As you come into La Plaza de Armas (Arms Square), your sight stops just ahead, in the left side, there's a representation of a Greek temple in a small scale, El Templete. It was built by General Captain Francisco Dionisio Vives, in 1828, to transform in historical monument the place where the first mass, first town hall meeting and the Havana foundation was held in 1519, in the territory occupied nowadays by the historical center.

This was the third moving and the fifth settlement of our city, because San Cristóbal de la Habana Village was firstly erected by the Lieutenant Governor Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, under his high authority in the name of the Spanish Kings, on the Southern coast of the Indian settlement in Havana, besides the Güines, Mayabeque or Onjeajinal River.

After diverse locations, Velásquez decided to change the Village again to Carenas Port discovered by Captain Sebastián de Ocampo, during a surround of Cuba, following the Commander Nicolás de Ovando`s orders. It was firstly settled on the territory next to Guanabacoa creek to be definitely placed in front of the Bay.

The anniversary of the city started to be celebrated on 1519, because it was the date of its foundation, there, sheltered by a leafy Ceiba tree, the first mass and the first town hall meeting were celebrated.

Some historians disagree in the fact that was precisely under this tree where the ceremonies took place, but what could be proved is that the tradition is based on real events, so is part of our city's history.

The tree in question was sow at the northwest zone of the current Plaza de Armas and to perpetuate the memory of this remarkable event, Governor Francisco Cagigal de la Vega ordered the building in 1754 of a three-faces column carrying in its base two inscriptions that can be read in our days in Latin and Castilian languages, allusive to the first mass and the first town hall meeting.

On the right extreme there's a Ceiba tree as a live symbol of the vegetable world, possessing a legendary aura, evoking that giving origin to the construction of the building.

Surrounded by grids of sober construction, El Templete`s porch and columns are also reproductions of the Greek classic architecture. There's also a statue of the Admiral Christopher Columbus, in his condition of discoverer of the American continent for the Spaniards.

Closing the description of its external aspect, I can say that in the superior part of the columns at the entrance, a group of pines carved in iron, as a remembrance of the most favorite tropical fruit among the Europeans with its stylized head which crowned it as queen of the Cuban fruits.

The traditional march of the town hall's maces towards such emblematic place, the city government allocution reviewing the history and the people success and finally the legendary walking around the ceiba tree are symbolic instants of the celebrations for the Village of San Cristóbal anniversary.

El Templete is exhibiting inside three great oil paintings by the French painter Jean Baptiste Vermay, which were recently restored with an amazing meticulousness, evoking the main characters present in our history's early years.

By Ada Oramas. Published in Tribuna de la Habana Newspaper.

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