MADRID, Spain.- The Manaca-Iznaga tower, symbol of Trinity and a great viewpoint, stands in one of the largest sugar-producing regions of Cuba between the 18th and 19th centuries, the Valle de los Ingenios, declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco.
The tower was ordered to be built by Alejo María del Carmen Iznaga y Borrell for the old San Alejo de Manaca sugar mill. Although there are inaccuracies in the date of construction, historiography does coincide in framing it in the first decades of the 19th century; It is recorded in an inventory of haciendas that, when Alejo María del Carmen Iznaga y Borrell died in 1845, his widow Juana Nepomuceno requested.
The origin of the watchtower is still debated. Some say that it was erected by the building fever of the members of the Iznaga family with the purpose of being remembered. Other versions refer to the bet between Don Alejo and his brother; the latter seeking celebrity by the depth of the well he dug and the former by the height of his tower.
Other sources attribute a utilitarian purpose to distinguish pirate ships along the south coast and monitor the plantations from the fires that used to occur and the escapes of slaves; also to call these once the agricultural work is completed.
With more than 43 meters high, seven floors or levels of geometric shapes, ranging from square to octagon, and 137 steps that give it solidity and elegance, the ringing of the Manaca-Iznaga bells also revealed the holidays , the hours of prayer and slave labor.
The historical, architectural and cultural relic, declared a National Monument in 1978, emblem of the lookout and the economic power of the Creole landowners, has escaped the inclement weather. Decades ago it received a restoration that restored the safety of the clary slate, the railings and the wooden floors.
