Santiago de Cuba, the most “Carabean City” on the island.

Santiago de Cuba boasts a rich, diverse culture heavily influenced by Spanish, African, and French-Haitian roots. It is also Cuba’s second city. Santiago was the capital of the island in the sixteenth century. On 1 January 1959, Fidel Castro proclaimed the victory of the Cuban Revolution from a balcony on Santiago de Cuba’s city hall. As in all of Cuba, this is a very poor city, but at the same time, the cleanest I visited.

Midnight flight

I normally try to avoid domestic flights when travelling, but to reach Santiago and get back to Havana for my return flight, I opted for one. There is just one, sometimes two flights a week between Havana and Santiago. But maybe the strangest thing was that this flight was at 4 am. I was told that was probably because they have so few flights with Cuban Airlines, so they have to be in use around the clock. I arrived at the airport around midnight, and by then most people had checked in. I could see people were excited, maybe worried about travelling. Since Cubans do not travel so much, they are always very early at the airports.

When arriving at 6 am, it is convenient to be picked up by your host. He came with this small, sweet car. I had to pull my legs into the seat. Here I was staying in a Casa Particular again, and the nice couple let me use a room for resting, before my actual room was ready in the afternoon. They would never have done that in a hotel, without charging a lot extra. Then, it is also nicer to give a tip afterwards.

GuruWalk

Ever so often, when travelling on my own, I check GuruWalk to see if any guides are offering free city tours. They normally have a passion for their own city, and do not necessarily show only the tourist sights. The walks are free in the way that you give them the tip you feel like giving. In Santiago, I had a pleasant walk together with Tatiana. She showed me around and gave me some good advice on what to do.

Bacardi

Maybe you’re thinking I will start advertising rum? But not really. However, the Bacardi family has had a great influence on Santiago’s history. The company was founded in 1862 in Santiago by Don Facundo Bacardi Masso. It was doing very well during the Prohibition era in the USA, when all the rich Americans were invading the island. To make a long history short, the founder’s son became the mayor of Santiago and had several buildings built. They also had a wonderful Art Deco building in Havana. Today, all production is moved out of Cuba to sell to the rest of the world.

Role in the Cuban Revolution

The first attack of the Cuban Revolution was organised from Santiago. It began with an ill-prepared armed attack in 1953 led by Fidel Castro. After this, they began talking with students and young working people to organise revolutionary alliances. They developed highly organised cells that became instrumental to the Revolution’s success. Finally, in 1959, they could celebrate their victory here in Santiago.

Santa Ifigenia Cemetery

This cemetery is maybe the most important in Cuba. It is a 45-minute walk from the city centre, so I had to go there, of course. The biggest tomb is for José Julián Martí y Perez, a Cuban philosopher, thinker, inspirer, and president. However, the most important tomb these days is that of Fidel Castro, very modest, but still. Every thirty minutes, the guards change with orchestra music over the speakers.

Historic architectural 

The city features several historic architectural styles, from Baroque to neoclassical. Many colonial buildings have huge windows and balconies. José Antonio Saco is the pedestrian “shopping” street that goes all the way from Plaza de Marte down to the harbour. Most houses here are upgraded and painted in bold colours, but when you go further out in the side streets, you can see the decay.

In Havana, somebody told me that very few European organised tours travel all the way down to Santiago de Cuba. It is about a 12-hour drive from Havana, and half of the way, the roads are very poor. But since I did take a planedown, I only had to take the road one way. I am very happy that I went here. My hosts and the guide were also glad somebody made the effort, because after COVID, very few came here.