Baire, a town founded in 1880. It is currently a district of the Contramaestre municipality in the province of Santiago de Cuba. It is 8 km west of the city of Contramaestre, and it borders the municipality of Jiguaní in the province of Granma.
Baire develops different economic activities, basically, raising of cattle, pigs, goats and sheep; agriculture that includes food production for humans and animals, as well as tobacco.
Baire was the scene of many events in the entire history of Cuba. It was one of the first places to take up arms against the opprobrium of Spanish colonialism.
Referring to this matter Fidel Castro said:
“The jurisdictions of Bayamo, Manzanillo, Las Tunas, Holguín, Jiguaní and Baire, are precisely the places where the war for the independence (of Cuba) begins…”.
Máximo Gómez carried out the first Carga al machete (machete discharge) in Baire on November 4, 1868. There were only 6 days left before two months after the beginning of the 10-year war, on October 10, in La Demajagua, under the command of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes.
In Baire, at the same time as in other places on the island, Grito de Baire (Baire Cry) took place, led by Saturnino Lora, followed by Florencio Salcedo, thus initiating the War of 1995, organized by José Martí from the axile.
In the War of National Liberation led by Fidel Castro, Baire was the first free town of Cuba on the Carretera Central, after the abandonment of the forces of the tyranny of Fulgencio Batista, on December 9, 1958.