Things To Do in Santiago de Cuba

Many visitors in search of what makes Cuba unique actually prefer the country's second city to the capital, even though Santiago is unpolished and has few grand examples of colonial architecture.

The Top Attractions

A major gathering spot day and night for Santiagueros, aggressive jineteros, and travelers alike, Parque Céspedes is a menagerie of eclectic architecture, to put it mildly. Its benches, tall shade trees, and gas lamps are ringed by colonial, 19th-century, and modern structures, including the ancient mansion of Diego Velázquez (see "Casa Velázquez"), as well as the handsome colonial governor's mansion (Town Hall), the baroque cathedral, and the city's oldest hotel, Casa Granda.

The Ayuntamiento, or Town Hall (also called the Palacio Municipal), a huge white building on the north side of the square with blue wooden grilles, was originally built in 1515. It was greatly renovated in the 1950s after an earthquake, but has retained its elegant colonial lines, balcony, and patio. Fidel Castro addressed the adoring masses here on January 1, 1959, after the rebel army had taken the city and announced the triumph of La Revolución.

Across the park, the early-19th-century Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción is a massive, ornate, pale-yellow-and-white basilica with twin towers -- one of several churches to occupy the site since 1522. The frescoes on the arches and dome of the interior have been restored. Inside is a massive pipe organ, as well as the remains of the Spanish conquistador Diego Velázquez, although, since a 1678 earthquake, the whereabouts of those remains in the building are unknown. The graves of the first (Spanish) archbishop of Cuba and the first Cuban archbishop are clearly visible. The cathedral is open Tuesday through Saturday 8am to 12:30pm and 5 to 7:30pm, and Sunday 8 to 11am and 5 to 6:30pm.

Terrace with a View

The Balcón de Velázquez, at the corner of Heredia and Corona at the edge of El Tivolí district, is a marvelous lookout over red-tile rooftops of the city as it slopes down to the Bay of Santiago. Named for the Spanish conquistador who founded the city, the terrace was reconstructed in the 1950s and now is a site of cultural goings-on on Fridays; it has been said that the original terrace in this very spot was used by Velázquez himself to observe incoming ships in the bay. An escape tunnel once ran from the spot, protected by cannons, all the way to the bay. Admission is free, but you'll have to pay CUC$1 or CUC$5, respectively, if you want to take photographs or videos.

Bay of Santiago

Santiago's deep natural bay is one of the city's defining characteristics. The narrow entrance to the Bahía de Santiago, past the Castillo El Morro, stretches 8km (5 miles). During the Spanish-American War, the contingency of Spanish ships was huddled within the bay, and the Americans were perched on the coast waiting to ambush them.

Today, Santiago's marina is popular with European and (believe it or not) U.S. yachts. Visitors can book a 1-hour trip around the entire bay, scuba dive or kayak. If you just want to cross over to the fishing village on the tiny island of Cayo Granma for lunch, the ferry is CUC$5 round trip. For more information, contact the Santiago Marina, Calle 1 no. 4, Punta Gorda (tel. 22/69-1446; marlin@nautica.scu.cyt.cu).

Opportunities for shopping in Santiago, despite the city's cultural traditions, aren't that much better than in many smaller cities in Cuba. Your best bets, as elsewhere in Cuba, are handicrafts, music and musical instruments, and the always-dependable rum and cigars.

Art, Books & Handicrafts

Sellers and craftspeople line both sides of Calle Heredia from Parque Céspedes on up to Calle Porfirio Valiente. The informal daily market features a range of handicrafts and souvenirs, including sculptures of shapely (as well as rail-thin) women carved from ebony and other precious woods, paintings, masks, papier-mâché dolls, musical instruments, and jewelry. Señor Aldo sells books, postcards, records, and magazines inspired by the Revolution. A number of state-owned crafts and souvenir shops with similar merchandise, but inflexible pricing, occupy the storefronts at the base of the cathedral on Parque Céspedes. New crafts and souvenir shops line the road leading to the El Morro fortress (across from the El Morro restaurant).

Locally produced abstract and figurative art is available at a handful of galleries, including the Galería de Arte Oriente on Calle General Lacret 653, between Aguilera and Heredia.

Cigars & Rum

The Barra de Ron Caney, at the rum factory that used to be the original Bacardí plant before the Revolution (when the owners fled to the Bahamas and the U.S.), is a gift shop selling an array of types and vintages of Cuban-produced rum, as well as cigars, nice silver jewelry, and other souvenirs. You can taste before you buy. The factory and shop are on Av. Jesús Menéndez 703 between San Antonio and San Ricardo (tel. 22/62-5576), across from the train station. The shop is open daily from 9am to 5:30pm. Alternately, you can check out the Museo de Ron (tel. 22/62-8818), at San Basilio 358, which offers a brief illustrated guide to the history and process of rum production, with a pleasant bar next-door. (The museum was undergoing major renovation in 2010, and at press time, there was no slated reopening date.) When it does reopen, it will be worth visiting for the chandeliers -- -with delicately carved bronze flowers and cascading crystals.

