La Casa de Beneficencia y Maternidad de La Habana, ( es, The House of Charity and Maternity of Havana, lead=yes) was for 270 years Havana's repository of Havana's unwanted children. The House of Charity started during a time when Cuba was experiencing
extreme poverty
Extreme poverty, deep poverty, abject poverty, absolute poverty, destitution, or penury, is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, includi ...
, unemployment, and corruption in the government. Corrupt leaders were plundering the public treasury and little attention was given to social assistance, health, education, or the protection of the poor: ''"los desamparados"''.
History
![La Casa de Beneficencia de La Habana-Drop-Off-DOOR](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/La_Casa_de_Beneficencia_de_La_Habana-Drop-Off-DOOR.png)
''The Real Casa de Maternidad y Beneficencia'' emerged as a product of several transitions between "La Casa Cuna," the "Real Casa de Maternidad", and finally "La Casa de Beneficencia." It was not until 1794 during the government of
Luis de las Casas
Luis de las Casas y Aragorri (Sopuerta, Spain, 25 August 1745 – Puerto de Santa María, 19 July 1800) was Spanish Governor of Cuba and the Commander in Chief of the Province of Louisiana and the Floridas
The Floridas ( es, Las Floridas) w ...
that the Beneficencia was located in its final location in
Barrio San Lazaro at the corners of San Lazaro and Belascoáin.
The Casa Cuna was founded in 1687 by Bishop
Diego Evelino Hurtado de Compostela Bishop Diego Evelino Hurtado Vélez (1638 in Santiago de Compostela, Spain - August 29, 1704 in Havana, Cuba) was the Bishop of Diocese of Santiago de Cuba (now the Archdiocese of Santiago de Cuba). He was known as Bishop Diego Evelino Hurtado de Co ...
. His death left the orphanage unfinished due to lack of resources to carry out his efforts. His successor, Bishop Fray Gerónimo de Nosti y Valdés, took up his idea and restored the Casa Cuna in a building he built on the corner of Oficios and Muralla.
It originally housed two hundred orphans.
In the year 1792, Don Luis de Peñalver, on the initiative of the Countess of Jaruco, the Marquises of Cárdenas de Monte Hermoso, the Marquis of Casa Peñalver and the Bishop of the Provinces of Louisiana and Florida, founded the "Real Casa de Beneficencia." It accepted only females, settling in a cavalry room of land located in front of the San Lázaro cove, which was an area known as the Betancourt Garden that the Bishop of Peñalver gave for this purpose. They offered to contribute 36 thousand pesos, requesting the governor to manage the royal approval and suggest the land in front of the Caleta de San Lázaro with a view to the sea and running waters.
Antonia María Menocal, a lady of Havana, left at the time of her death in 1830 a large legacy to be invested in charitable works. The executor assigned it to the creation of a Maternity House and for the preservation and education of children up to the age of six.
Marcial Dupierris in 1857 wrote: "The Real Casa de Beneficencia, which is also in the
neighborhood of San Lazaro, is a large building, whose front faces the street Wide North, its side E. is on the road of Belascoaín, and extends to the S to face with the house of health of San Leopoldo, said Real establishment, is the refuge of the orphans of both secured . He is educated and supported until the age when he allows them to be applied to any kind of work. In one of the departments of their dependency there are the insane; in another the Cradle house—that is, in the spitting room. Those different departments are entrusted to the care of people who enjoy the best reputation. Of getting married, they receive a dowry of five hundred pesos that the house gives them, and when they are placed for the service of private homes, it is with the preceding report and recommendation of good reputation and morality of the people to whose care they are delivered."
La Casa de Maternidad was added to the Beneficiencia on the initiative of Spanish Governor
Manuel Gutiérrez de la Concha
Manuel may refer to:
People
* Manuel (name)
* Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers''
* Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies
* Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire
* M ...
, who administered the island from 1850 to 1852. La Casa de Beneficencia y Maternidad was administered by the Sociedad Económica de Amigos del País.
In 1914, the State assumed the institution which continued to survive on the alms and the service of the Daughters of Charity of Cuba.
The
Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital
The Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital, officially the ''Hospital Clínico Quirúrgico "Hermanos Ameijeiras"'', is located in Barrio San Lazaro and is the premier hospital in Cuba, its tower prominently visible from the Malecón between the historic cen ...
, the largest health facility in the country, was built in place of the former La Casa de Beneficencia.
[
]
Diego Evelino Hurtado de Compostela
Bishop Diego Evelino Hurtado Vélez (1638 in Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of St ...
, Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
- August 29, 1704 in Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. , Cuba) was the Bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
of Diocese of Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana.
The municipality extends over , and contains t ...
