By: Hansel Pérez Collado (journalism student)
The Office of the Historian of Camagüey city has different work areas, aimed at consolidating the Historical and Cultural Heritage of the province.
One of these is the Research Management, which includes the groups of Archeology and Mural Painting, of applied Historical Research and the Office’s Historical Archive.
The workers of this area execute and socialize projects of excellence, which have to do with mural painting, documentary heritage, archaeological excavations, among other areas that contribute to the knowledge and preservation of regional history.
One of the most important projects of the Archeology group was the excavation in the Historic Center of the city in 2018, in order to locate physical evidence of the church of San Francisco, one of the first religious buildings in the city, located until the 20th century in the areas of the current Martí Park.
This was the first time that the urban space was intervened for excavations of this nature, in collaboration with experts from other provinces and countries. As a result, the foundations of the first structure of the church and the adjacent convent were discovered, as well as two well-preserved human burials and scattered ceramic remains.
Meanwhile, the Historical Archive, based in the Railway Museum, offers a valuable collection of documents that, since its opening, two years ago, has been growing day by day. In addition, it provides consultation services that are well received by the public, especially by the university and the scientific community.
Archive workers are in charge of restoring and digitizing documents, although the main task is their preservation, with the aim of not subjecting them to invasive processes that could harm them in the long term.
The Research Management contributes to materialize an important part of the institutional mission of the Office of the Historian. That is why its work focuses on enhancing the identity traits of Camagüey people through the search, conservation and dissemination of the historical memory of the territory.
Translated by: Aileen Álvarez García
