Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city inCuba and the capital city ofSantiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some 870 km (540 mi) southeast of the Cuban capital ofHavana.
The municipality extends over 1,023.8 km2 (395.3 sq mi),[3] and contains the communities of Antonio Maceo, Bravo, Castillo Duany,Daiquirí,El Caney,El Cobre, El Cristo, Guilera, Leyte Vidal, Moncada andSiboney.[4]
Historically Santiago de Cuba has been the second-most important city on the island after Havana, and remains the second-largest. It lies on a bay connected to theCaribbean Sea and is an importantsea port. In 2022, the city of Santiago de Cuba recorded a population of 507,167 people.[5]
Santiago de Cuba was the seventh village founded by SpanishconquistadorDiego Velázquez de Cuéllar on 25 July 1515. The settlement was destroyed by fire in 1516, and was immediately rebuilt. This was the starting point of the expeditions led byJuan de Grijalba andHernán Cortés to the coasts of Mexico in 1518, and in 1538 byHernando de Soto's expedition to Florida. The firstcathedral was built in the city in 1528. From 1522 until 1589, Santiago was the capital of the Spanish colony of Cuba.
The city was plundered by French forces in 1553, and by English forcesin 1603. More than 50 years later the English raided again in 1662 underChristopher Myngs.
The city had a huge influx of French and British immigrants in the late-18th and early-19th centuries. Some eighteen thousandSaint Dominican refugees, both ethnic French whites and free people of color, and Africanfreedmen, came fromSaint-Domingue in the summer of 1803 during the last days of theHaitian slave revolt, which had started in 1791.[7] Other refugees had emigrated from Saint-Domingue earlier in the revolution. Haiti declared its independence as a republic in 1804.
The French were withdrawing surviving troops after suffering heavy losses from warfare andyellow fever. The immigrants, who included freedmen as France had abolished slavery on Saint-Domingue, struggled to maintain their freedom in Cuba, which was still a slave society. Cuba initially allowed only white refugees, women of color, children, and loyal "domestics" to land; French troops and all men of color over the age of thirteen were held off shore, to be rapidly deported to the mainland, as they were considered a revolutionary threat.[7] Some French soldiers joined other refugees inCharleston, South Carolina, or New York City; others went toNew Orleans.
The refugees who stayed added to the city's eclectic cultural mix, already rich with Spanish and African culture. Some of the women and children were impressed into slavery again, although they had been free. In 1809, afterNapoleon Bonaparte's forces invaded Spain, French citizens were ordered out of Cuba.[8] Most went to the United States, and thousands settled in New Orleans, with the freedmen increasing its African culture, as most had been born in Africa. The ethnic French whites and free people of color, generally with longer ties to French culture, added their flavor to the culture of the city as well.
Map of Santiago de Cuba, 1898
Near the end of the century, during theSpanish–American War, Santiago was the site of the major defeat of Spanish troops atSan Juan Hill on 1 July 1898. After capturing the surrounding hills, United States GeneralWilliam Rufus Shafter laid siege to the city.[9] Spain later surrendered to the United States after AdmiralWilliam T. Sampson destroyed the Spanish Atlantic fleet just outside Santiago's harbor on 3 July 1898.[9][10] Cuba had declared independence from Spain but was occupied by US troops for several years. Historians suggest they were there to ensure the sugar economy continued to be productive.[citation needed]
Santiago was the home of the 20th-century revolutionary heroFrank País. On 26 July 1953, theCuban Revolution began with an ill-prepared armed attack on theMoncada Barracks by a small contingent of rebels led byFidel Castro. Shortly after this disastrous incident, País began talking with students and young working people informally, drawing around him what became an extremely effective urban revolutionary alliance. He and his followers developed highly organized cells, coordinating a large-scale urban resistance that became instrumental in the success of the Cuban Revolution.[11]
País' group prepared carefully, accruing weapons, collecting money and medical supplies. They published a cheap newsletter that reported news critical of the government, attempting to counter Batista's censorship of the mainline press.[12]
In the summer of 1955, País's organization merged with Castro's 26 July Movement. País became the leader of the new organization inOriente province. Two years later he was betrayed to the police and was fatally shot after his capture.
