CubaPLUS Magazine

History and memory tells that the old trade of preparing curative formulas and establishing places for their sale began to be known in Cuba, specifically in Havana, at the end of the 16th century, without underestimating that the first inhabitants, the aborigines, had usedmedicinal products from plants in their environment for these purposes, as it is said they did with tobacco leaves, for example.

It was, then, something closely related to the conquest and colonization in full swing, after the foundation of the first seven towns. The inhabitants of San Cristóbal de La Habana, founded in 1519 at the foot of a beautiful bay, soon converted into an active port, began to receive drugs in potions, elixirs, powders, alcohols and ointments, mainly brought from Spain.

Perhaps bundles of medicinal herbs were imported in dry form, to be converted into concoctions with great recuperative power, used together with the island's plants recommended by some aborigines. At first, herbalists and apothecaries were scarce and almost all of them were located in Real Street, today Muralla, and Desagüe, currently known as Callejón del Chorro.

But already in the 18th century there was a rule on the preparation and use of medicines.Their prices were even established with great precision, which indicates that a profession was being born under very rigorous and serious auspices.The violation of those regulations in the shops, apothecaries or pharmacies that were booming in the city, entailed sanctions for the offenders.

In 1842, Pharmacy studies were born, in higher education that had been enthroned since 1728. They were included within the Medicine career. Already in 1863 the University opened a faculty for this specialty. The College of Pharmacists of Havana opens its doors in 1880 to professionals from Havana, under the presidency of José Sarrá y Valldefulí, recognized among specialists and businessmen in the field.

Over time, he and his family owned an establishment that became an emblem of success and good work in the sector, combining wisdom, science, probity and art. Today, the Havana Pharmacy Museum that housed the legendary Sarrá pharmacy, an institution that, together with the no less prestigious and historic Johnson and Taquechel pharmacies, make up a complex building preserved by the Office of the Historian in Havana. These establishments founded in the 19th century impress for the beauty of their counters and stained glass windows and for the beautiful decoration that makes them unique, together with the endowment of the paraphernalia used in the preparation of drugs of yesteryear, places that please the curious and the most refined tastes.