Santiago de Cuba

Santiago de Cuba is Cuba's second-largest city, in the island's southeast about 540 miles from Havana, with a population of 507,167 as of 2022. Founded in 1515 by the Spanish conquistador Diego Velazquez de Cuellar, it served as Cuba's capital until 1589 and was the starting point for the expeditions of Juan de Grijalva and Hernan Cortes to Mexico. The city was central to the Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro led an attack on its Moncada Barracks on July 26, 1953, and proclaimed the revolution's victory from its city hall balcony on January 1, 1959. Santiago is also the birthplace of the Bacardi rum brand, founded there in 1862, and a center of Cuban son and salsa music.