Cuba - Lonely Planet [279]
With such a lackluster role of honor, it would be easy to forgive the unassuming Tuneros a little pique. But the inhabitants of this most down-to-earth province aren’t the wallowing sort. Check out the provincial capital on Saturday night when there’s a rodeo in town, or drive-by Puerto Padre on any given Sunday to shoot the breeze with the salt-of-the-earth locals.
In the fame game, Las Tunas has produced two national heroes of note: Cuba’s greatest ever boxing champion, Teófilo Stevenson, the man who once – with typical Tunero modesty – turned down a US$5 million offer to fight Muhammad Ali; and the witty musician-cum-poet Juan Cristóbal Nápoles Fajardo, better known as El Cucalambé, whose décima (10-stanza) verses brought to life the day-to-day travails of the rural Cuban peasant.
Marshy in the south, Las Tunas’ north coast is a largely undiscovered nirvana of colorful coral reefs and deserted eco-beaches that, to date, hosts just one all-inclusive resort. Long may it continue!
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HIGHLIGHTS
Sculpture Vulture Stroll the streets of sleepy Las Tunas, where imaginative sculptures embellish the cityscape
Rustic Rodeo Check out the dudes with lassos at the Feria Ganado, Las Tunas’ celebrated traveling rodeo
Eco-beach Enjoy the unkempt beaches of Playa La Herradura et al Click here, before resort developers shatter the tranquility
Pit Stop Linger awhile in friendly Puerto Padre, where the locals have always got time to talk
Folk Fest Roll into Las Tunas in June to enjoy some country crooning at the Jornada Cucalambeana music festival Click here
TELEPHONE CODE: 031
POPULATION: 529,850
AREA: 6589 SQ KM
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History
The settlement of Las Tunas was founded in 1759 but wasn’t given the title of ‘city’ until 1853. In 1876 Cuban General Vicente García briefly captured the city during the First War of Independence, but repeated Spanish successes in the area soon led the colonizers to rename it La Victoria de Las Tunas. During the Spanish-Cuban-American War the Spanish burned Las Tunas to the ground, but the Mambís fought back bravely, and in 1897 General Calixto García forced the local Spanish garrison to surrender in a pivotal Cuban victory.
Las Tunas became a provincial capital in 1975 during Cuba’s postrevolutionary geographic reorganization. Its population has mushroomed in the years since.
Getting There & Around
Las Tunas is on the Carretera Central and Cuba’s main west–east railway line. Víazul buses stop in the provincial capital daily as do a more limited selection of cross-country trains. The north of the province is the preserve of trucks and local buses, and roads here are often rutted and slow.
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LAS TUNAS
pop 139,637
First impressions matter – but they’re not always right. If it was down to sights and historical attractions alone, it’s doubtful that many people would bother with Las Tunas. But, thanks to its handy location on Cuba’s arterial Carretera Central, handfuls of road-weary travelers drop by. Some give it a once-over and quickly rejoin the highway, bound for Santiago or Havana; others, swept up in one of the city’s riotous Saturday-night shindigs, come over all affectionate and book another night.
Referred to euphemistically as the ‘city of sculptures,’ Cuba’s least-heralded provincial capital is certainly no Florence. But what it lacks in grandiosity it makes up for in small-town quirks. You can see a thigh-slapping rodeo here, admire a statue of a two-headed Taíno chief, or wax lyrical at the weird and witty Cucalambeana, Cuba’s leading country-music festival. Go on, give it a whirl.
Orientation
The train station is on the northeastern side of town and the bus station is east of the center. Most of the things to see are in the center. A circunvalación (bypass road) runs around the south side of the