Havana´s 9 PM Cannon Shot Declared Cuba´s Cultural Heritage

The nine p.m. cannon shot, a centuries-old tradition of Havana nights that takes place at the San Carlos de la Cabaña Fortress, was declared Cultural Heritage of the Cuban Nation.

The official declaration was delivered during the military ceremony by Gladys Collazo, president of the National Council of Cultural Heritage in recognition of the universal significance that this practice has reached, which has become a symbol of the Cuban capital.

The traditional cannon shot at nine in the evening began in the eighteenth century since from that fortress they fired a salvo to announce neighbors when closing or opening the doors of the wall or placing the chain that closed the harbor entrance.

At that time the town was surrounded by a wall defining its limits; of that work there are still some sections in what is now Old Havana.

For over 300 years ago Havana inhabitants have heard the blast, which it was also part of a military regulation for the Spanish fleet sailors, then reached a value of social use and subsequently became a tradition, museologist Migleidis Escalona told ACN.

The specialist explained that the ceremony hasn�t taken place on a few occasions, including during World War II and US intervention in Cuba, and besides that from La Cabaña, it was perfomed from the ship Infanta Isabel anchored at the entrance of the bay during the nineteenth century.

Each time the ceremony has been developed in accordance with the practices used by the Spanish and Cuban armies, however currently a military fantasy that imitate the technique of colonial stage is used, Escalona said.

Source: AIN