Santiago de Cuba City Hall

Admire the Santiago de Cuba City Hall, a historic building that has witnessed the future of this city

Santiago de Cuba City Hall
© Eric Alarie

The Santiago de Cuba City Hall, founded by Diego Velázquez in 1516, is located in the center of this Cuban city in front of Céspedes Park. Its first mayor was the conqueror Hernán Cortés and since then it has hosted different events for the city such as the famous flag festival.

The building has undergone numerous renovations since its creation. At first it was a hospital, prison and town hall, although little by little it was limiting its functions to just being the town hall. An earthquake almost completely destroyed it and it was rebuilt with stone and clay and a roof of complaints and later, in 1830, it was rebuilt again with bricks and tiles. At present it is the headquarters of the Popular Power and, the property that we observe today since 1954 is a ring-shaped building with a neoclassical interior patio with a characteristic white facade decorated by Creole tiles, continuous balconies, wooden bars on the windows , semicircular arches on the lower floor and a third floor in the central area that serves as a viewpoint.

In this place events have taken place such as the beginning of the flag festival in 1901. By then, the mayor Emilio Bacardi Moreau, made a tradition in which every December 31 at midnight an 18 meter long Cuban flag is hung while they sound 12 chimes in the Cathedral. Also on the balcony of this famous building, Fidel Castro himself delivered the first speech in Cuba in 1959 after the triumph of the Revolution in which he specified the course that it was going to follow. In 1984 the Cuban leader would reappear on this balcony where Santiago de Cuba would receive the honorary title of Hero City of the Republic of Cuba and of the Antonio Maceo Grajales Order.

More information:

Location:

Céspedes Park, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba.

Interactive map:

Santiago de Cuba

What to see:

Museums:

Siboney

Parque Baconao (Baconao Park)

El Cobre

Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Cobre

Pico Turquino

Museo de la Plata (Silver Museum)

Other nearby destinations:

Why "Cuban Travel Agency"?

"Cuban Travel Agency" is part of the Visitar Cuba project, an organization of Cuban agencies whose objectives are:

✓ Disseminate Cuba, its culture and its heritage.
✓ Promote sustainable tourism.
✓ Support the local economy, prioritizing direct contact with Cuban agencies.
✓ Offer budgets without commitment and without cost, from the hand of Cuban experts.

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