CAMAGÜEY.- An old house of the 18th century, in the central pedestrian and commercial artery of the once Villa de Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe, serves as a venue for a well-known and demanded Camagüey’s restaurant. The building, since ancient times, had the number 26 of the street Santa Ana (current General Gómez), corner to Trade, (today Maceo).

Commercial records require that after the residence of several families, since January 14, 1941 was an establishment dedicated to printing and stationery, named La Moderna, but on November 27, 1950 is registered in society as La Nueva. Then, in the middle of that decade, there was the hardware store Anton and sons, well known among the locals for the assortment of tools it possessed.

On July 5, 1963 was intervened by the revolutionary government, and had several uses, until 1986 where it becomes the popular repair shop of home appliances Radio 26, closed in 2003.

In 2009, the Office of the Historian of the City of Camagüey undertook the urban revival of the entire Maceo Street, which conceived, among other projects, the restoration and remodeling of the building, preserving its colonial style.

The complex work was assumed by the EPIA 11, with the collaboration of the territorial branch of the Cuban Fund of Cultural Assets in the decorative work and the design of the furniture.

Beautifully worked precious wood, its roof has a high architectural value. It is in armor with paired braces and quadrants with arabesques, very ornate, and simple paired straps.

It prints unique character the use of decoration in black, typical of the architecture of the Cuban colonial period, and of which until now, there is no other exponent within the Camagüey’s housing repertoire.

"This type of painted decoration, mainly of black color, was common in roofs of Andalusia, Spain. There are very old Cuban samples, such as those found in the convent of Santa Teresa of Havana, in the early 18th century, says researcher Carlos Venegas Forniés.

To the pleasant ambiance of the restaurant 1514 with colonial elements, the exquisite taste of its Creole and international food is added. With a capacity for 74 people, a piano-bar of 16 seats and a large lounge where trios and soloists act in the catalog of excellence of the Provincial Center of Music and shows, receives daily a hundred diners or more, and dispenses Camagüey’s and Cuban dishes, as well as food originating in Spain, Italy, Russia and other European countries.

The special offer of the house is the beef steak 1514, which includes ham, cheese and garnish of the traditional cassava-based aborigine. It also offers various types of salads, sweets, pasta, broths, smoked, and a wide variety of cocktail combinations, natural juices, beers, rums, wines, in national currency and convertible pesos, and served with elegance and customer's taste.

Translated by Linet Acuña Quilez