Cuba Freemasonry | American Freemasons
Cuba Freemasonry
Freemasonry in Cuba
Cuba has one of the most extraordinary Masonic traditions in the world — vibrant, publicly celebrated, and inseparably woven into the narrative of Cuban national identity. Freemasonry first arrived in Cuba around 1762 through Irish military lodges, and French Haitian refugees fleeing the Haitian Revolution in the early 1800s brought further Masonic influence, establishing lodges in Havana and Santiago de Cuba. The fraternity became deeply embedded in Cuba's independence movement: José Martí (the poet, philosopher, and organizing genius of the final independence struggle) was a Freemason, as were Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, who launched the 1868 rebellion with his famous Grito de Yara on October 10, 1868, and Antonio Maceo and Máximo Gómez, the military commanders of the independence armies.
This connection between Masonry and Cuban patriotism proved critical after the 1959 revolution. Because the heroes of Cuban independence were Freemasons, Fidel Castro's government found it politically untenable to suppress the fraternity, making Cuba the only country in the world where Freemasonry has been openly protected under a communist regime. The Grand Lodge celebrated its 150th anniversary in December 2009 (an official public event in Havana) a reflection of how thoroughly the fraternity's historical legitimacy is recognized even within the revolutionary state.
Today Cuba has approximately 316 Masonic lodges with some 30,000 members — one of the densest Masonic communities per capita in the Caribbean. Cuban lodges are famously visible in town centers across the island, their buildings often brightly painted and prominently decorated with Masonic symbols, with an approach to public life that sets Cuban Freemasonry apart from the more private character of the Craft in most other countries.
Comments