The birthplace of the nation’s preeminent national hero, Museo Casa Natal de José Martí (Leonor Pérez #314, esq. Av. de Bélgica, tel. 07/861-3778, Tues.–Sat. 9 a.m.–5 p.m., entrance CUC1, guide CUC1, cameras CUC2, videos CUC10) sits one block south of the railway station at the end of a street named after Martí’s mother.
This simple house with terra-cotta tile floors is a shrine for Cubans. The national hero and leader of the independence movement was born on January 28, 1853, and spent the first four years of his life here.
The house displays many of his personal effects, including a beautiful lacquered escritorio (writing desk), original texts, poems, sketches, and even a lock of Martí’s hair from when he was a child.