Brage Yacht Club

Brage Yacht Club’s Front Gate

This institution from Güines had been the youngest of them all, being founded in 1943, leaving a deep imprint of its trajectory in our Villa. The history of its foundation is interesting.

At the beginning of 1920, at the end of Maceo Street (formerly Reina), which turned itself a little bit beyond into the highway going to San Nicolás de Bari, there was a small recreational farm, the property of Don Martín Díaz. Later on, he sold this property to another resident of the Villa Don Manuel Brage Esteiro, the owner of a bottled refreshment plant, who moved with his big family, into the chalet existing on such farm, where his children, years later, developed a freight trucks business. The farm had the attractive that a wide branch of the Mayabeque river crossed the rear of the same, which greatly attracted the youth from Güines, because such area was wide, clean and deep, adequate to practice swimming and other aquatic sports. So one day the well known Güinero Dr. Oscar Chardiet Sagarduy, visited Mr. Brage’s farm and asked his permission to, once in a while, come to the farm and go for a dip in the river, to which Don Manuel willingly agreed. After Chardiet other young men came, almost all of them friends of the Brage family. And that was why Don Manuel’s sons and their employees in the truck business, deepened the river, beautified and cleaned the banks, installed a diving board and the place became a favorite of Güines youth.

Coconut entrance, Brage Yacht Club, circa 1944.

Somebody had the great idea, with the approval of Don Manuel Brage, to build a skating ring, which was well received by all and the economic contributions started to come to carry out the same, as well as charitable functions in the local theaters, which made those dreams become reality and, finally, in 1943 Brage Yacht Club was born. A yacht club in inland Güines, distant 19 kilometers from the sea.

The main arbor was built with its skating ring, also restrooms, and kitchen and bar, the little road lined with coconut trees was repaired, iron rocking chairs were installed, and with the approval of the other local societies, the new institution was granted the celebration of the parties for New Year’s Eve, which became very famous balls attended by distinguished families from San José de las Lajas, Melena del Sur, San Nicolás de Bari and other nearby towns.

Brage Yacht Club would lease the property to the Brage family in exchange for the exclusive use of the bar and kitchen by such family and the agreement worked without any problems during all the time that this institution lasted.

Its first President was Dr. Juan Vicente Reboredo Saavedra, with the help of valuable Güineros in its first Board of Directors, such as Emilio Vilá Aramburu as Vice-President, Dr. Rubén Hernández Suárez, Secretary, Manuel Brage Esteiro, as Treasurer, Emilio Suárez Illas as Director-Administrator and José Díaz Díaz, Juan Estévez Dieppa, Raúl Hernández Suárez, Tomás Suárez Quintero, Dr. Miguel A. Fernández Tosco and Julio García Marcos, as Directors.

Brage Yacht Club’s Presidents during the Republican era, were: Dr. Juan V. Reboredo Saavedra (1943); Emilio Vilá Aramburu (1944); José Díaz Díaz (1945); Domingo Tápanes Cárdenas (1946-47); Rafael Díaz Malherbe (1948); Lázaro Rodríguez Domínguez (1949); Dr. Eugenio Barranco Gómez (1950) and Tomás Suárez Quintero (1951-1957).

But one day… the Communists came and in the name of the people took possession of everything. The Brage family remained in the chalet for a little longer, until some of them passed away and others went abroad. The Communists replaced the sign in front of the highway that read Brage Yacht Club with a board that said Club El Río (The River Club). The books and documents of the new institution were allegedly taken to the Town Council for its filing and that young and active society, the pride of the Villa ceased to exist as so many others under the destroying Communist whirlpool, which attempts, but does not achieve, to erase the past.

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