(now the Archdiocese of Santiago de Cuba
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago de Cuba ( la, Archidioecesis Sancti Iacobi in Cuba, links=no) (erected 1518 as the Diocese of Baracoa) is a Metropolitan Archdiocese, responsible for the dioceses of Guantánamo-Baracoa, Holguín and Sa ...
) and was known as Bishop Diego Evelino Hurtado de Compostela.
In 1687 he founded La Casa de Beneficencia y Maternidad de La Habana. On June 4, 1685, he was appointed Bishop of Santiago de Cuba by Pope Innocent XI
Pope Innocent XI ( la, Innocentius XI; it, Innocenzo XI; 16 May 1611 – 12 August 1689), born Benedetto Odescalchi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 September 1676 to his death on August 12, 1689.
Poli ...
and was ordained bishop on August 29, 1704, by Cardinal Savo Millini
Savo Millini or Savio Mellini (Rome, 4 July 1644 – Rome, 10 February 1701) was a Roman Catholic cardinal.
Biography
Millini was born on 4 July 1644 to Mario and his wife Ginevra (née di Neri Capponi). He was a great-nephew of Cardinal Giov ...
, Apostolic Nuncio
An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international org ...
to Spain. He donated his orchard in Havana for the building of Convent of Belén (later used as the Colegio de Belén). He died in Havana on August 29, 1704.
Building
The building commanded certain moral and strategic positions in its philanthropic and charitable mission of providing aid to unwanted children, and in its geographic location as the first building of the first new city lot in the Barrio de San Lázaro. The Casa de Beneficencia eventually reached from Calles San Lazaro and Belascoáin to Marquez Gonzalez and Virtudes where the Jai alai
Jai alai (: ) is a sport involving bouncing a ball off a walled-in space by accelerating it to high speeds with a hand-held wicker ''cesta''. It is a variation of Basque pelota. The term ''jai alai'', coined by Serafin Baroja in 1875, is also oft ...
fronton was locate
"Beneficencia had two gates, the front that overlooked San Lázaro street with a large garden. The right part of that building (facing north), corresponded to the chapel that was always open to the public. To the left of the main entrance were the school offices followed by the barbershop and other workshops. The students were never in those gardens where there was only the possibility of visual contact with them. The other gate that served as access to the vehicles only, was in the back of the school, that is, in Virtudes street between Belascoaín and Lucena. On the right (always facing north), part of the building was located dedicated to the classrooms and on its left was the hospital. This school was converted into a barracks...they took us out of there to turn it into the Antonio Maceo military school."[
The Casa de Beneficencia eventually reached from Calles San Lazaro and Belascoáin to Marquez Gonzalez and Virtudes where the ]jai alai
Jai alai (: ) is a sport involving bouncing a ball off a walled-in space by accelerating it to high speeds with a hand-held wicker ''cesta''. It is a variation of Basque pelota. The term ''jai alai'', coined by Serafin Baroja in 1875, is also oft ...
fronton was located. A former orphan described the place:
According to Fidel Castro "When the Revolution triumphed, it was (the new bank building) in the foundations, perhaps on the first or second floors."
Tradition
Children who had no last name were given the surname Valdés upon entering the charity. The name derived from Bishop Fray Gerónimo de Nosti y Valdés, successor of Diego Evelino Hurtado de Compostela Bishop Diego Evelino Hurtado Vélez (1638 in Santiago de Compostela, Spain - August 29, 1704 in Havana, Cuba) was the Bishop of Diocese of Santiago de Cuba (now the Archdiocese of Santiago de Cuba). He was known as Bishop Diego Evelino Hurtado de Co ...
.[ Bishop Fray Gerónimo de Nosti y Valdés is buried at ]Iglesia del Espíritu Santo, Havana Iglesia may refer to:
* Iglesia Department
* Iglesia ni Cristo
* Iglesia Filipina Independiente
, native_name_lang = fil
, icon = Logo of the Philippine Independent Church (Aglipayan Church).svg
, icon_width = 8 ...
in La Habana Vieja
Old Havana ( es, link=no, La Habana Vieja) is the city-center (downtown) and one of the 15 municipalities (or boroughs) forming Havana, Cuba. It has the second highest population density in the city and contains the core of the original city of ...
.
Mothers who abandoned their children for economic reasons or for the shame of being a single mother, could deliver them without showing their face or revealing their identity. Ciro Bianchi Ross wrote: "For that, in the side façade of the building that faced the Belascoaín Road, there was the lathe; the infant was placed in it and the deposit was turned at the touch of a bell, and on the other side the abandoned child received a nun from the Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, a congregation that served that semi-private institution that tried to supply the official lack of attention in its attempt to redeem evils that the State did not suppress or remedy..."[ The nuns were of the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paulo (Hermanas de la Caridad de San Vicente de Paulo), the congregation that served La Casa de Beneficencia.
