The sky above the plaza explodes with showers of fireworks and dancing festival goers run to take refuge from falling sparks under the church arches, screaming as they flee. Some even try to gatecrash Midnight Mass, said to the beat of the clave. Fireworks are lobbed all night until one of the teams runs out of crackers. <\/p>\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.lovecuba.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-15.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nBut what you may miss on your travels is a less-publicised tradition that takes place in the ornate St John the Baptist church on the 22nd<\/sup> of December in the build-up to the main affair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A wild child burns up the aisle of the church with twigs and ferns poking out of his black outfit followed by seven boys clad in cowboy garb chasing him about the pews. It\u2019s mayhem. The black-clad creature, a local child, plays El G\u00fcije<\/em>, the Goblin, an ugly, hairy creature who was said to have large bulging eyes, pointed ears, and who lived in a deep pool of water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n El G\u00fcije, <\/em>it was said, was a cattle and crop thief who terrorized the citizens of Remedios. The townsfolk needed to get rid of him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An upstanding citizen of the town tried to discover the origins of the thieving creature. Turning the pages of the church archives, he read that El G\u00fcije<\/em> was an escaped demon, one of 800,000 demons living in a local cave known as the Mouth of Hell. These demons had attempted to attack Remedios in the 17th<\/sup> century when tales of pirate attacks stunned local businessmen up and down Cuba\u2019s coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Remedianos<\/em> learnt that the only way to capture the hairy goblin was by calling up seven male virgins, all called Juan. The seven virgins named Juan eventually captured El G\u00fcije<\/em> and dragged him into the church. Once the goblin glimpsed the crucifix, and heard a priest speaking, he fled, dived into a nearby pool of water and was never seen again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The re-enactment of the capture of El G\u00fcije<\/em> in St John the Baptist church always sees the goblin figure escape so that the locals can attempt to capture him once again the following year. A re-enactment is also staged on San Juan\u2019s Day on June 24th<\/sup> each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Love Cuba<\/a> is the UK\u2019s leading Cuba holiday specialist and tour operator, offering tailor-made Cuba holidays<\/a>, multi-centre Cuba holidays<\/a>, Cuba tours<\/a> and incredible experiences. As an ATOL-bonded company and multiple World Travel Awards<\/a> and British Travel Awards winner<\/a>, Love Cuba provides trusted, expert service when planning your dream trip to Cuba. For more information, contact our friendly Cuba travel specialists today on 0207 071 3636<\/a> or email enquiries@lovecuba.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In Remedios, one-storey Spanish colonial homes in shades of cinnamon, baby blue and mustard, curve around the sun-baked streets. They are mostly higgledy- piggledy, built that way to deter pirates. All roads seem to converge, though, on the town\u2019s main plaza on which stands the Church of St John the Baptist with a fabulous gold-leaf […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4283,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pgc_sgb_lightbox_settings":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard"},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guides","category-travel-tips"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.lovecuba.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-16.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n