What did his grandmother say to him?
“More was lost in Cuba”: a consolation in the face of adversity.
Made phrase that lives on.
It was minted after 1898 in Spain, due to the loss of Cuba.
Cuba was Spain then, wasn’t it?
For 406 years: until July 3, 1898, when it passed from one empire to another.
To the American
The USA wanted to take Cuba from Spain. They offered $300 million. Spain rejected them and the US threatened to conquer the Canaries.
In the end there was war.
He blew up an American ship at the dock in Havana, Maine, killing 260. The US blamed Spain.
And had it been Spain?
It was an accident. A study by Admiral Ricover in the 1970s proved this. But the US wanted war and took advantage of it. And Hearst’s press encouraged her.
Where is Maine today?
They are a wreck a few miles from Cuba, washed up by the Americans in 1898.
What is a derelict?
A sunken ship, submerged in a body of water. I love diving there.
Are you interested in Maine?
I am more interested in the Spanish fleet sunk in front of the bay of Santiago de Cuba on that July 3, 1898 disaster.
A part of what was lost in Cuba?
Yes, they were six warships captained by Admiral Cervera.
Almirall Cervera… He had a street in Barceloneta.
A Spanish naval officer, in 1898 he commanded the operations squadron in the Antilles: he knew that confronting the United States Navy would lead to disaster.
And what happened?
He was ordered to go there and the Americans sank the six Spanish ships as they left the bay of Santiago de Cuba.
Touched and sunk… And he says they are still in the same place?
Except for one, the María Teresa, which the Americans wanted to take… and ended up sinking in the Bahamas. The others are still there, 125 years later: shallow and transparent waters – wonderful to dive in!
Have you dived on all the boats?
In 35 successive dives over the last thirty years.
It is specialized.
Today I know all about those remains. Cuba has appointed me a member of its Submerged Heritage Management Office.
What were those ships called?
There were four cruisers: the already mentioned María Teresa – flagship, with Cervera in command – and Almirante Cristóbal Colón, Almirante Oquendo and Vizcaya, plus two destroyers, the Furor and the Pluton.
Which of the leftovers is your favorite?
The Christopher Columbus cruise, without a doubt!
Because?
It is whole. Her captain ordered the hatches opened, and when the Americans tried to take her away, she sank. Today I dive inside the cellar, with a big hole.
By a cannon shot?
No, it was intact: it was opened by Commander Cousteau, who dived into it… and looted it. There is still ammunition, bullets, rifles… It was the first Spanish stainless steel ship! And quixotic: he was going to war without guns.
Sense canons?
There was no time to put part of the artillery… Spain… improvised.
What do you feel diving there?
That I touch history with my hand. An empire of four centuries from Spain to America sank with that ship, and on top of it the name of the discoverer of America!
And of Cuba: a historical paradox, yes.
I didn’t get to be the historian I wanted to be, but I’ve studied the history of the 1898 disaster on my own… and I’ve dived into it.
How was this passion born?
When I was young, I read La captaina del Yucatán, a novel by Emilio Salgari set in the Cuban war: a woman with a boat helps Spain with weapons…
And, in addition… “more was lost in Cuba”.
The phrase my grandmother Antonia used to say, yes.
What was the voyage of the fleet?
He set sail from Cádiz, passed through the Canaries, Cape Verde, Puerto Rico, Martinique, Curaçao… until Santiago de Cuba.
Who sank the Spanish fleet?
Rear Admiral Sampson and Commodore Schley, in command of four battleships, three gunboats, and two United States cruisers, with superiority of fire.
Poor Cervera…
Cervera saved many lives: he waited for daylight before leaving the bay. To the officers he ordered: “Dress in full regalia, as on great occasions in defense of the homeland.” And so he met his destiny: the bottom of the sea.
