Cuba - Lonely Planet [244]
Cafetería Las Begonias ( 99-64-73; cnr Antonio Maceo & Simón Bolívar; 9am-10pm; ) The day-time nexus for Trinidad’s transient backpacker crowd, meaning it’s a good font of local information and the best place in town to meet other travelers over sandwiches, espresso and ice cream. There’s a bar behind a partition wall, clean(ish) toilets in a rear courtyard, and four or five cheap – but always crowded – internet terminals.
Just across the street is an ever-popular Cremería Las Begonias (Antonio Maceo) that doubles up as a Cubatur office, and opposite from it a little old man does a flying trade in peso pizza (Simón Bolivar).
Look out for more peso food on the corner of Piro Guinart and Antonio Maceo, not far from the bus station, and also around the Camilo Cienfuegos–Paseo Agramonte–Anastasio Cárdenas intersection on the road south out of town.
GROCERIES
Mercado agropecuario (cnr Pedro Zerquera & Manuel Fajardo; 8am-6pm Mon-Sat, to noon Sun) Trinidad’s agropecuario (vegetable market) isn’t Covent Garden, but you should still be able to get basic fruits and vegetables.
Tienda Universo (José Martí) This shop, near Zerquera in the Galería Comercial Universo, is Trinidad’s best (and most expensive) grocery store. Head here for yogurt, nuts and those lifesaving cookies.
Mini Super Caracol (cnr Gustavo Izquierdo & Zerquera; 9am-9pm) This store has a decent selection of groceries and a resident hawker outside plying cigars.
Drinking
Bar Daiquirí (General Lino Pérez No 313; 24hr) Presumably Papa Hemingway never dropped by this cozy joint named after the drink he so famously popularized because the prices are extremely reasonable. Shoehorned into lively Lino Pérez, this is where locals and backpackers warm up on their way to an all-night salsa binge. There are snacks, if you’ve got the stomach.
Taberna La Cancháchara (cnr Rubén Martínez Villena & Ciro Redondo). This place is famous for its eponymous house cocktail made from rum, honey, lemon and water. Local musicians regularly drop by for off-the-cuff jam sessions and it’s not unusual for the Cancháchara-inebriated crowd to break into spontaneous dancing.
Entertainment
Casa Fischer (General Lino Pérez No 312 btwn José Martí & Francisco Codania; admission CUC$1) This is the local ARTex patio, which cranks up at 10pm with a salsa orchestra (on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday) or a folklore show (Friday). If you’re early, kill time at its art gallery (free) and chat to the staff at the on-site Paradiso office about salsa lessons and other courses Click here.
Casa de la Trova (Echerri No 29; admission CUC$1; 9pm-2am) Trinidad’s spirited casa retains its earthy essence despite the high package-tourist-to-Cuban ratio. Local musicians to look out for here are Semillas del Son, Santa Palabra and the town’s best trovador, Israel Moreno.
Las Ruinas del Teatro Brunet (Antonio Maceo No 461 btwn Simón Bolívar & Zerquera; admission CUC$1) This jazzed-up ruin has an athletic Afro-Cuban show on its pleasant patio at 9:30pm nightly.
Casa de la Música ( 99-34-14; admission free) One of Trinidad’s and Cuba’s classic venues, this casa is an alfresco affair that congregates on the sweeping staircase beside the Iglesia Parroquial off Plaza Mayor. A good mix of tourists and locals take in the 10pm salsa/dance show here. Alternatively, full-on salsa concerts are held in the casa’s rear courtyard (also accessible from Juan Manuel Márquez; cover CUC$2).
Palenque de los Congos Reales (cnr Echerri & Av Jesús Menéndez; admission free) A must for rumba fans, this open patio on Trinidad’s music alley has an eclectic menu incorporating salsa, son (Cuban popular music) and trova (traditional poetic singing). The highlight, however, is the 10pm rumba drums with soulful African rhythms and energetic fire-eating dancers.
Las Ruinas de Sagarte (Av Jesús Menéndez; admission free; 24hr) Another ruin (Trinidad’s full of them) with a good house band and a high-energy, low-pressure dance scene.
Disco Ayala (admission CUC$10; 10pm-3am) It might not be the first time you’ve