Acts of terror: The bombs that tried to extinguish Sol Palmeras.

The same hands that on October 6th, 1976 blew up the Cubana de Aviación DC-8 in Barbados, have tried to destroy Cuba.

The Cuban American National Foundation (CANF) always wanted any glimmer of prosperity, any glimmer, the slightest hint of triumph.

On a day like today, August the 23rd, but in 1997, a C-4 explosive of more than 65 grams exploded in the Sol Palmeras Hotel, the result of the first joint venture created in Cuba and inaugurated by Fidel Castro on May 10th, 1990.

At least two Cuban workers and four Spanish tourists could have been killed. A waitress was finishing cleaning, a custodian was about to check the place where the bomb had been placed and those guests had just passed through the place, is the story that most of them repeat.

Although he is now retired, Lázaro Lugones Cárdenas was the head custodian. He recalls that in those days there was talk of bombs that would be placed in economic facilities such as these.

«We were instructed to carefully guard the areas, and I was in charge of the lobby. I had already checked every corner and all that was missing was the hallway. I was on my way there when I was distracted for a few seconds at the door, and at the very moment I went to open it, it happened. I felt a roar and I was enveloped in a dark cloud».

He narrates it and fear grips one. «I saw glass falling, the false ceiling coming off. Three meters away I was from death, at that distance was the clay vase where they put the explosive. They got away from us.

Reports state that in 1995 a bomb was discovered in this same facility that did not explode, but endangered the lives of hundreds of guests and employees. They say that just as in 1997, it was placed by another man hired and financed by Luis Posada Carriles and the CANF.

Some 10 years later, an article in the Granma newspaper (May 11th, 2007) reported the telephone calls that endorsed the participation of Posada Carriles and the foundation based in the United States. This one said: Paco and now two more explosions, one we put in the Sol Palmeras hotel in Varadero, one of the new ones owned by the Spaniards and the other in a discotheque in the middle of Havana.

For Arnaldo Díaz Hiedra, secretary general of the trade union bureau, the intention was clear: They wanted to extinguish this sun that was already shining too much. Since its inauguration, the hotel has had outstanding results, among them being many times Vanguardia Nacional (Vanguardia Nacional).

In recent years, the facility has recorded millions in annual revenues, as a result of high occupancy and repeat business from customers who return again and again in search of the good experiences they have had there.

Zulima Candales, assistant director of Human Resources, is convinced that no entity progresses without the intelligent management of its employees. Perhaps this explains the typical stability of the workforce, where active founders stand out.

Today, other bombs are attacking tourism, but they do not bring it to its knees. Despite the negative consequences of the U.S. blockade against the main source of foreign currency for the country, resilience stands as a shield. Sol Palmeras is a magnificent example.

Written by  Eva Luna Acosta Armiñán.