]
Baby hatch
Baby hatches have existed in one form or another for centuries. The system was quite common in medieval times. From 1198 the first foundling
Foundling may refer to:
* An abandoned child, see child abandonment
* Foundling hospital, an institution where abandoned children were cared for
** Foundling Hospital, Dublin, founded 1704
** Foundling Hospital, Cork, founded 1737
** Foundling H ...
wheels (''ruota dei trovatelli'') were used in Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
; Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 J ...
decreed that these should be installed in homes for foundlings so that women could leave their child in secret instead of killing them, a practice clearly evident from the numerous drowned infants found in the Tiber River
The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the Riv ...
. A foundling wheel was a cylinder set upright in the outside wall of the building, rather like a revolving door. Mothers placed the child in the cylinder, turned it around so that the baby was inside the church, and then rang a bell to alert caretakers. One example of this type which can still be seen today is in the ''Santo Spirito'' hospital at the Vatican City
Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—'
* german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ')
* pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—'
* pt, Cidade do Vati ...
; this wheel was installed in medieval times and used until the 19th century.
In Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, a Dutch merchant set up a wheel (''Drehladen'') in an orphanage in 1709. It closed after only five years in 1714 as the number of babies left there was too high for the orphanage to cope with financially. Other wheels are known to have existed in Kassel
Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...
(1764) and Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...
(1811).
In France, foundling wheels (''tours d'abandon'', abandonment wheel) were introduced by Saint Vincent de Paul
Vincent de Paul, CM (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660), commonly known as Saint Vincent de Paul, was a Occitan French Catholic priest who dedicated himself to serving the poor.
In 1622 Vincent was appointed a chaplain to the galleys. Afte ...
who built the first foundling home in 1638 in Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. Foundling wheels were legalised in an imperial decree of January 19, 1811, and at their height, there were 251 in France, according to author Anne Martin-Fugier
Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie.
Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...
. They were in hospitals such as the ''Hôpital des Enfants-Trouvés
The ''Hôpital des Enfants-Trouvés'' was an institution of Paris established to take care of abandoned children. It was founded by Vincent de Paul in 1638.
See also
* Child abandonment
* Foundling hospital
The Foundling Hospital in Lo ...
'' (Hospital for Foundling Children) in Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. However, the number of children left there rose into the tens of thousands per year, as a result of the desperate economic situation at the time, and in 1863 they were closed down and replaced by "admissions offices" where mothers could give up their child anonymously but could also receive advice. The ''tours d'abandon'' were officially abolished in law of June 27, 1904. Today in France, women are allowed to give birth anonymously in hospitals (''accouchement sous X'') and leave their baby there.
In Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, foundling wheels (''roda dos expostos/enjeitados'', literally "wheel for exposed
Expose, exposé, or exposed may refer to:
News sources
* Exposé (journalism), a form of investigative journalism
* ''The Exposé'', a British conspiracist website
Film and TV Film
* ''Exposé'' (film), a 1976 thriller film
* ''Exposed'' (1932 ...
/rejected ones") were also used after Queen Maria I proclaimed on May 24, 1783, that all towns should have a foundling hospital. One example was the wheel installed at the ''Santa Casa de Misericordia'' hospital in São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
on July 2, 1825. This was taken out of use on June 5, 1949, declared incompatible with the modern social system after five years' debate. A Brazilian film on this subject, ''Roda Dos Expostos'', directed by Maria Emília de Azevedo
Maria may refer to:
People
* Mary, mother of Jesus
* Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages
Place names Extraterrestrial
*170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877
*Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...
, won an award for "Best Photography" at the ''Festival de Gramado
Gramado is a small tourist city, southeast of Caxias do Sul and east of Nova Petrópolis in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, in the Serra Gaúcha region. The city was originally settled by Azorean descendants and later receive ...
'' in 2001.
In Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
and Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, foundlings were brought up in orphanages financed by the Poor Tax. The home for foundlings in London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
was established in 1741; in Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
the Foundling Hospital and Workhouse installed a foundling wheel in 1730, as this excerpt from the Minute Book of the Court of Governors of that year shows:
:''"Hu (Boulter) Armach, Primate of All-Ireland, being in the chair, ordered that a turning-wheel, or convenience for taking in children, be provided near the gate of the workhouse; that at any time, by day or by night, a child may be layd in it, to be taken in by the officers of the said house."''
The foundling wheel in Dublin was taken out of use in 1826 when the Dublin hospital was closed because of the high death rate of children there.
Legacy
La Casa de Beneficencia inspired the protagonist of ''Cecilia Valdés
''Cecilia Valdés'' is both a novel by the Cuban writer Cirilo Villaverde (1812–1894), and a zarzuela based on the novel. It is a work of importance for its quality, and its revelation of the interaction of classes and races in Havana, Cuba ...
