Bayamo has always been marked by the symbol of rebellion, from the indigenous and slave rebellions to the beginning of the Cuban War of Independence, and the decision of its inhabitants to reduce it to ashes on January 12, 1869, rather than let it fall into the hands of the Spanish colonial occupiers.
Due to the pressure of the Spanish troops who threatened to seize the city, its inhabitants preferred to burn it down rather than see it enslaved, setting it ablaze 157 years ago. This act demonstrates the patriotic love of the people of that city for their Bayamo, to the point of preferring to lose their homes and belongings rather than let them fall into the hands of the Colonial Army.
It was in Bayamo in the 19th century that the war for Cuban independence was forged and began on October 10, 1868, with leading figures such as Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, Francisco Vicente Aguilera, Perucho Figueredo, and many other patriots.
Thus, Bayamo became the first capital of the Republic in Arms, as it was declared on October 20th of that same year, the same day that Perucho Figueredo's anthem was sung in public for the first time. Céspedes raised the Cuban flag at the La Demajagua sugar mill; the patriots Eulalia and Candelaria Figueredo Vázquez, daughters of Perucho Figueredo, sewed a banner at the Las Magas sugar mill, and later Candelaria paraded it through the streets of Bayamo, receiving for this act the title of Standard-Bearer of Bayamo.
Once Bayamo was liberated by the nascent Mambí army, Carlos Manuel de Céspedes asked the young Felicia Marcé Castellano to make another flag, to be used in the ceremony of the blessing of the national flag at the Parish Church on November 8, 1868. For three months, Bayamo was the center of the Revolution, so the Spanish government sent several columns to recapture it. On October 19, 1868, battles were fought at the Babatuaba stream and later at the Hicotea River bridge against the San Quintín battalion, commanded by Colonel Juan López del Campillo; and on October 25, fighting took place at Pino de Baire against the Spanish battalion led by Colonel Demetrio Quirós Weyler. In these two battles, the patriots emerged victorious.
Once again, the Spanish government organized a strong force against Bayamo, which arrived in Las Tunas on January 1, 1869, from the port of Nuevitas in Camagüey. This powerful colonial division was commanded by General Blas de Villate, Count of Valmaseda. By January 7, it was already advancing on Bayamo through the Salado River basin. About 30 kilometers west of Bayamo, the forces of the Mambí General Donato Mármol met them, and the battles of El Saladillo, La Caridad, Cauto del Paso, and Cauto Embarcadero were fought in succession.
After five days of fierce fighting, the Spanish division managed to cross the Cauto River at the small town of Cauto Embarcadero, defended by only about 100 men under the command of General Modesto Díaz.
After the burning of Bayamo, the Spanish found only ruins upon entering the city. A long time passed before it was rebuilt, and when it was, at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, the prevailing architectural styles of the time were employed, setting aside colonial touches and burying the city's charred remains. This is why Bayamo lacks the colonial architecture that many visitors expect to see. However, vestiges remain in the current cathedral and other buildings.
The ever-rebellious Bayamo displayed its tradition in the war of liberation against the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, and on July 26, 1953, the revolutionary leader Fidel Castro ordered attacks on the military barracks of Santiago de Cuba and Bayamo, the two most significant in the eastern region.
Thus began the last war of national liberation, and later many of Bayamo's sons ascended to the Sierra Maestra mountains, continuing the tradition of those who led the first national independence movement in the 19th century.