GIRALDILLA
A bronze statue of a woman welcomes you
at the foyer. This is the original Giraldilla, the work of Jerónimo
Martínez Pinzón. It is a wind vane that was placed at the top of
the bell tower at the northwest corner of the castle in 1634.
The hurricane in 1926 blew it down and it was damaged slightly,
so that it was deposited in the Palacio de los Capitanes
Generales for a while to protect it from further deterioration. Today it is exhibited at
the entrance of the castle and its replica is placed at its
original place on the Giraldilla tower.
Giraldilla is the statue of the Spanish
Doña Isabel de Bobadilla (also known as Inés de Bobadilla; 1505-1546), the beautiful wife of the Governor and the Captain
General of Hernando de Soto. Hernando de Soto left Havana for
the conquest of new territories and reached several places that
today are part of the United States, such as Georgia, Alabama
and Florida. When he arrived in the Mississippi river, he heard a
legend about the eternal source of youth, told by the native
people. Finally, he decided to go to that mythical place,
although he was 43 years old at that time. Unfortunately, he
became sick and died by an uncontrollable fever, without having
seen so called Fountain of Youth.
When Hernando de Soto has gone to
Florida on the search for gold, he appointed his wife Isabel as
the Governor of Cuba in his absence. Thus, Doña Isabel de
Bobadilla became the first and only female Governor of Cuba.
The beautiful Isabel spent all her time by
waiting for his beloved husband at the top of the surveillance
tower of the Castillo de la Real Fuerza, as the castle was used
also as the house of the governor. The turret became known as La
Torre de Espera (Waiting Tower). By passage of time this long
waiting transformed Isabel into a legendary character that with
eyes focused on the horizon, tried for hours to discover the
ship that would bring his husband back to home. Unfortunately,
she never saw him again. It is argued that this anxious suspense
and the sadness when she heard the death of his husband, were
the reasons of her death.
The legend is romantic, as it bases on a
tragic love story, but the reality is different than the legend.
After the death of Hernando de Soto, his mourning wife Isabel
returned to Spain (probably in 1544) with the assets inherited
from his husband and died 2 years later, in 1546. Another
reality is that Isabel can’t wait for his husband at the top of
the tower, because the Castillo de la Real Fuerza was built
after 1558. Probably, she was going to a high point near the sea
every day.
In 17th century, the goldsmith and
master-founder Jerónimo Martínez Pinzón (1607-1649) was inspired
by this tragic love story and he made the sculpture of Isabel.
The governor of the time Don Juan Bitrián Viamonte ordered
Jerónimo Martínez Pinzón to cast the sculpture in
bronze. When the bronze statue was ready in 1632, it was placed
as wind vane on the top of the tower that was built recently.
Don Juan Bitrián Viamonte baptized the wind vane with the name
of Giraldilla, after the Giralda that crowns
the Arab tower of the Cathedral of his native city Seville in
Spain and serves to welcome the incoming boats.
It is considered the first bronze statue
in Cuba, and one of the first sculptures made by a Cuban artist.
It is a small statue with a length of 110 cm (43 inches). Doña
Isabel de Bobadilla with braided hairs, is holding a palm tree
in her right hand and a Calatrava Cross
in her left hand. The Calatrava Cross was the
pre-eminent symbol among the Iberian orders of Knighthood in
Spain and Portugal. The sculptor’s name is written on the
medallion on the chest. The artist gave the statue the
appearance of a coquettish, arrogant and haughty woman. The
crown on its head and the style of the wearing of the dress, are
striking features of the statue.
La Giraldilla is the official symbol of
the city Havana, as it is one of the most beloved symbols of
Havana and considered the most important one. It symbolizes the
hope, the fidelity, and the love. Today, it is the logo of the
baseball team of Havana, and the famous Cuban rum Havana Club.
It is also the name of the ferry that operates between the main
terminal of Havana and the neighbor Regla. A Giraldilla Award
is given by the Municipality of Havana every year.
The original bell of the Giraldilla
tower that was used to warn Habaneros of approaching pirates, is
also exhibited at the entrance along with the Giraldilla. It was
made by the same artist and was brought from the convent of
Santa Clara.
