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TRINIDAD

! G3 Sancti Spíritus @ Calle Piro Guinart 224, e/ Maceo y Izquierdo, (41) 994 448 £ Ave Simón Bolívar 422, (41) 993 348 n Cubatur, Calle Antonio Maceo esq Francisco Javier Zerquera, (41) 996 314; Infotur, Calle Gustavo Izquierdo, (41) 998 258

Trinidad was founded by Diego Velázquez in 1514, but its perfectly preserved cobblestone streets and pastel-coloured houses are more a reflection of the landscape of the city in colonial times. From the 17th to 19th centuries, Trinidad was a major player in the sugar trade, and the buildings around the Plaza Mayor bear witness to the wealth of the landowners of the time.

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t The colourful centre of Trinidad, surrounded by verdant mountains

Experience Central Cuba – East

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t Plaza Mayor, the heart of Trinidad, with its colourful historic buildings

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Iglesia Parroquial de la Santísima Trinidad

Plaza Mayor # 10:30am–1pm Mon–Sat, 11:30am–1pm Sun

Completed in 1892, this austere church, with a Neo-Classical façade, has an elegant four-aisle interior. The church’s real attraction, however, is an 18th-century wooden statue made in Spain, the Señor de la Vera Cruz (Lord of the True Cross), which is associated with a curious story. The sculpture, made for one of the churches in Vera Cruz, Mexico, left the port of Barcelona in 1731, but three times in succession the ship was driven by strong winds to the port of Casilda, 6 km (4 miles) from the city of Trinidad. While preparing to make a fourth attempt to reach Mexico, the ship’s captain decided to leave behind part of the cargo, which included the huge chest containing the statue of Christ. The locals regarded the arrival of the sacred image as a sign from Heaven, and from that time on the Señor de la Vera Cruz became an object of fervent worship in Cuba.

Experience Central Cuba – East

SHOP

Casa-Estudio Lázaro Niebla

A highly respected contemporary artist, Niebla creates stunning wooden portraits of senior Trinidadians. These tributes are carved on colonial doors and window panels throughout the city.

Calle Real del Jigüey 452 lazaroniebla.com

Experience Central Cuba – East

The Architecture of Trinidad

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The historic centre of Trinidad has an extraordinarily dense concentration of Spanish colonial houses, many still inhabited by the descendants of old local families. The oldest single-storey buildings have two corridors and a porch parallel to the street, with a courtyard at the back. In the late 1700s another corridor was introduced to the layout. In the 19th century, the houses formed a square around an open central courtyard. In general, the entrance consists of a large living room that gives way to a dining room, either through an archway or a mampara – a half-height double door.

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Museo de Arquitectura Colonial

Calle Ripalda 83, e/ Hernández Echerri y Martínez Villena, Plaza Mayor § (41) 993 208 # 9am–5pm Sat–Tue

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t Porcelain exhibit in the Museo de Arquitectura Colonial

The front of the 18th-century mansion, which is now home to the Museum of Colonial Architecture, features a lovely portico with slim columns, a wrought-iron balustrade and wooden beams. Originally, the building consisted of two separate houses, both of which belonged to sugar magnate Saturnino Sánchez Iznaga. The houses were joined during the 19th century.

The museum, the only one of its kind in Cuba, covers Trinidad’s architecture and illustrates the building techniques used during the colonial period. There is a collection of various locks, latches, doors, hinges, windows and grilles, as well as parts of walls and tiles.

In one of the bathrooms facing the inner courtyard is a fine example of a 19th-century shower, with a complicated network of pipes supplying hot and cold water.

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Universal Benito Ortiz Galería de Arte

Calle Rubén Martínez Villena y Bolívar, Plaza Mayor § (41) 994 432 # 9am–5pm Mon–Sat

This beautiful mansion with a long wooden balcony is evocative of the city’s golden age. It was built in 1809 for Ortiz de Zúñiga, a former slave trader who later became the mayor of Trinidad. The house currently serves as an art gallery.

The first floor has paintings on display (and for sale) by contemporary Cuban artists, including Antonio Herr, Juan Oliva, Benito Ortiz, Antonio Zerquera and David Gutiérrez. Once you have admired the artworks on display, head out onto the wooden balcony for a fine view over the entire Plaza Mayor.

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Museo de Arqueología Guamuhaya

Calle Simón Bolívar 457, e/ Fernando Hernández Echerri y Rubén Martínez Villena, Plaza Mayor § (41) 993 420 # 9am– 5pm Tue–Sun

The building that is now the home of the Archaeological Museum was constructed in the 18th century and was purchased in the 1800s by the wealthy Don Antonio Padrón, who added a portico with brick columns and Ionic capitals.

The Guamuhaya (the native Indian name for the Sierra Escambray area) collection includes Pre-Columbian archaeological finds as well as objects associated with the Spanish conquest of the island and Cuba’s history of slavery. As well as cultural artifacts, the museum also houses a fascinating collection of stuffed animals, including the manjuari, an ancient species of fish that still lives in the Parque Nacional Ciénaga de Zapata swamp.

In the museum’s courtyard, there is a bronze bust commemorating the German geographer and naturalist Alexander von Humboldt, who stayed here as Padrón’s guest in 1801, during his travels in the New World.

Did You Know?

Legend claims that Mariano Borrell, Palacio Brunet’s first owner, made a pact with the devil.

