Santiago de Cuba
Cuba · Americas
About Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some 870 km (540 mi) southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana.
The municipality extends over 1,023.8 km2 (395.3 sq mi), and contains the communities of Antonio Maceo, Bravo, Castillo Duany, Daiquirí, El Caney, El Cobre, El Cristo, Guilera, Leyte Vidal, Moncada and Siboney.
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 the Caribbean Sea and is an important sea port. In 2022, the city of Santiago de Cuba recorded a population of 507,167 people.
Santiago de Cuba was the seventh village founded by Spanish conquistador Diego 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 by Juan de Grijalba and Hernán Cortés to the coasts of Mexico in 1518, and in 1538 by Hernando de Soto's expedition to Florida. The first cathedral was built in the city in 1528. From 1522...
Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.