Santiago De Cuba

Santiago de Cuba, located in the southeastern region of the island, is the second-largest city in Cuba and serves as the capital of Santiago de Cuba Province. Long a pillar of Cuban history and culture, this city is about 870 kilometres (540 miles) southeast of Havana. Tucked between the Caribbean Sea and the Sierra Maestra mountains, Santiago de Cuba is a city that celebrates its rich tapestry of historical importance, ethnic variety, and natural beauty.

Covering 1,523.8 square kilometres (395.3 square miles), Santiago de Cuba comprises of Antonio Maceo, Bravo, Castillo Duany, and others among other towns. Its strategic location on a bay linked to the Caribbean Sea has made it a vital seaport, therefore enabling commercial and cultural interactions across its past. Historically, Santiago de Cuba, with its strategic and economic value, has ranked second among all the cities in Cuba after Havana.

The scene of the city combines urban complexity with natural beauty. The bay’s uneven offset has affected the urban environment’s growth, producing steep avenues and streets winding around the city. This unique topography helps to define the city’s character as well as its outward look.

Renowned for its historical sites and active music scene, Santiago de Cuba is a city bursting with cultural diversity. Renowned poet José María Heredia was born here; the Teatro Heredia, established in his honour, hosts theatre and cultural activities. The city also features a fresco relief painting of Juan Almeida Bosque, a commander of guerrilla troops during the Cuban Revolution, therefore showing its strong revolutionary character.

Facundo Bacardi Masso launched the Bacardi brand in 1862, hence the city is well-known for connectedness with it. A museum displaying the vast art collection of the Bacardi family reflects the historical links of the city to world trade and culture, therefore preserving their heritage.

Santiago de Cuba is connected with music, especially the classic genre of son, which has produced the internationally appreciated salsa music. Through the movie “Buena Vista Social Club,” the city has spawned three of Cuba’s most well-known musicians—Compay Segundo, Ibrahim Ferrer, and Eliades Ochoa—all of whom became well-known abroad. Together with trova composer Ñico Saquito, these musicians have added to the unique musical legacy of the city, distinguished by its energetic, country-like rhythms.

The city’s yearly Carnival in July is maybe the greatest example of its cultural life. Played on the trompeta china, a distinctive pentatonic trumpet, the traditional conga music transforms the streets during this event. Deeply ingrained in the customs of the city, this event also has historical significance as it was during Carnival in 1953 that Fidel Castro started his attack on the Moncada Barracks, therefore marking a turning point in Cuban history.

The varied population of Santiago de Cuba includes many people practicing Afro-Cuban faiths, especially Santería. The presence of descendants from early 19th-century immigrants from what is now Haiti, who have added to the religious and cultural mosaic of the city, enhances this spiritual variety.

Architecturally, Santiago de Cuba is a veritable gold mine of Baroque to neoclassical forms. The city’s colonial buildings provide breathtaking views of the steep streets and forested hills from their large windows and balconies. Among its kept historical gems are the oldest Spanish house in the Americas, Cuba’s first church, the Cobre mine—the first copper mine in the Americas—and the first Cuban museum.