On the road to Cayajabos, in the province of Artemisa, are the ruins of an old estate that was a symbol of the splendor of the coffee plantations of western Cuba during the colonial era, "Angerona", the Roman goddess of silence and fertility. of the fields-, whose life-size statue carved in white Carrara marble, was reproduced at the entrance to the site.

The former estate, with more than two centuries of history, is an agro-industrial heritage of the 19th century, and an exceptional witness of its architecture and traditions. The relics, in addition to constituting a National Monument, are symbols of Artemis.

The Cafetal began to operate shortly after August 12, 1813, when the German emigrant Cornelio Souchay bought the land where he settled. The place was distinguished by the excellent coffee plantations and the good treatment of his owner towards the slaves who worked at his service.

Angerona has the additional attraction of being an ideal space to delve into the links between owners and slaves, ways of life, religious rites, funeral customs and other aspects that allow reconstructing the daily life of the colonial period in Cuba.

Its fame is due to the prosperity, the beauty, and to the system of labor and social organization prevailing in the place, very different from the rest of the colonies of the territory where the slaves were the workforce.

The Angerona estate lacked barracks, the slaves lived in a small village of huts, surrounded by interior alleys and stone walls with a single iron door.

Prestigious personalities of literature and political life of the country in the 19th century, such as Cirilo Villaverde, Alejo Carpentier, José de la Luz and Caballero, Ramón Zambrana and his wife Luisa Pérez de Zambrana, the American Reverend Abiel Abbot, Wetherman and the Countess of Merlin, among others, reflected the architectural, historical and environmental majesty of the second most important coffee plantation of the time.

Only its ruins remain, which are currently the scene of the second scientific expedition of archaeological studies, aimed at unraveling many unknowns, related to the evolution of the emblematic site.

In charge of the Archeology Office, belonging to the Office of the Historian of Havana, the campaign is part of a joint research project between that unit and the University of Saint Mary, in Halifax, Canada, scheduled until 2021.

The emblematic site of Angerona is enlivened by the wind acoustics of the palms. Saving its patrimonial treasures warrants it, as it is a symbol of the splendor of the coffee plantations of western Cuba during the colonial era, and is a valuable testimony of our history.