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Cuban Mortar Tiles Chapter 4: Across Cuba
The railway greatly facilitated access to, from and between these provincial
towns. Spanish tiles arrived at Sagua la Grande and nearby Caibarien and
could be easily dispatched to other Las Villas towns via the Sagua river. But Las
Villas was also home to number of factories of its own producing tiles frequently
seen within the region and many rarely seen further afi eld. 3 The long list of factories
included in Appendix A shows the area was fairly peppered with mosaico
factories.
Spanish links and the provincial Art Nouveau
The Spanish connection continued strongly in the early 20th century, here as
elsewhere in Cuba, evidenced by the building in 1918 in Sagua la Grande of
the enormous and opulent Casino Espanol. Floor tiles here made by Escofet 4
and imported from Barcelona show a strong asymmetric Catalan Modernismo
character, merrily laid into the Eclectic style Casino building. Liberties are taken
with the tile layout, for example with the tiles in a fi rst fl oor meeting room of the
Casino Espanol laid forming an edging of discs rather than the continuous
sinuous border shown in the ‘Escofet’ catalogue (and seen in examples in
Havana). The pattern doesn’t quite match up correctly, but who cares?
The mosaico examples in fi gs 34-36 feature Art Nouveau tiles of a pattern seen
frequently in Las Villas, but not (so far) recorded in Havana. Generally, mosaico
fl oors of the Art Nouveau style seem to appear more commonly and in greater
variety in Las Villas than in Havana. The tiles have in common a naturalistic
fl oral theme apparently particular to Las Villas. Felicia Chateloin suggests that
the Catalan Art Nouveau style persisted in the provinces where the power base
remained Spanish-Catalan and with less North American Eclectic infl uence than
was felt in Havana.
Rustic Factories and the Economic Palette
In addition to large factories, there also have been smaller-scale
manufacturers 5 within the cities whose tiles can be seen in shops and some of
the more modest houses, particularly in the rear rooms. Some of the tiles such
as those seen in fi g 42 are very rustic. However, there are numerous examples
of well-made tiles which use the same economic palette of a grey cement base
and mainly white fi gure. The use of grey cement saved on expensive white
3. Comment by Felicia Hernandez, architect and director of Santa Clara Departamento del Patrimonio,
interview August 3rd 2009.
4. Tiles bear the Barcelona Escofet imprint on the underside.
cement, provided a good contrast with the other colours, and did not show the
dirt. Patterned tiles such as thesecould be used in conjunction with plain tiles for
further economy. Fine examples of the ‘economy’ tile can be found in the Las
Villas towns, in which a sophisticated pattern is made from a minimum white
and red colour palette on the grey cement background (fi g 39). In Santiago de
Cuba, colonial and early Republic houses in the historic centre use the grey
background ‘economy tile’ in combination with spatter-pattern tile in patio and
portales (front porches). Somewhat poorer housing in northern and eastern
fringes (currently marked for demolition and redevelopment under the City
Historian’s Masterplan) frequently use this combination in main house rooms
(fi g 40).
Cienfuegos
Unlike nearby Trinidad, Cienfuegos continued to expand and construct new
buildings in the early 20th century. Far less affected by the collapse of the sugar
economy than its almost entirely agricultural neighbour, the port city could adapt
to the changed economic context. With the fruits of a continuing international
trade, a wealthy bourgeoisie built themselves new Neoclassical and Eclectic
buildings. Many of these elaborately adorned edifi ces contain fi ne mosaico
hidraulico fl oors of a quality and opulence to rival Havana’s. Common to other
cities in Cuba, the bulk of buildings forming the urban fabric were also fl oored
with this practical and decorative material.
Mosaicos hidraulicos cover 84% of the total fl oor area of the historic centre
(1271m2 of total 1521 m2) 6 , the other 16% being predominantly marble and
brick paving. Decorative mortar tiles were used in the remodelling of colonial
buildings as well as buildings of the new styles. In the grand houses, mosaicos
hidraulicos would replace earlier “Bremen” stone fl oors. 7 Early colonial fl oors of
“cocoa” (compacted chalk) in humbler houses were almost all replaced by the
more practical mosaicos hidraulicos.
5. Fde las Cuevas that small-scale, often undocumented, factories abounded and even the smallest
town and village would have had its own producer.
6. Ofi cina del Conservador, Cienfuegos Report submitted to UNESCO prior to designation in 2005
as Patrimonio Mundial
7. Comment by David Soler interview June 2009 who advised this stone had arrived from Bremen,
Germany, as ballast in trading ships.