La Taberna forwarded the complaint to the local authorities and the Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, but the response has been silence: "We are still waiting for answers," they acknowledged.
The problem is not new. In April, Escambray documented with photographs an island of plastic and organic waste beneath the bridge that withstood the heavy rains of that month without being swept away, while citizens warned on social media that "at any moment the bridge will disappear with a major flood."
The consequences go beyond the visual. In August 2025, the water purification plant that sources from the Yayabo was operating at 35% of its capacity, producing only 100 liters per second out of a possible 283, which left over 35,600 residents of Sancti Spíritus dependent on trucks and water tankers.
In 2022, the environmental authorities of Sancti Spíritus admitted to not having an effective plan to combat pollution, citing prohibitive costs.
The Yayabo is not an isolated case. Cuban rivers have become dumping grounds across the island: the Hatibonico in Camagüey and several rivers in Holguín exhibit the same pattern of neglect, with associated health risks such as leptospirosis, hepatitis A, and dengue.
The Prime Minister Manuel Marrero himself admitted at the end of 2025 the institutional failure in garbage collection in Cuba.
While the authorities remain inactive, the Yayabo Bridge—constructed between 1817 and 1831, the only vaulted arch bridge in Cuba—watches through its five arches as the river it is named after sinks into neglect.
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