Cigars can be purchased at hotel shops or Casa del Habano, next-door to the Caney rum factory (tel. 22/62-2366), which even has a smokers' lounge and bar. Note: I'd be especially wary of the quality of cigars you are offered by jineteros on the street.

Music

Santiago is the capital of son and other indigenous forms of Cuban music, and there are a few good spots to pick up CDs and tapes of Santiaguero musicians (though overall, Havana has a much better selection of music stores). The EGREM music label has shops at the Antonio Maceo airport. The Casa de la Trova has an ARTex store, and there's a small record shop attached to the Casa de la Música, Corona (Mariano) 564, between Aguilera and José Antonio Saco. Of the artists you may have an opportunity to see perform live, most sell CDs at their performances.

The Performing Arts

Besides the locally grown Cuban music scene, another nighttime draw is the Cabaret Tropicana Santiago, Autopista Nacional Km 1.5, north of Santiago (tel. 22/64-2579). It's second in size and fame only to Havana's internationally regarded Tropicana, but Santiago's show is no second banana. It's a slickly produced cabaret show -- different from the one in Havana -- with excellent singers and dancers and extraordinarily elaborate costumes. Dinner is available, and drinks aren't cheap, but the Tropicana is a must-see, only if you don't have an opportunity to catch the program in the capital. The show begins at 10pm on Saturdays; there's also a dance club on the premises, open until 3am. The show, including dinner and one drink, is CUC$20. Packaged excursions with dinner and transportation can be purchased at the larger hotels and all tour operators.

You'll find a much more scaled-down and less-expensive Saturday night show at the Santiago Café (tel. 22/68-7070), in the Meliá Santiago. The cover here is just CUC$5, which includes two drinks.

The top spots for cultural events such as dance and theater (which inevitably take a back seat to live music) are the sleek Teatro Heredia, Avenida de los Desfiles, across from the Plaza de la Revolución (tel. 22/64-3178). Keep an eye out for performances by Ballet Folklórico Cutumba, an extraordinary Afro-Cuban outfit that has toured in North America and Europe. Cutumba has returned to Santiago and has its base at the old Cine Galaxia, Calle Trocha corner of Santa Ursula (Av V. Hierrezuelo; tel. 22/65-5173; www.cubanfolkloricdance.com/cutumba.php). At press time, the Ballet Folklórico Cutumba planned to have regular performances on Saturdays at 6pm, and Sundays at 11am (CUC$3). Rehearsals can be seen outside of festival times from Tuesdays to Fridays in the morning (CUC$1). Also keep an eye out for Conjunto Folklórico de Oriente, which often performs at Hotel Casa Granda. You may not catch all the spiritual and cultural elements embedded in their show, but the music and dance are infectious nonetheless. Teatro Heredia is the headquarters for the Festival del Caribe in July, but the entertainment also takes place in the streets and the Casa del Caribe. Some events require reservations; contact Agencia Paradiso (tel. 22/62-0214; paradisostgo@scsc.artex.cu) or the Casa del Caribe.

Live Music

Santiago is all about the music. Some of the biggest personalities on the Cuban music scene, such as Compay Segundo, Eliades Ochoa, and La Vieja Trova Santiaguera, hail from Santiago. Although Compay died at 95 in 2003, Ochoa is still active, touring both in Cuba and internationally. Calle Heredia, just off Parque Céspedes, is Cuba's version of Bourbon Street, but much less commercialized. Four or five places burst with addictive live, traditional Cuban music on any given night, and several have bands during the day, too. Personal local favorites include Los Jubilados, a band of gregarious septuagenarians who often play at the Casa de la Trova; Kokoyé, a folkloric band playing traditional Afro-Cuban and Afro-Haitian music; and the Vocal Divas, a talented women's a cappella group.

Several of the spots we list are not only great for hearing live music, but also for watching local patrons who make dancing to Cuban music a sultry art form all their own. Give it a try yourself and don't worry about looking foolish; unless you've had professional training, you simply can't compete with Cubans on the dance floor, so don't even try. If you're without a partner, there's usually no shortage of Cuban men and women (most of whom will invariably be jineteros and jineteras) willing to give you a whirl. At places like the Casa de la Trova and other spots around town, you're likely to find music throughout the day, beginning around noon, and well into the night. At most clubs, the music starts around 9pm and really heats up from around 10pm until 2am.

Bars & Clubs

In general, bars open around noon and stay open as long as there are patrons, usually between midnight and 2am. Dance clubs and music joints tend to get going around 10pm and stay open until at least 2am.