With so much history associated with Santiago de Cuba, one of the activities that you have to undertake on any visit here is a historical tour of the city. Included in the tour would need to be La Casa Diego Velazquez (widely regarded as the oldest colonial house in Cuba); Number 207 Calle Los Maceos (the house where Major General Antonio Maceo y Grajales – the legendary figure of the Cuban Revolution – was born: and now a National Monument); the Emilio Bacadr Moreau Museum (the first museum in Cuba open to the public); and the Plaza Marte, one of the most important parts of the city during what are now called the Colonial period. The Plaza de Armas, located in the Plaza Marte, was once a prison and is reputed to have been the place of numerous tortures and atrocities. A final stop can be made at the Museo de la Clandestinidad, a monument to the “26 de Julio” movement and the “Directorio Revolucionario 13 de Marzo”.
Besides history, Santiago de Cuba is also famous for its music and its Carnival is the oldest in Cuba. Other significant contributions that Santiago has had on Cuban music include being the birth-place of the “bolero” and Jose “Pepe” Sanchez – the father of ‘trova cubana’. Finally, the Orquesta Sinfonica de Oriente is housed in the former church of the Nuestra Senora de Dolers.
Other attractions that you should not miss whilst in Santiago de Cuba include:
· the Cementerio de Sanata Ifigenia – the burial place of many a famous Santiago citizen;
· the Recorrido por la ciudad – one of Santiago’s old colonial buildings;Cuarte Moncada – the military barracks at the center of the 26 July 1953 uprising against the Batista regime;
· the Catillo del Morro – a fort at the entrance to the city’s bay;
· the Base Nautica Sigua – one of the biggest nature [p]reserves on the eastern coast of Cuba; and
· the Santuario El Cobre – the sanctuary dedicated to the Patron Saint of Cuba.
