CubaPLUS Magazine

If you visit the city of Morón in central Ciego de Avila Province, you will be surprised to see a huge statue of a bronze bird in a park appropriately called Parque del Gallo (Rooster Park).

The story of this rooster dates back a long time to another place. The story begins in the 16th Century in Morón de la Frontera (Andaluscía, Spain) where the events occurred that gave rise to the saying: "he is like Moron's rooster, featherless and crowing".

At that time rival government officials in said town were behaving in a very abusive way toward the population. According to the story handed down through generations, one of those politicians declared himself leader of Morón and said there was no other rooster there but himself, and the people started to call him the Rooster of Morón.

Eventually the inhabitants of the town rallied massively to put an end to the outrages, dragged the self-proclaimed leader out of his office and beat him soundly throughout the city, from which he ran away never to return.

Andalusian singers made up some stanzas about the episode: "See it is walking/ like the Morón rooster/ featherless and crowing/". The Spanish inhabitants of Morón raised a monument of a featherless rooster in their central park to immortalize their victory.

Spanish immigrants brought this tradition to Cuba and the city of Morón was founded with the story of the rooster. The Cuban city of Morón, the City of the Rooster, became a reason for pride on this side of the Atlantic Ocean.

In the 1950s someone had the idea of building a monument to the rooster in the town and the entire town welcomed the plan. Today two such unusual statues exist as symbols of the people's will for sovereignty: one in Andalusia and one in Cuba. The Cuban sculpture however, has feathers.