On 1 January 1959,Fidel Castro proclaimed the victory of theCuban Revolution from a balcony on Santiago de Cuba's city hall. The ashes of País were interred in Santa Ifigenia Cemetery, where Marti had been buried.
Santiago de Cuba was the hometown of poetJosé María Heredia. The Teatro Heredia, which hosts theater and cultural events, is named in his honor. The mural relief portrait on the building façade depictsJuan Almeida Bosque, a commander of insurgent forces in the Cuban Revolution.
It is the birthplace of the world-famousBacardi brand, which was started byFacundo Bacardi Masso in 1862. It now houses a museum that displays the extensive art collection of theBacardí family.
Santiago de Cuba is well known for its cultural life. Some of Cuba's most famous musicians, includingCompay Segundo,Ibrahim Ferrer andEliades Ochoa (all of whom participated in the filmBuena Vista Social Club) and trova composerÑico Saquito (Benito Antonio Fernández Ortiz) were born in the city or in one of the villages surrounding it. They have contributed to the typical, country-like music of the city.
Santiago de Cuba is well known for its traditional music, most notablyson, from whichsalsa has been derived. The city celebratesCarnival in July, although it typically precedes Lent. With the city preoccupied with the holiday, Castro chose 26 July to enter undetected into the city to assault the Moncada Barracks. During Carnival, traditionalconga music is played in the streets on a traditional pentatonic trumpet, called thetrompeta china.
Boys playing chess
A relatively high number of residents of the city adhere to Afro-Cuban religions, most notablysantería. The city hosts an important community of descendants of immigrants from the early 19th century from what is now Haiti. Some aspects of the religious "vodún" heritage of the city can be traced back to this community.
The city features several historic architectural styles, fromBaroque toneoclassical. Many colonial buildings have huge windows and balconies, where people can enjoy views of the steep streets and wooded hills. Preserved historical treasures include the first Spanish dwelling in theAmericas, the first cathedral in Cuba,Cobre mine, the first copper mine opened in the Americas; and the first Cuban museum.
Santiago de Cuba is located in the southeast of the island at coordinates 20° 01' 17.42" N 75° 49' 45.75" W, some 870 km (540 mi) of the capital,Havana. Historically Santiago de Cuba has been the second-largest city in Cuba, behind Havana. It features a bay connected to theCaribbean Sea and is a majorport. The municipality of Santiago de Cuba, its capital city, is the most populated municipality of Cuba.
The city has developed at the foot of the bay and is surrounded on land by theSierra Maestra. It has a hot and humid climate. The landscapes includes the complexity of urban elements, and natural greenery and marine settings, all at the same time. It has an irregular offset to the bay, which contributed to the development of an urban setting where the avenues and streets are steep or descend.
The public transport in the city, as in Havana, is carried out by two divisions, Omnibus Metropolitanos (OM) and Metrobus.[16] The Metrobus serves the inner-city urban area, with a maximum distance of 20 km (12 mi).[16] Omnibus Metropolitanos (OM) connects the adjacent towns and municipalities in the metropolitan area with the city center, with a maximum distance of 40 km (25 mi).[16]
Ferrocarriles de Cuba railways and ASTRO inter-city buses connect the city with Havana'sCentral Railway Station and with most other main cities of Cuba. Themain railway station, also known as "General Senén Casas", is an important hub of the national railways. Located in the city centre, near the harbour, it was completely rebuilt in 1997.[citation needed]
The city of Santiago is also crossed by theCarretera Central highway and by the southern section of theA1 motorway, largely unbuilt, that will link it with Havana when it is completed.
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