Cuba - Lonely Planet [332]
Vista Alegre
In any other city, Vista Alegre would be a leafy upper-middle-class neighborhood; but in revolutionary Cuba the dappled avenues and whimsical early-20th-century architecture are the domain of clinics, cultural centers, government offices and state-run restaurants. With most of their former owners either underground or drawing their pensions in Miami, the rough triangle of properties that fans out from Parque Ferreiro between Av Raúl Pujol and Av General Cebreco today hides a handful of esoteric points of interest. The Centro Cultural Africano Fernando Ortiz (Map; Av Manduley No 106; admission free; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri) contains African artifacts, handicrafts and fine art, collected by Cuba’s most important ethnologist. It was being renovated at time of writing. A block away is the Museo de la Imagen (Map; 64-22-34; Calle 8 No 106; admission CUC$1; 9am-5pm Mon-Sat), a fascinating journey through the history of Cuban photography from Kodak to Korda, with little CIA spy cameras and lots of old and contemporary photos.
Nearby, there’s a large eclectic palace now used as the Palacio de Pioneros (Map; cnr Av Manduley & Calle 11). Parked in a corner patch of grass outside, you can spy an old MiG fighter plane on which the younger pioneers play. The traffic circle at the corner of Av Manduley and Calle 13 contains an impressive marble statue (Map) of poet José María de Heredia.
Around the corner is the Casa del Caribe (Map; 64-22-85; Calle 13 No 154; admission free; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri), founded in 1982 to study Caribbean life. It organizes the Festival del Caribe and the Fiesta del Fuego every July, and also hosts various concert nights. Interested parties can organize percussion courses here or studies in Afro-Cuban culture Click here.
A block south is the affiliated Casa de las Religiones Populares (Map; Calle 13 No 206; admission with/without guide CUC$2/1; 9am-6pm Mon-Sat), with a large, if haphazard, collection of all things Santería.
Loma de San Juan
Future American president Teddy Roosevelt forged his reputation on Loma de San Juan where, flanked by the immortal rough-riders, he supposedly led a fearless cavalry charge against the Spanish to seal a famous US victory. In reality, it is doubtful that Roosevelt even mounted his horse in Santiago, while the purportedly clueless Spanish garrison – outnumbered 10 to one – managed to hold off more than 6000 American troops for 24 hours. Protected on pleasantly manicured grounds adjacent to the modern-day Motel San Juan, the Loma de San Juan (San Juan Hill; Map; admission free) marks the spot of the Spanish-Cuban-American War’s only land battle, which took place on July 1, 1898. Cannons, trenches and numerous US monuments, including a bronze figure of a Rough Rider, enhance the classy gardening, while the only acknowledgement of a Cuban presence is the rather understated monument to the unknown Mambí soldier.
Just west of the hill is Santiago’s doleful Parque Zoológico (Map; Av Raúl Pujol; admission CUC$1; 10am-5pm Tue-Sun), good only if you’re hopelessly bored or have seriously hyperactive children.
Cementerio Santa Ifigenia
Nestled peacefully on the western edge of the city, the Cementerio Santa Ifigenia (Map; Av Crombet; admission CUC$1, camera CUC$1; 8am-6pm) is second only to Havana’s Necrópolis Cristóbal Colón in its importance and grandiosity. Created in 1868 to accommodate the victims of the War of Independence and a simultaneous yellow-fever outbreak, the Santa Ifigenia includes many great historical figures among its 8000-plus tombs. Names to look out for include Tomás Estrada Palma (1835–1908), Cuba’s now disgraced first president; Emilio Bacardí y Moreau (1844–1922) of the famous rum dynasty; María Grajales, the widow of independence