Viva la Revolución

1) Parque Cépedes: Hotel Casa Granda, the Casa de Cultura, Museo de Ambiete Cubano, built by Diego Velázquez, the white Ayuntamiento or town hall and Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción.
2) Cuartel Moncada
3) Casa de la Trova

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My vacation started in the eastern part of Cuba, defined by the Sierra Maestra. This large mountain range binds together the provinces of Santiago de Cuba and Granma. In this region you are not able to get around its stirring history. So Santiago de Cubo seemed to be a logical place to start a trip through Cuba. On the first day I visited several places around Santiago de Cuba and got wrapped up in the history of the immediate surroundings. The Sierra Maestra has played an important role in the struggle for independence between 1868 and 1898 as well as for the Revolutionary War of Cuba in 1959. At the end of the 19th century, these mountains were the perfect hide-out from where the city's most celebrated son, general Antonio Maceo, and his men prepared the fight against the Spanish colonists. On the Plaza de Revolución stands a gigantic monument with sixteen gigantic steel machetes representing his rebellion and courage.

Other great men like the wealthy plantation owner Carlos Manuel de Céspedes - who was the first to free his slaves - and José Martí - country's most famous literary figure, whose life, ideas and martyr's death confirmed him as a national hero - were one of the first Cubans to take up arms against the Spanish and fought for freedom on the pretext of 'Morir por la patria es vivir' (To die for your country is to live). These men are still much lauded in Cuba as liberators. At the entrance of the Cementario Santa Ifigenia you can visit José Martí's mausoleum surrounded with palm trees.

In the heart of Santiago, the first square laid out in the town by the conquistadors is named Parque Cépedes. The park is known as favourite meeting place. Santiagueros, young and old, sit on the wrought-iron benches enjoying the expansive shade of the weeping fig trees and the gentle ebb and flow of activity. A small monument celebrates Carlos Manuel de Cépedes. This plaza is surrounded by splendid houses like Hotel Casa Granda, the Casa de Cultura, Museo de Ambiete Cubano, built by Diego Velázquez, and the white Ayuntamiento or town hall. And then I forgot to mention the prim-rose Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción with little stores underneath.

Another famous must-see is the Cuartel Moncada, just off the Avenida de los Libertadores, if only for the place it has in Cuban history. These barracks were futilely stormed by Fidel Castro and his band of revolutionaries on July 26, 1953. One building is peppered with bullet holes from the attack. The original were plastered over on Batista's orders and are hollowed out again when Castro came to power. They even used photographs to make sure the positions were as authentic as possible. Be sure you find a book to read about what happened here in 1953! Although the attack was a disaster in military terms, it was a political triumph and elevated Fidel Castro to hero status throughout Cuba. Inside this building is the Museo 26 de Julio. Unfortunately I didn't make time to visit it but I've read this one quote of Fidel Castro that has almost the same spirit as José Martí's pretext when he started the revolution: "Vale más morir de pies a vivir de rodillas" (It's better to die on your feet than to live on your knees). And Castro became even more popular when he decided to do his own defence in court after being prisoned. Speaking for five hours, he charted the plight of Cuban people using an arsenal of statistics to assault the regime. A reprisal of this speech was later published as a manifesto for revolution, known as 'history will absolve me'.

I've read in several books that music is a vital element of Santiagero life. In this barren region, immigrants of Spanish, European, African and Haitian descent settled and established a supply of new elements in Cuba's African and Spanish mixture. African slaves brought rhythms and ritual dances to Cuba where they were blended with Spanish guitars. Son - the pearl among Cuban music - often contains an additional, sexual layer, which can be heavely chauvinistic. Because of the legandary record, Buena Vista Social Club, a musical project supported by Ry Cooder in 1997, the Cuban music scene has really boomed all over the world. Rubén Gonzalez and Compay Segundo, now known as the world's oldest and most famous trovadores de las montañas, come in line of traditional trova - ballad - singers in Santiago de Cuba, the cradle of the son and the bolero.

Therefore, you should visit Casa de la Trova where wisened old men, who share the tunes and the talent of the likes of those mentoined before, play day and night to an audience packed into a tiny room or hanging in through the window. I've seen pictures of this place full with old photographs but because of a recent refit some of its ramshackle charisma has been tidied up. Just take some time to listen and enjoy the simplicity and naturalness of the traditional trova!

Cuba is a very safe country and the worst you're likely to experience is incessant and irritating, loud psssst, psssst - the nation-wide method for getting attention - from jineteros, keen to take advantage of the tourists. We first met one of these guys near the hotel when we were looking for a taxi. A young man asked us if we would like to ride to town with an old American yank-tank that stood a few metres away from us on the street. It didn't look like a cab but why not. We were six and made a deal for 3 USD. When we met the owner of the Cadillac it became 4 USD. Why? Just because the young guy expects to receive an additional kickback (read commission) from the car owner. Remember, for any kind of help you get in Cuba, a tip will probably be expected. Everyone's out for another buck. Therefore, take lots and lots of 1 and 2 USD bills and even lots of US Coins. You must pay for almost eveything you buy in dollars, and unless the seller has small bills (not likely), you will get virtually worthless pesos in change, making costs even higher than they already are.

And this time the tip was worth it. It was really cool to enter the old part of the city in a classic American car from the 1950s which has survived in isolation from the outside world since the 1959 revolution. Nowadays, these yank-tanks have become one of the defining images of modern Cuba. With the windows down, loud music of Bob Marley and a little dog doll shaking his head up and down on the dashboard we enjoyed driving through the narrow streets. That day, it was sweltering hot and moistly although it has been raining cats and dogs all night long. Probably because September and October are the most threatening months of the annual hurricane season...

As I loafed about the streets of Stgo de Cuba away from Parque Cépedes everything became very calm and quiet. There's less traffic and less commercialization in this part of town. While walking around, you can expect to receive steady gazes which are honest displays of interest and curiosity. Winking, the raising of eyebrows, smiling, or saying, 'Hola!' are all appropriate casual exchanges when passing by. Greetings of 'Beunos dias!' are always appreciated. And while you're strolling, you'll get to experience the highly social street life: citizens lingering in doorways, men playing domino, lining up for rations or beating the heat at the corner bar. In a narrow street I bumped into a bunch of little boys who were playing some kind of béisbol game. Ironically, the most American of sports is also the most Cuban, and baseball stands out as one of the few aspects of US culture which the revolutionaries continued to embrace after 1959. For a while, I enjoyed watching the children's game and their enthusiasm and then I got thirsty. If you like rum, you'll be well away in Cuba! We visited the Museo del Ron (San Bacilio) to discover more about this national drink. This museum is so small that it isn't even mentioned in my guidebook. Anyway, it's possible to taste some fine rum in the bar that is within the same building (Visting the museum is not needed if you only wanna have a drink). In this dark bar - the windows were closed - they also make excellent Cuban cocktails like for example the famous Mojito, a refreshing combination of sparkling water, lemon juice, sugar, a few sprigs of mint and a generous dash of white Cuban rum. Shaken not stirred! Bruise the mint leaves inside the glass before you drink your mojito. But because I'm not a big cocktail fan I've tried a neat Havana Club Añejo 7 Años and I knew this was gonna be my favourite drink for the rest of my vacation in Cuba.