Not only vast coffee plantations made French immigrants bloom in eastern Cuba. Shortly after their arrival in the island, the local dwellers understood the differences between the lifestyles of Spanish and French settlers. The former, hurried up by their fleeting stay and based on the amassing of wealth –like gold- to ship back to the metropolis, used to build wooden or adobe houses with thatch roofs. On the other hand, the latter “used to grow their croplands, sketch their gardens and build their houses in the same breath, with a view to have something more than just a shelter and a somewhat comfortable place to sleep in.”