'', written by Cirilo Villaverde
Cirilo Villaverde de la Paz (1812 - 1894) was a Cuban poet, novelist, journalist and freedom fighter. He is best known for ''Cecilia Valdés'', a novel about classes and races in colonial Cuba.
Biography
He was born to a doctor on a sugar planta ...
. ''Cecilia Valdés'' is also the protagonist of Reinaldo Arenas
Reinaldo Arenas (July 16, 1943 – December 7, 1990) was a Cuban poet, novelist, and playwright known as a vocal critic of Fidel Castro, the Cuban Revolution, and the Cuban government. His memoir of the Cuban dissident movement and of being a ...
's ''La Loma del Angel''.[Rosell, Sara. “‘Cecilia Valdés’ De Villaverde a Arenas: La (Re)Creación Del Mito De La Mulata.”Afro-Hispanic Review, vol. 18, no. 2, 1999, pp. 15–21. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41826908.] Real characters that flourished from La Casa de Beneficencia were: the poet Gabriel de la Concepcion Valdés (Plácido), the priest Fray José Olallo Valdés, and the doctor Juan Bautista Valdés, among others.[
]
Gallery
File:La Casa de Beneficencia y Maternidad de La Habana. Map of barrio San Lazaro, 1900.jpg, 1900 map, Hospital de San Lazaro, Cemetery, Casa de Beneficencia, Bateria de la Reina, the ''canteras'', and the Caleta de S. Lazaro
File:La Casa de Beneficencia y Maternidad de La Habana. Map of cementerio general, 1855.jpg, 1855 map showing hospital San Dionisio, Casa de Beneficencia, Espada Cemetery
The Espada Cemetery was located in the Barrio of San Lazaro approximately a mile west of the city walls, near the cove of Juan Guillen and close to the San Lázaro Leper Hospital.Reynolds, Charles B. (1905) Standard Guide to Cuba: A New and Com ...
File:La Casa de Beneficencia y Maternidad de La Habana 1919.jpg, Casa de Beneficencia during the cyclone of 1919, Antonio Maceo in the background.
File:Café Vista Alegre. San Lazaro y Belaquain. Havana Cuba 1920s.png, Café Vista Alegre. San Lazaro y Belascoáin. Front lawn of Casa de Beneficencia. ca 1900
File:La_Casa_de_Beneficencia_y_Maternidad_de_La_Habana.png, View from San Lazaro and Belascoáin.
File:Casa-de-beneficencia, Havana, Cuba.jpg, La Casa de Beneficencia from Calle San Lazaro
File:La Casa de Beneficencia y Maternidad de La Habana from Belascoain y Malecon 1940s.jpg , Casa de Beneficencia from Belascoáin y Malecon 1940s
File:Casa de Beneficencia y Maternidad de La Habana. Cuba Grand Prix.2. Havana 1957.jpg, Casa de Beneficencia. Cuban Grand Prix
The Cuban Grand Prix, also known as the Havana Grand Prix, was a sports car motor race held for a brief period in the late 1950s in Havana, Cuba, last raced in 1960. The 1958 race is best remembered as the backdrop to the kidnapping of Formula ...
. 1957
See also
*Barrio de San Lázaro, Havana
Barrio de San Lázaro is one of the first neighbourhoods in Havana, Cuba. It initially occupied the area bounded by Calle Infanta to the west, Calle Zanja to the south, Calle Belascoáin to the east, and the Gulf of Mexico to the north, formin ...
* Batería de la de la Reina
* Caleta de San Lazaro
* Hospital de San Lázaro, Havana
* Havana Jai alai
*Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital
The Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital, officially the ''Hospital Clínico Quirúrgico "Hermanos Ameijeiras"'', is located in Barrio San Lazaro and is the premier hospital in Cuba, its tower prominently visible from the Malecón between the historic cen ...
*Child abandonment
Child abandonment is the practice of relinquishing interests and claims over one's offspring in an illegal way, with the intent of never resuming or reasserting guardianship. The phrase is typically used to describe the physical abandonment of a ...
Notes
References
External links
La Real Casa de Beneficencia y Maternidad
Casa de Beneficiencia y Maternidad, Havana
LA CASA DE BENEFICENCIA La Casa de Beneficencia y Maternidad de La Habana
LA REAL CASA CUNA DE LA HABANA
* ttps://sites.google.com/site/eatondocuments/ameijeiras-speech Castro Ameijeiras speech
{{DEFAULTSORT:La Casa de Beneficencia y Maternidad de La Habana
Buildings and structures in Havana
Education in Havana
Neoclassical architecture in Cuba
Schools in Cuba
Schools in Havana
Streets in Havana
Architecture in Havana
Demolished buildings and structures in Cuba
Buildings and structures demolished in 1959