Barrio El Tivolí
A charming, hilly neighborhood just south of Parque Céspedes (loosely bordered by Av. Trocha and Calle Padre Pico)

The famous Padre Pico steps are named for a Santiaguero priest who aided the city's poor. Castro once roared fire and brimstone down on the Batista government here, but today you'll find more pacifistic chess and dominoes players who've set up all-hours tables on the steps. Take the steps up to the Museo de la Lucha Clandestina (Museum of the Underground Struggle), General Rabí 1 between Santa Rita and San Carlos (tel. 22/62-4689), which is housed in a handsome 18th-century mansion on a hill, Loma del Intendente. Inside are exhibits related to the November 1956 attack on this former police headquarters, led by rebel leader and schoolteacher Frank País and his brother Josué, both executed by the army. Frank País's funeral was massively attended by Santiagueros, a signal that the Revolution would have significant local support. Other photos and documents attest to the phenomenal years of tension, rumors, and conflict that led to the rebels' triumph. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9am to 5pm, and Sunday from 9am to 1pm; admission is 1 cuc

Carnaval de Santiago
Aguilera 251, (Asamblea Municipal del Poder Popular)
Santiago de Cuba

What most characterizes carnival are the congas, which can be heard in areas such as Trocha or on any street. Contagious drum rhythms draw local people and visitors alike into one long flowing dance. Popular orchestras make their way to Santiago for the festivities. For the city's inhabitants, as long as there is music to dance to, and plenty of beer, the carnival is a success.

Catedral de Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion
At the south side of Parque Cespedes

The facade of the Cathedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion is Neo-classical, the church itself 400 years old. They say Diegos Velazquez is burried somewhere under the building ... however, there is no evidence for this gossip.

Cementerio Santa Ifigenia
Calzada Crombet
Santiago de Cuba
Tel: 22/63-2723

Northwest of the city center, this sprawling cemetery, dating to 1868, is a small city of the dead, populated by elaborate marble tombs and sarcophagi, including several spectacular mausoleums (many of which are pre-1868, having been moved here from other cemeteries).

By far the most famous is that of José Martí, a massive stone and marble circular structure built in 1951 (Martí died in 1895). The Lincolnesque mausoleum is near the entrance to the museum, at the end of a private path. Martí once wrote that he wished to die, "without a homeland but without a master" and to be buried with "a bouquet of flowers and a flag." In addition to Martí, the remains of Emilio Bacardí, Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, Pedro (Perucho) Figueredo (author of the Cuban national anthem), and heroes of the Moncada 26th of July rebel attack are interred here. However, the cemetery's palm-lined paths abound with a wealth of other fascinating tombs for families famous and unknown.

Down Town Santiago
For almost 5 centuries now, the busy Cespedes Park, the cozy, shade place that Santiago residents regularly visit in search of protection against the hot weather, or for a chat with friends about local, nayional or world events, has been both witness and protagonist of the most important events in the city.

Young lovers come here to talk of the passion burning in them; parents and granparents to simply take their little one for a walk; and here and there, one can see groups of people, either sitting on the solid granite or wood benches, or standing in the middle of the park, engaged in heated discussions about the subject Cubans like to talk about the most: baseball, politics, music, invitations or love.

Diego Velazquez House
Near Cespedes Park, on the corner of Aguilera and Felix Pena Streets (best known by their former names of Marina and Santo Tomas), there stands an elegant, majestic, two-story building with a front that extends along half a block. On its lower floor, it is said, was the Crown's Forge and Contract Office, while Diego Velazquez used the upper floor as his residence.. Experts argue that in its backyard, which in the past led directly to the sea, there was a small fortress.

Two letters by Don Diego to his Majesty Philip II as early as August 1519 mention the existence of this construction and that gold was being forged there. Further evidence of this activity is provided by the remains of a furnace of the type used in forgery found on the corner of the house.

Concidered Cuba's, perhaps Americas', most ancient colonial building, today the house has a strong Moorish influence, with ashlars and richly decorated carved wood ceilings regarded as the city's most elaborate. Its reconstruction and recovery as a site of cultural heritage was entrusted to professor Francisco Prat Piug. Woek started in 1965, ending on November 30th, 1970. The house then poened as Museum of Cuban Historic Ambience; The complex includes a 19th century residence next door. The two exhibit items of the so-called "material culture" masterfully recreate the lifestyle of 16th and 19th century wealthy classes in Cuba.

Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de los Dolores
Aguilera #468
Santiago de Cuba

Iglesia de Santo Tomas
Felix Pena #308
Santiago de Cuba

Moncada Barracks
General Portuondo y Avenida Moncada
Santiago de Cuba, Santiago de Cuba
Open Hours: 9am-5pm Mon-Sat; 8am-2pm Sun

On July 26, 1953, this military barracks was the scene of a famous revolutionary episode against the tyrannical Batista regime.

Despite the failure of that particular military venture, the attack served to highlight the will of many young Cubans to struggle for their freedom. The building has a plaque on the front wall in remembrance of an assault on the November 30, 1956, by the 26 of July Revolutionary Group. Today, inside you will find the Museo de la Clandestinidad covering the period from the Spanish conquest to the guerrilla movement of the 1959 revolution in the Sierra Maestra Mountains. Admission: 1 CUC

Museo Municipal Emilio Bacardi Moreau
Pío Rosado y Aguilera
Santiago de Cuba
Open Hours: 3pm-8pm Mon; 9am-9pm Tue-Sat; 9am-4pm Sun

This was one of Cuba's very first museums, set up by Emilio Bacardí, and built by architect Carlos Segrera.

Housed within the museum is a valuable collection covering the period between the Spanish conquest and the Wars of Independence (from Spain). On the great entrance doorway there are some wonderful images of the goddess Minerva; while inside there is a large collection of weapons and mambí artifacts (pertaining to African rebel slaves). There is also a good exhibit of Cuban and European paintings as well as an archaeological display that includes the only Egyptian mummy to be found in Cuba.

Plaza de la Revolucion
Av. de las Américas, at Los Desfiles and Carretera Central
Santiago de Cuba
Tel: 22/64-3053

This massive, raised platform monument to Antonio Maceo features a startling equestrian statue of the great patriot surrounded by 23 enormous iron machetes slicing toward the sky, like daggers in the sides of the colonial power.

Maceo, a Cuban of mixed blood, was called the "Bronze Titan" of the Cuban independence wars. Beneath the work is an eternal flame. The monument's an emphatic statement, to be sure. An underground room houses a small and rather uninspiring museum dedicated to the man.

Parque Cespedes
Formerly the parade square, main square and Constitution Square, this area is now called Cespedes Park and boasts a full-sized statue of Carlos Manuel Cespedes, the Father of his Country, on a marble pedestal. This is the best place in the city in which to stop for a few minutes and mix with the people. The park was given a facelift recently, but the tall trees which give it shade and the benches remain the same.

Since it is located in the center of the city, important buildings such as the Town Hall, the Metropolitan Cathedral of Santiago de Cuba, the house where Diego Velazquez lived (now the Museum of Historical Ambience), the Municipal House of Culture (the old San Carlos Club, inaugurated in 1919) and the Casa Granda Hotel (which first opened its doors in 1914) front on it.