El Abra Museum
This farm, El Abra, was once the refuge of the Father of Cuban Independence, Jose Marti, when he was released from prison. A Catalonian landowner, José; M. Sarda, who had met Marti's father at the San Lazaro quarries, was able to get Marti's six-year sentence for opposing Spanish domination commuted and brought him to his farm.

Marti arrived on the Isle of Pines, (now the Isle of Youth) on October 13, 1870 and remained there until December recovering from the physical sequels of his forced labor regime in the quarries.

The Museum, declared a National Monument, contains a number of personal belongings of Jose Marti and exhibits the room where he lived.

Address: Carretera de Siguanea, Km 2, Isla de la Juventud.
Open: Tuesday to Sunday: 09:00 to 17:00. Closed Mondays.

The island, then known as the Isle of Pines, was chosen because, according to the specialists, it was near to Cuba, but far enough away to discourage escape attempts. This "Model Prison" was designed for 6,000 inmates. There were four 5-story circular buildings and each floor had 93 cells for two inmates each. Twenty-four prisons in the country's six provinces were combined in one and all prisoners sentenced to more the 180 days were sent there.

The central position is occupied by a 2-story circular building housing the kitchen, store-rooms and a mess hall for 5,000. The otherwise dreary place acquired historical relevance becausea number of independence fighters and people who opposed the unpopular regimes that governed Cuba until 1959 were imprisoned there.

Before their exile in Mexico, the young revolutionaries who survived the storming of the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba on July 26, 1953, were among the inmates. One of them was Fidel Castro. The facility was declared a National Monument.

Address: Reparto Chacon, Nueva Gerona, Isla de la Juventud.
Open: Tuesday to Sunday: 09:00 to 17:00. Closed Mondays