page_title: Campo de Marte, Havana
section_title: 1892
hierarchical_section_title: Campo de Marte, Havana / History / 1892
caption_attribution_description: English: Campo de Marte, Havana. Postcard.
context_page_description: The Campo de Marte is a park in Havana, Cuba. It was built in the 1790s as a military practice range by the Spanish governtment; it was expanded in 1793 by Belgian engineer Agustin Cramer, and later the Bishop Espada improved the lighting of the Campo. It was Captain General Don Miguel Tacón who included it within the scope of his embellishment program. The area was then fenced and four majestic gates, crowned with coats of arms, each representing an important personality: the north gate, Hernán Cortés; the south one, Francisco Pizarro; and the east and west gates, Captain General Miguel Tacón y Rosique, and Christopher Columbus respectively.
  In 1928 it became the Parque de la Fraternidad.
context_section_description: To commemorate the fourth centennial of the discovery of America, the Campo de Marte became a park in 1892. In 1928 it became the Parque de la Fraternidad as it is known today and in commemoration of the Sixth Pan-American Conference held in Havana. A silk cotton tree, called ‘Tree of American Fraternity, was planted in the center of the park with soil from 28 countries of the Americas. On the initiative of the Sociedad Cubana de Estudios Históricos e Internacionales, several busts of personalities and heroes representative of Latin American thought were erected, including those of Simón Bolivar and Benito Juárez.
  The park, which is actually a group of parks, has witnessed historical events such as the taking off and disappearance of Matías Pérez, a Portuguese inventor, on his hot-air balloon on June 29, 1856; and the first celebration of Labor Day in Cuba on May 1, 1890.
caption: The Campo de Marte, Havana.
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