Trinidad, Cuba
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Trinidad () is a town in the province of Sancti Spíritus, central
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
. Together with the nearby Valle de los Ingenios, it has been a
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
since 1988, because of its historical importance as a center of the sugar trade in the 18th and 19th centuries. Trinidad is one of the best-preserved cities in the Caribbean from the time when the sugar trade was the main industry in the region.


History

Trinidad was founded on December 23, 1514, by Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar under the name Villa de la Santísima Trinidad.
Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca (December 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions o ...
recruited men for his expedition from
Juan de Grijalva Juan de Grijalva (; c. 1490 – 21 January 1527) was a Spanish conquistador, and a relative of Diego Velázquez.Diaz de Castillo, Bernal. 1963, The Conquest of New Spain, London: Penguin Books, He went to Hispaniola in 1508 and to Cuba in 1511. ...
's home in Trinidad, and Sancti Spíritus, at the start of his 1518 expedition. This included
Pedro de Alvarado Pedro de Alvarado (; 1485 – 4 July 1541) was a Spanish conquistador, ''conquistador'', ''adelantado,'' governor and Captaincy General of Guatemala, captain general of Guatemala.Lovell, Lutz and Swezey 1984, p. 461. He participated in the c ...
and his five brothers. After ten days, Cortes sailed, the alcayde Francisco Verdugo failing to prevent Cortes from leaving, despite orders from
Diego Velázquez Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (baptised 6 June 15996 August 1660) was a Spanish painter, the leading artist in the Noble court, court of King Philip IV of Spain, Philip IV of Spain and Portugal, and of the Spanish Golden Age. He i ...
.Diaz, B., 1963, ''The Conquest of New Spain'', London: Penguin Books, . The Narvaez Expedition landed at Trinidad in 1527 en route to Florida. Caught in a hurricane, the expedition lost two ships, twenty horses and sixty men to the violent storm.


Geography

The town proper is divided into the ''
barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city delimited by functional (e.g. residential, comm ...
s'' (quarters) of Primero, Segundo and Tercero. The whole municipality counts the ''consejos populares'' (wards) of Centro, Zona Monumento, Armando Mestre, La Purísima,
Casilda Casilda is a city in the provinces of Argentina, province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe, Argentina. It is the head town of the Caseros Department, and lies about west of Rosario and 202 km south-southwest of the provincial capital Santa Fe, ...
, Federación Nacional de Trabajadores Azucareros (FNTA), Condado, Topes de Collante, San Pedro, Manacas - Iznaga, Algarrobo, Pitajones, and Caracusey.


Economy

Nowadays, Trinidad's main industry is
tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
processing. The older parts of town are well preserved, as the Cuban tourism industry sees benefit from tour groups. In contrast, some parts of town outside the tourist areas are very run down and in disrepair, especially in the centre. Tourism from Western nations is a major source of income in the city.


Tourism

The city is located on the
Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
coast near the Escambray Mountains.


Culture


Town

;Plaza Mayor The Plaza Mayor of Trinidad is a
plaza A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Rela ...
and an open-air museum of Spanish Colonial architecture. Only a few square blocks in size, the historic plaza area has
cobblestone Cobblestone is a natural building material based on Cobble (geology), cobble-sized stones, and is used for Road surface, pavement roads, streets, and buildings. Sett (paving), Setts, also called ''Belgian blocks'', are often referred to as " ...
streets, houses in pastel colors with wrought-iron grilles, and colonial-era edifices such as the ''Santísima Trinidad Cathedral'' and ''Convento de San Francisco''. The Municipal History Museum is in town also. ;Music There are several ''casas de musica'', including one next to the cathedral in Plaza Major. There are also discothèques, including one in the
ruins Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...
of a church; another is in a large cave formerly used as a war time hospital.


Region

;Sugar mills The Valley of the Sugar Mills—'' Valle de los Ingenios'', also a
World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
, has around 70 historic sugar cane mills. They represent the importance of sugar to the Cuban economy since the 18th century. The valley has ''la Torre Iznaga'', a tower built by Alejo Iznaga BorrellJorge Iznaga
ALEJO MARIA IZNAGA BORRELL
Iznaga Genealogy (IZNAGA - 1420 - Present), Retrieved 5 December 2012.
in 1816. ;Coasts and beaches from the city is Topes de Collantes, one of Cuba's premier
ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...
centres. Another attraction is the
Casilda Casilda is a city in the provinces of Argentina, province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe, Argentina. It is the head town of the Caseros Department, and lies about west of Rosario and 202 km south-southwest of the provincial capital Santa Fe, ...
Bay, which attracts both snorkelers and divers. A nearby islet has pristine beaches. Ancón Beach—'' Playa Ancón'', is a white sand
beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from Rock (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...
and was one of the first new
resorts A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...
to be developed in Cuba following the 1959 revolution. Along the Ancón Peninsula are three hotels: Hotel Costa Sur (South Coast Hotel), Hotel Ancón, and Brisas Trinidad del Mar.


Demographics

In 2022, the municipality of Trinidad had a population of 76,500. With a total area of , it has a population density of .


Photo gallery

File:Saint Francis of Assini in Trinidad Cuba.jpg, A view from Saint Francis of Assini, Trinidad, Cuba File:2008-06-07 Trinidad D Bruyere.JPG, Plaza Mayor and Iglesia y Convento de San Francisco File:Cuba 2013-01-26 (8543458731).jpg, Plaza Mayor File:TrinidadCuba.jpg, A typical colonial street in October 2000. File:Asamblea Municipal de Trinidad.jpg, Town hall File:Cuba 2013-01-26 (8544552364).jpg File:Trinidad, Cuba (44170439415).jpg File:Museo de la Lucha contra Bandidos -Cloître du Convento de San Francisco (Trinidad, Cuba).jpg, Tower of the Convento de San Francisco File:Iglesia de Santa Ana - Trinidad - 01.jpg, Church of Santa Ana File:Trinidad, Cuba (17136576477).jpg


Notable people

* Alexandre Arrechea * Julio Emilio Carretero * Tomás San Gil * Manolo Urquiza


See also

* Alberto Delgado Airport * Valle de los Ingenios *
List of cities in Cuba This is a list of cities in Cuba with at least 20,000 inhabitants, listed in descending order. Population data refers to city proper and not to the whole municipality, because they include large rural areas with several villages. All figu ...
*
Municipalities of Cuba The Provinces of Cuba, provinces of Cuba are divided into 168 municipality, municipalities (). They were defined by Cuban Law Number 1304 of July 3, 1976Fifth United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names, Vol. II, publish ...


References


External links

{{Authority control Cities in Cuba Populated places in Sancti Spíritus Province Populated places established in 1514 1510s establishments in the Spanish West Indies 1510s in Cuba World Heritage Sites in Cuba 1514 establishments in the Spanish Empire Port cities in Cuba