Plaza de la Revolución is the vast civic square where the Cuban government has staged its most important ceremonies and political gatherings for over sixty years. The plaza is enormous — capable of holding a million people — and deliberately overwhelming in scale. The José Martí Memorial rises 137 metres in its centre, the third-tallest structure in Cuba.
What most photographs capture is the facade of the Ministry of the Interior building on the square's north side, where a giant outline of Che Guevara's face stares across the plaza with the words "Hasta la Victoria Siempre" (Ever Onward to Victory). An equally large image of Camilo Cienfuegos faces it from the Telecommunications building. These steel sculptures, visible from kilometres away, are among the most recognisable images in Cuba. The square itself is largely empty of life except during state events; visit in the morning, before the tour buses arrive, for the most atmospheric experience.