THE CUBA RE V I E W 



Count de Rivero's Mansion "Villa Azul" 



Of all the handsome villas of recent con- 

 struction in the suburbs of Havana, "Villa 

 Azul" is one of the most picturesque and 

 esseniially Spanish — reminiscent of Spanish 

 Conquerors of the XVII century, with 

 a heavy, stout door to safeguard the dwell- 

 ing, massive mahogany barred windows, 

 which were detached from their ancient 

 setting in Santa Clara Convent, and are 

 over three hundred years old. The roof 

 with bright red tiles, the ornamentation of 

 deep blue of the woodwork, big flower pots 

 filled with bright red geraniums, the ter- 

 races of ornamental tiles, are most at- 

 tractive and are a mingling of the north 

 and south of Spain. North, in the interior 

 furnishing of handsomely carved chests, 

 leather stiff backed chairs, armorial bear- 

 ings over the fire-place, whereas an 

 Andalusian court, with pillars and sur- 

 mounted with a pergola, is reminiscent of 

 the south. 



In the hbrary with a valuable collection 

 of books along the walls is a hanging lamp 

 of ancient workmanship and a portrait of 

 the founder of the family, the renowned 

 Spanish editor of the Diario de la Marina, 

 Don Nicolas de Rivero, the father of the 

 Count de Rivero, who now carries on the 

 work so well established by Don Nicolas 

 de Rivero. 



Tapestries with classic scenes, stained 

 glass windows portraying warlike figures 

 signalize the drawing-room with a touch of 

 modern times with its handsome piano, and 

 in the dining-room the well appointed tea 

 table to "partake of the cup which cheers, 

 but not inebriates." Afternoon tea is now 

 a feature of social Hfe in the tropics, and 

 afternoon teas are popular at the Country 

 Club, the Sevilla and other resorts. 



With a vista of tropical palms overlook- 

 ing the deep blue sea and overarched by 

 the tropical sky, "Villa Azul" is a happy 

 mingling of Spanish and Cuban features. 



Memorial to Estrada Palma 



The City Council of Santiago has decided 

 that a massive memorial in the form of a 

 pantheon will be erected through popular 

 subscription in Santiago de Cuba's ceme- 

 tery, in honor of Don Tomas Estrada 

 Palma, first president of Cuba, whose re- 

 mains are at rest there. 



U. S. Navy Completes Ten-Year Survey 

 in Cuban Waters 



The United States Navy has completed 

 another chapter of a ten-year job of great 

 interest and importance to mariners and 

 hydrographers. It is the Cuba Survey, the 

 mapping of the almost unknown waters 

 around that island, undertaken in the in- 

 terest of American shipping as well as of 

 national defense. 



Ever since its inception, it has been the 

 hope of the Navy Hydrographic Office to 

 gather and make charts and records of the 

 waters of the entire world, with especial 

 stress laid on charting nearby areas. The 

 Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico are so 

 full of unknown islands and large and small 

 coral reefs and cays, that in 1906 the Cuban 

 government asked this government to 

 undertake a close survey of nearby waters. 

 The Hydrographic Ofifice undertook the job. 



From 1907 to 1917 the waters along the 

 Cuban coast from Cape Maysi, the eastern- 

 most extremity, to Cienfuegos, were 

 sounded and mapped. The World War 

 brought this activity to a close and it was 

 not continued until early this year, when 

 the personnel was reorganized and set to 

 charting the section along the southwestern 

 coast of the land from Cienfuegos to Cape 

 San Antonio. In this area is the Gulf of 

 Batabano, bordered by the Isle of Pines. 



In making the survey small boats have 

 run lines of soundings across local sectors, 

 taking bearings from time to time upon 

 triangulation signals erected on land and on 

 shoals. A straight stretch of railway track 

 along the Cuban coast was measured for a 

 base line, and with these aids the naval 

 officers have reported completion of the 

 largest season's task of the entire survey. 

 An area of 760 square miles was covered, 

 180 miles of shore line were plotted, and 

 6,500 miles of soundings were taken. Be- 

 cause of weather conditions, the survey 

 season was limited to the period from the 

 end of January to about August first. 



Many important mistakes in previous 

 charts were discovered. One shoal shown 

 as nearly awash was found to be actually 

 30 feet below the surface. The mother 

 ship of the survey, drawing 18 feet oi 

 water, discovered a channel by which to 

 approach Batabano, through water hereto- 



