Three years of geographical research in Sierra Maestra and Sierra del Rosario by students and professors of the University of Havana (1966-1969)

Abstract

In 1959 a deep transformation of Cuban education began at all levels. Significant examples of this process were the National Literacy Campaign (1961) and the Higher Education Reform Law (1962). Those laws promoted inclusive, participatory, and accessible education, and brought knowledge, research, and university life to the most remote areas of the country. In those years, there was a clear lack of reliable and detailed information about the environmental characteristics of Cuba's mountainous landscapes and the specificities of its rural population. The objective of this report is to identify the reasons that led to several geographic expeditions and describe the grounds upon which they were conceived and carried out in both eastern and western territories between 1966 and 1969 by professors and students from the School of Geography of the University of Havana. The fruit from this endeavor was a comprehensive report of natural and anthropogenic resources, reflected through physical geographic, socioeconomic, and demographic information, which facilitated the elaboration of plans and projects for the territorial development of the island.