CAMAGÜEY.- This ancient Spanish mansion placed on the corners of San Ramón and Santa Ana, (today 252 Enrique José (west) y General Gómez), is one of the few that still keeps both in the interior and the exterior, its original architecture from the XVIII century. And is formed by three bodies: the main house, the one destined for the help and the stables.

It was built for the marquises San Juan and santa Ana, title granted by Ferdinand VII along with the previous Viscount of Caballería de Miranda, to Don Tomas Agustín Caballero y Miranda Figueroa y Varona,born in Puerto Príncipe on March 12 1750, Councilor of the City Hall and descendant of Vasco Porcayo de Figueroa, one of the city founders.

He got married two times, the first to Doña María de Socarrás y Quesada, Socarrás y Socarrás and to his cousin Doña Dolores Caballero y Bonora y Miranda y Escobar. When Don Tomás died, the title passed to the son of the first matrimony, Don Vicente Pedro Caballero y Socarrás, born in Puerto Príncipe in 1773, Ordinary Mayor and married to Doña María Francisca Caballero y Guerra Montejo, Fernández de Flimes, passing the marquisate to his eldest son Juan José Casimiro, born in 1789, Commendator of the American Order of Isabella the Catholic and ordinary mayor of the cities of Puerto Príncipe and San Salvador de Bayamo.

Due to the amount of disperse descendants that this marquis had, the crown disabled the title, however, in 1921 a fourth descendant of the father of the tenure, Doña María de las Mercedes de Adán y Galarreta del Castillo y Caballero, married to the Lic. Martín Arturo de Aróstegui y del Castillo y Quesada y del Castillo, Magister of Camagüey Hearing Court, managed to rehabilitate and recover the marquisate that finally, since they did not leave any offspring, was canceled in 1946.

This marquisate was the only among all the nobility titles that enjoyed our city which members were all born and died in Camagüey.

Meanwhile, the house in 1892 was property of the family of Don Juan Agustín Montejo. Four years later there are writings that saythat it was acquired by Don Agustín Martínez de Santelices. In 1898 it belonged to Don Rafael Castellanos Mojarrieta. In the first years of the 1900’s there lived the Camagüeyan Carmen Zayas Bazán, wife to José Martí, who then moved to Havana where she set her permanent residency. At beginnings of the century it was bought by the family Morciego-Plaza.

We do not know why the building went through so many hands in such a short time.