Marta Esther Rocafort Altuzarra

Marta Esther Rocafort y Altuzarra, later hyphenated Rocafort-Altuzarra was the second wife of the Count of Covadonga.

Masculine style in the early Republic

During the early Republic, men frequently wore white drill suits paired with straw hats, while the guayabera shirt persisted as a key element of masculine dress.

Cost of luxury jewelry

High-quality jewelry sold at shops like El Suizo, featuring materials such as gold, pearls, and precious stones, cost between 0.20 and 80 gold pesos.

Home Religious Celebrations and Singing

During religious festivities such as Holy Cross Day, families set up elaborate altars in their homes and invited choruses to sing responsorial songs until midnight, when celebrations transitioned into dancing.

Improvised Instruments for Carnival

For festive carnival parades, musicians sometimes converted everyday metal items like frying pans, iron railings, and automobile tire rims into musical instruments to increase rhythmic volume.

Expanding Electric Railway Networks 1900-1924

By 1924, the Hershey Electric Railway operated a network connecting Havana to Matanzas, including electric passenger service that began in 1922. Travel was often slow and unpredictable, with the Hershey train journey to Matanzas intended to take three or four hours.

Horse-Drawn Travel on Rough Trails

For long-distance travel, people used specialized horse-drawn carriages like the quitrín or volante, which featured large wheels to navigate deep ruts and rough, unpaved trails. The movement was notoriously bumpy, often described as feeling like a small boat in a choppy sea.

Limited indoor plumbing in homes

In Havana and Matanzas around the turn of the century, only about 10 percent of houses had indoor toilets.

Rural school janitor wages

Janitors in rural schools were paid monthly salaries of 5 to 10 pesos to maintain the facilities and purchase water.

Morning milk runs in Havana

Around 1910, Havana residents would visit milking sites between 4 and 5 a.m. to buy fresh milk. Authorities later mandated yellow-painted zinc carts for milk vendors to improve hygiene and reduce disease.

Strong home-grown Cuban coffee

Cuban coffee was served black and very strong, with cooks using at least a full teacup of ground coffee for every pint of water. Housewives often picked the beans directly from coffee beds in their own courtyards.

Cart Driver Daily Wages

In the mill town of Chaparra during the early 20th century, a worker hired as a cart driver earned $1.25 per day.

Daily wages for a sugar mill worker

During the 1920s and 1930s, a sugar mill cart driver could earn approximately $1.25 per day.

Common Jobs and Hierarchies

Sugar cane cutting was a common, strenuous job, while more desirable, higher-paying roles included mechanics, locomotive drivers, and wagon drivers.

Daily Business Routine and Siestas

Business hours were split by a mandatory afternoon siesta from 12 PM until 1:30 or 2 PM, followed by work until 4 or 5 PM.