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Palacio Brunet (Museo Romántico)

Calle Hernández Echerri 52, esq Simón Bolívar, Plaza Mayor § (41) 994 363 ¢ Closed for restoration

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t The bright exterior of the Palacio Brunet (Museo Romántico)

Built in 1812 as the residence of the wealthy Borrell family, Palacio Brunet now contains the Museo Romántico. Most of the objects on display here once belonged to Mariano Borrell, the family’s founder. They were inherited by Borrell’s daughter, the wife of Count Nicolás de la Cruz y Brunet (hence the name Palacio Brunet), in 1830.

The museum’s 14 rooms all face the courtyard gallery with its elegant balustrade. The spacious living room has a Carrara marble floor and a coffered ceiling, furnished with Sèvres vases and Bohemian crystalware. There are also English-made spittoons, which reveal that the 19th-century aristocratic landowners were partial to smoking cigars.

Other rooms of interest are the countess’s bedroom, with a bronze baldachin over the bed, and the kitchen, which is still decorated with its original painted earthenware tiles.

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Casa de la Cultura Julio Cuevas Díaz

Calle Zerquera 406 § (41) 994 308 # 9:45am–noon & 3–7pm Mon–Fri, 9:45am–noon Sat

During the day, the vestibule of this building is used as exhibition space by local artists (some of whom also have their studios here). In the evening, performances – theatre, dance, concerts and shows for children – are held in the rear courtyard.

Experience Central Cuba – East

eat

Vista Gourmet

A hilltop restaurant, with a rooftop terrace, Vista Gourmet serves up a great lunchtime buffet.

Callejón de Galdós § (41) 996 700

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Sol Ananda

Try the curried shrimp at this quaint antique-filled eatery.

Calle Real 45 y Simón Bolívar § (41) 998 281

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Restaurante Plaza Mayor

Although popular with tour groups, this state-run restaurant is worth a visit for the all-you-can-eat buffet.

Calle Zerquera y Villeña # (41) 996 470

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Plazuela del Jigüe

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t El Jigüe, a beautiful tiled restaurant on Plazuela del Jigüe

This peaceful little square is rich in history. It was here that Father Bartolomé de Las Casa celebrated the first Mass in Trinidad in 1514. El Jigüe restaurant, housed in a lovely porticoed building decorated with panels of painted tiles, is the perfect place for lunch on the square.

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Palacio Cantero (Museo Histórico Municipal)

Calle Bolívar 423 § (41) 994 460 # 9am–5:30pm Mon–Thu, Sat, alternate Sun

This 1830s mansion, which belonged originally to Don Borrell y Padrón – one of the major figures in local sugar production – was purchased in 1841 by María de Monserrate Fernández, the widow of a sugar magnate. A year later she married the landowner Cantero, renaming the mansion and transforming it into a sumptuous Neo-Classical residence. The building is now the Museo Histórico Municipal.

In rooms ranging from the grand entrance hall to the servants’ quarters, the history of Trinidad can be traced through exhibits, maps, and monuments relating to different themes: the Cantero family, piracy, the plantations in the Valle de los Ingenios, the slave trade and the wars of independence. The tower has a viewing platform and a rickety staircase that climbs past fresco-covered walls.

Did You Know?

Plazuela del Jigüe is named after the acacia tree (jigüe) which once stood here.

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Iglesia y Convento de San Francisco

Calle Hernández Echerri, esq Guinart § (41) 994 121 # 5:30pm–8:30pm Mon, 9am–8:30pm Tue–Sun

This elegant church has had a tumultuous history. The striking yellow structure was built in 1813 by Franciscan monks, but it was taken from them in 1848 in order for it to be used as a parish church. In 1895 the authorities transformed the building into a garrison for the Spanish army. Then in 1922, because of the lamentable state of the place, the garrison and part of the church were demolished. Only the bell tower was salvaged, along with adjacent buildings, which were used as a school until 1984, when the complex became the Museo de la Lucha contra Bandidos.

The museum illustrates with documents, photographs and exhibits the struggle against the “bandits”, the counter-revolutionaries who fled to the Sierra del Escambray after 1959. Fragments of a U2 plane, a boat, a militia truck and weapons are displayed in the building’s cloister.

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t The Iglesia y Convento de San Francisco

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t Taking a photograph from atop the Iglesia y Convento de San Francisco

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Ermita de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de la Popa

This small 18th-century church is connected to Plaza Mayor by a narrow, steep street. The striking three-arch bell tower loggia was added in 1812, when work was carried out on the church to repair the damage done by a violent cyclone. The complex is being converted into a hotel.

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Plaza Santa Ana

In the eastern part of the city, this square is dominated by the 18th-century Iglesia de Santa Ana, which was partly rebuilt in 1812. The now decaying church is flanked by a royal poinciana tree.

The square is a popular place to gather, and is a favourite with children who come here to play ball games.

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Cabildo de los Congos Reales de San Antonio

Calle Isidro Armenteros 168

In the 1800s Cuba witnessed the rise of many cabildos, cultural centres aiming to preserve the spiritual and musical heritage of the slaves. This Cabildo was founded in 1859 and is dedicated to Oggún – a warrior god worshipped by followers of the Palo Monte religion.

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Plaza de los Tres Cruces

This broad, unpaved plaza in a picturesque working-class quarter is named for the three wooden crosses that mark the end point of Trinidad’s Vía Cruz Easter procession.

EXPERIENCE Central Cuba - East

drink

Taberna La Canchánchera

Enjoy the rum, honey and lemon cocktail here.

Calle Rubén Martínez y Ciro Redondo § (41) 996 231


Taberna La Botija

Cuban beers on tap.

Calle José Mendoza 71B § (52) 830 147


Casa de la Música

Come here for salsa.

Off Plaza Mayor § (41) 993 414


Casa de la Trova

Locals love this place for its live music.

Calle Echerrí 29 § (41) 996 445

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