THE LIVING MUSEUM, TRINIDAD CUBA
May 03 '04
The Bottom Line A chance to step back into history.
We were saved by the Marlborough Man. I was with a small tour group that had spent the day in Cuba's Escambray Mountains. We had come into the town of Trinidad for a quick stop at the day's end, and were now besieged.
Our mini bus was parked on a quiet street, while the driver and guide attended to some business. A pack of young urchins had discovered us and immediately began asking for candy, pens, and any other small items we might have had. They were polite, but insistent and the bus was quickly running out of T-shirts, gum, and other items that could be passed out of the windows to them.
Just when we were down to our last stick of gum, a cowboy came around the corner on horseback. Sensing our predicament, he raced at the besiegers and chased them off. Tipping his hat in a manner I'm sure he saw in an old movie, he then rode off literally into the sunset before we had a chance to thank him.
Safe from the pack of kids at least for the moment I was now free to explore this small town nestled at the base of the Sierra Escambrays in south central Cuba.
Trinidad was founded in 1514 and for the most part hasn't changed much since. Until the 19th century when it was surpassed by nearby Cienfuegos, Trinidad was a major commercial centre. Since that time it has slipped into becoming a quaint sleepy little town. In 1950 the town was declared a "jewel of colonial architecture" and laws prohibiting development were put in place. In 1965 it was declared a "national monument" and plans to preserve and restore the ancient buildings were put into place. In 1988 UNESCO declared the town a World Heritage Site.
The original town has been carefully preserved. Old Spanish style colonial buildings with ornate ironwork line the narrow cobblestone streets. Cars are few and far between here, and the preferred mode of transport is horse and cart. There is not even a local bus system, but there are a few horse drawn taxis.
The centre of the old town is Plaza Mayor, and from here one has the best views of the ancient buildings nestled in the mountains. A little imagination and one can see how life must have been in a bygone era. At the east end of the plaza stands the simple but elegant Cathedral Santisima Trinidad.
If Trinidad is a living museum in its own right then it also is full of them. It seems that almost every building contains a collection of one sort or another. There are probably more official museums here than anywhere else in Cuba. Within a few blocks of Plaza Mayor, there are more than a dozen of them. Museums devoted to archaeology, architecture, music, romance and even one devoted to the guerrilla wars in the nearby mountains can be found. It would be impossible to visit each and every one in a week let alone a day.
There are a few modest hotels located on the outskirts of the town for those wishing to stay over and several resorts to the south at nearby Ancon Beach. The best bet though are the Casa Particulars, rooms for rent in private houses. Trinidad was the first town in Cuba to be allowed to have these legally and boasts a good selection. Considering the alternative would have been to tear down some of the irreplaceable buildings to put up a large hotel it makes perfect sense. There are also quite a few restaurants available; again perhaps the best bet is the wide selection of Paladares the restaurants operated in private homes.
Don't expect a lot of nightlife, although there are surprisingly a couple of discos. They are mainly for the tourists and for the most part located discretely on the edge of town. A quiet after dinner stroll through the quiet streets at dusk and an early night somehow seem more appropriate here.
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Member: James Smith
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