Santiago De Cuba Facts

Covering scarcely two and half square kilometers, some 267 hectares, lies Old Santiago, so named for its architectural splendor.

In Old Santiago, one of the most attractive places is Parque Céspedes, a welcoming park where Santiago's citizens go to seek relief from the harsh and hot climate of the urban centre. The old elm trees provide the square with plenty of shade and fresh air throughout the day.

The Santa Basílica Metropolitana Iglesia Catedral is the most important architectural monument in Old Santiago. At each side of the main door to the temple, stand two statues: one of the great Christopher Columbus, and the other of Fray Bartolomé de las Casas. Inside it is richly decorated with eclectic...

...Vibrant, tropical, and often sweltering, Santiago is the country's liveliest cultural showpiece, outside of Havana. With a population just under a half-million people, Santiago is a world apart, with a unique history and rhythms all its own. The city has produced some of Cuba's greatest contemporary musicians as well as several of its most stalwart revolutionaries, and it has served as the stage for some of the most storied events in Cuba's modern history. As the capital of the old Oriente province, it has the largest Afro-Cuban population in Cuba and a resolutely Afro-Caribbean feel that distinguishes it from the rest of Cuba.

Founded in 1515, Santiago was one of the first of seven towns in...