{"id":27999,"date":"2014-05-09T19:52:51","date_gmt":"2014-05-09T19:52:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.oncubamagazine.com\/?p=27999"},"modified":"2014-05-09T20:01:12","modified_gmt":"2014-05-09T20:01:12","slug":"the-hill-and-its-cross","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/society-cuba\/cuban-traditions\/the-hill-and-its-cross\/","title":{"rendered":"The hill and its cross"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are more than 400 steps. One by one they lead you to it. Then you arrive and find it stunning, watching, in its place nothing escapes her. At her feet everyone is, some watch, others freeze it in a snapshot that may land on a table or on the door of a refrigerator, are those who kneel in supplication and whisper begs and promises.<\/p>\n

While the candles melt at the altar, more than one visitor contemplates the city she seems to dominate. Holguin is a bunch of tiny squares from the Loma de la Cruz, that’s why people get carried away with the climbing, because nobody wants to miss the breeze, the view, or the Cross that grants wishes.<\/p>\n

There is no Holguin without its mystical summit, and neither is without its famous Romerias (Pilgrimage). In May , a crowd populates the streets at all times , and the former Cerro Bayado is at his old place, letting them walk over him, custodian of all , symbol of a legend , keeper of untold secrets.<\/p>\n