In the colonial time the Cubans of Spanish origin met in social clubs that provide recreation and leisure activities. The Casio Espaňol was one of such social clubs that was established by the descendants of the group of Spaniards that had settled in Cuba in 1869. It was opened first on the San Rafael street, where it intersects with the Industria street, occupying finally the lavish building on the Paseo de Martí that functions as Palacio de los Matrimonios (Register Office) today.

After a construction period of two years, the Casio Espaňol was inaugurated in 1914. President Mario García Menocal and his wife Mariana Seva, the Minister of Spain, the Ambassador of Spain Alfredo Mariátegui and the Bishop Pedro González Estrade took part at the opening ceremony. It was designed by the prestigious Cuban architect Luis Dediot that was entrusted also by the constructing the headquarters of several banks in Havana.

Initially the Spaniards did not admit any native Cuban to their social club, but later they eased up this rule and restricted it to the disallowance of the participation of the native Cubans only in their board of directories. Thus, their social club transformed into a center that aimed to promote, consolidate and spread the brotherhood between the Cubans and the Spaniards, living on the island. The board of the directories was selecting the members very meticulously. In 1951, the fame of the Casio Espaňol became the source of the inspiration to the immortal cha-cha-chá dance music La Engaňadore (The Deceiver) by Enrique Jorrin, in that the story of a young girl who attended the ballroom of the Casino Espaňol, was told (to listen to the music, please click..).

The Casnio Espaňol continued its function until 1959. After the revolution it was nationalized, and it became the House of Culture and the headquarters of the National Union of Arts and Entertainment Workers (SINTAE) in 1963. The same year it witnessed the wake of the corpse of the popular Cuban musician and singer Bartolomé Maximiliano Moré Gutiérrez (Benny Moré), before his remains was buried in his hometown, Santa Isabel de las Lajas. In 1966 the building was converted into the Palacio de los Matrimonios (Palace of Marriages) on the initiative of the Minister of Justice, Alfredo Yabur, becoming the first opened register office in Cuba, so that for more than 40 years it became the favorite place among the couples to marry in a secular way. Its beautiful outward appearance and the rich ornamented decoration of its inner, made this place a preferred venue for marriages, although there were 14 institutions more of this kind in the city. It was preferred not only by the habaneros, but also people from different (even distant) municipalities chose this building to express their wish to become spouses.

The cost of a wedding in this palace was only 1.5 pesos that was necessary for the stamps of the documents. Only the buffet and the photographs should be paid, but the rest (flowers, toast, music and the dazzling ambience of the luxury palace) was free of charge.

The overuse of the building led its gradual deterioration, so that a restoration was carried out in 2005, in that a mural, covered by another painting, was discovered in the Salón Rosado (today Salón Rojo) that was used as the meeting room. The mostly rescued painting was representing a rampant lion in a position of attack. After a restoration of six long years the Palacio de los Matrimonios de Prado is once again the Palace of Marriages.

The Palacio de los Matrimonios is one of the elegant buildings that has heritage value. It was the largest building in Cuba at the beginning of the Republic. This beautiful neo-renaissance building has three floors. The extravagant decoration of the façade that was inspired by the plateresque style, makes it quite exceptional. The plateresque style, coined by the Spanish writer Diego Ortiz de Zúñiga, is a 16th century Spanish architectural style, characterized by elaborate ornamentation suggestive of the filigree of the silversmiths.

The public access to the building is through a wide entrance on the Paseo de Martí. The splendid marble staircase in the inner courtyard that leads you to the upper floors, is illuminated by globe lambs that are mounted in the hands of woman statues, made of wrought iron.  Only the first floor has balconies.  Originally there were a sports hall, a library, a barber shop, showers, a room for billiards and domino, a room for tresillo (a card game), a canteen, a kitchen and a quarter for use of the employees on the first two floors.

On the second floor there is a ballroom with an elaborately frescoed ceiling (Salón Dorado/Golden Hall) that takes up the entire upper floor. When the light enters through the three stained glass windows into the hall, it creates nice shades of colors. At the back of the hall, where it is accessed by the staircase, two oil paintings are adorning the wall. One represents the Spanish that set a foot on the island for the first time during the voyage of Columbus, and the other the Havana Cathedral. The hall has a seating capacity of 210 persons. There are also smaller rooms, available for the bride and the groom, such as the Salón Rosado and the Salón Verde. On any Saturday it is most likely that you will see a couple of newlyweds taking pictures in the garden.