The plaza was given this name because of the statue of Eloy Gonzalo that had been erected there in 1897. Gonzalo became a famous Spanish hero at the Battle of Cascorro in September 1896 during the Cuban War of Independence (1895-8).
At Cascorro, 170 Spanish troops were surrounded by 2,000 Cuban nationalists, and their situation seemed hopeless when the Cubans captured a house 50 metres from the Spanish position. The Spanish commander asked for a volunteer to slip out under cover of darkness with a can of petrol to burn down the house. Eloy put up his hand, on the single condition that they tie a rope around him so that his corpse could be dragged back to avoid mutilation. Much to everybody’s surprise (including, probably, his own), Eloy burned the house down, returned safely, and relief arrived a couple of days later.
The back story to Eloy’s celebrated exploit has many twists and turns; he was found abandoned on the night of December 1, 1868 on the steps of the Foundling Hospital on Calle de Meson de Paredes, and was given into the care of a woman in return for a subsidy. The subsidy ended when he was eleven, so she gave him up to another family, and Eloy made a living as a labourer and handyman. However, he found an extended family when he joined the army in 1889, and he made corporal in just two years. But fate was not kind to him. In 1895, he found his fiancee in bed with another man, whom he threatened with a gun. Unfortunately, his rival turned out to be a lieutenant. Eloy was court-martialled and sentenced to twelve years for insubordination. Fate once again intervened when the Spanish government introduced an amnesty for prisoners willing to fight in the Cuban War, and Eloy was shortly on his way to America, and fame at the Battle of Cascorro. The final twist wasn’t long in coming, as he died less than a year later from “intestinal infection caused by the poor diet of the Spanish army on the island”.
Spain’s presence in Cuba didn’t last much longer either. The United States entered the war on the side of the Cubans in 1898, and on January 1, 1899, Spain granted sovereignty to Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines, with de facto control passing to the USA.