Punta Brava is a small town and suburb of Havana

Havana

Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...

, Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

, located to the southwest of Havana, with a population of roughly 1500 inhabitants. It has been the site of different military encounters during Cuba's struggle for independence, and is most notable as the site where Cuban General Antonio Maceo Grajales

Antonio Maceo Grajales

Lt. General José Antonio de la Caridad Maceo y Grajales was second-in-command of the Cuban Army of Independence....

 was killed by Spanish troops in 1896. In the early 20th century, Punta Brava was known for its bee keeping and honey.

Ten Years' War

During the Ten Years' War

Ten Years' War

The Ten Years' War , also known as the Great War and the War of '68, began on October 10, 1868 when sugar mill owner Carlos Manuel de Céspedes and his followers proclaimed Cuba's independence from Spain...

, the ship formerly called the USS Hornet

USS Hornet (1865)

The USS Hornet was the fifth United States Navy ship to bear the name Hornet. She was originally the Confederate blockade runner CSS Lady Stirling, built by James Ash at Cubitt Town, London in 1864...

 landed at Punta Brava loaded with ammunition for Cuban rebels, but its cargo was captured by Spanish soldiers and some of the landing party (consisting of sixty men, mostly Venezuelans) arrested.

Cuban War of Independence

Punta Brava and the nearby town of Guatao were the scene of massacres during the Cuban War of Independence

Cuban War of Independence

Cuban War of Independence was the last of three liberation wars that Cuba fought against Spain, the other two being the Ten Years' War and the Little War...

; General Maceo died there in battle on December 7, 1896. Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...

 referred to Maceo's death in Punta Brava in 1992 ("Maceo, you were not defeated the day you fell in Punta Brava"); on the other hand, for Castro's father, Ángel Castro y Argiz

Ángel Castro y Argiz

Ángel María Bautista Castro y Argiz was the father of Cuban leaders Fidel and Raúl Castro....

, the day Maceo died had been "one of the best and proudest days of that war," since it was his company that killed the general.

The next year, Punta Brava was the site where a naked American named Kelley surrendered to the Spanish commander and was given a shirt and a pair of trousers: Kelley, who had disappeared from Havana in early April 1897, had reportedly told the insurgents that he was an expert in dynamite. They, believing he was a spy, stripped and hanged him, but the rope broke and Kelley managed to escape, naked but otherwise intact.

1906 uprising

In 1906, an unsuccessful insurrection was deemed to be ended after a "negro Gen[eral] Quentin Bandera

Quentin Bandera

General José Quintín Bandera Betancourt , also Quentin Bandera and Quintin Bandera, was a military leader of the Cuban insurrection against the Spanish during the Cuban War of Independence...

, the most daring insurgent in Havana province," was killed near Punta Brava with two "mulatto comrades all frightfully gashed by the machetes of the mounted rural guards who ended their careers."

Cuban Missile Crisis

During the Cuban Missile Crisis

Cuban Missile Crisis

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...

, the Soviets reportedly built a missile site in Punta Brava.

Geography

Punta Brava is located in northwestern Cuba, about 21 kilometres southwest of central Havana. Nearby settlements include Machurucutu to the north, La Lisa to the east, Bauta

Bauta

Bauta may refer to:*Bauta, Cuba, a city and municipality*Bauta, mask, the traditional Venetian mask*Bautasten, the Scandinavian name for menhir, a large upright standing stone...

 to the southwest and the University of Informatic Sciences is to the southeast.

Transport

Punta Brava lies along the Carretera Central which connects it to Central Havana and Bauta in the southwest. It was connected by railway with its own station from at least 1909. There are several airports in relatively close proximity to Punta Brava including Playa Baracoa Airport

Playa Baracoa Airport

Playa Baracoa Airport is a regional airport west of Havana, Cuba that serves regional flights in Cuba.-Playa Baracoa Air Base:The airport is an inactive Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces air base and home to Air Defense Command and VIP transport:...

to the northwest.