Since 1992, I have traveled from New York City to Havana several times a year, both as a photojournalist and to visit my husband’s family in Cuba. My appreciation for and connection to the optimistic, resilient, and creative Cuban people, their art and culture, has grown with each experience. My Cuban friends and family would always recommend I visit the charming and historic city of Trinidad in the southern Cuban province of Sancti Spíritus; yet, it always seemed so far…
In 2016, however, I finally had my first opportunity to visit the city, which was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1988. Upon arrival, it was immediately clear why the city of Trinidad received this world recognition and is now well-preserved for everyone to value and admire.
A surreal atmosphere prevails as you walk around the old streets with 1850s architecture…
Although COVID-19 has led to the temporary closings of many restaurants and tourism has come to a halt, we bring you this virtual trip to Trinidad, for your experience until you can visit on your own.
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1. The Trinidad Cuba Landscape
Driving the 200 miles (about 317 km) distance southeast from Havana, travelers will go miles with views of sprawling land, colored as if from an impressionist painting, that once serviced a wealthy sugar industry and is now sprinkled with crops and farmhouses.
2. The Architecture
The great wealth from the sugar industry’s boom period is still present in the ornate and elaborate neoclassical architecture of many of Trinidad’s buildings, its palaces and luxurious mansions, which escaped the early twentieth century wave of modernization in Cuba.
Trinidad’s famous bell tower, Convento de San Fransisco, decorates the restored colonial town. Once a convent and now a museum, visitors can climb up the stairs inside the tower for scenic panoramic views of the beautiful and unique city, one with terracotta-tiled roofs, pastel colored painted houses, and pretty Moorish-style courtyards.
As one approaches the main square, Plaza Mayor, closed to cars and open only to pedestrians and horseback riders, one immediately feels the enchantment of Trinidad’s historic buildings and well-maintained beauty.
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The town is typically abuzz with energy catering to the constant flow of tourists mixed with local business. A surreal atmosphere prevails as you walk around the old streets with 1850s architecture, while 1950’s American cars pass by, and meet residents trying to survive the challenges of our 21st century times.
3. Music & Dance
Talented musicians play classic Cuban music in the streets and in the Palacio de la Música off the main square, while fabulous folkloric dance is performed just down the street at Palenque.
If you’d like your own unique dance experience, you can venture up a huge hill by foot to dance with changing colored light beams at Disco Ayala, which was built inside a natural cave!
4. The Beaches in Trinidad
Gorgeous beaches are nearby, such as the relatively deserted Playa Ancón, an easy 7-mile (12 km) bike (or taxi) ride from the center of town.
5. The Food
Fresh seafood can be enjoyed at many of the local paladares. One of my favorites: Davimart Paladar, at Anastacio Cardenas 518. As is true for most of Cuba, the primary culinary influences in Trinidad came from its Spanish and French colonizers, as well as the African slave trade, by way of other islands in the West Indies.
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I was so mesmerized by Trinidad’s architecture, cobblestone streets, museums, privately owned shops with handmade jewelry, ceramics, clothing and crafts, and the delicious dishes of the paladares (privately owned restaurants) that I have continued to lead groups to this seemingly magical city so different and distant from the hubbub of Havana and the rest of the country.
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Cynthia Carris Alonso
Cynthia Carris Alonso is the author of two books about Cuba and has been photographing the island since 1992. She is a photographer, photo editor, and researcher and has worked for internationally-renowned magazines, books, and websites such as Time.com, ABCnews.com, Newsweek, BusinessWeek, The New York Times, Rhythm Music Magazine, People en Español, Scholastic and Vanity Fair. In 2016, Cynthia Carris Alonso covered President Obama's historic visit to Cuba, as the two countries continued working toward normalizing relations. With rare access to Cuba, Alonso has photographed Cuba's most famous musicians, covered news events and daily life of the Cuban people on assignment, and documented their unique and mysterious culture, people, passions and spirit of survival. Cynthia’s first photography book, Passage to Cuba, was published by Skyhorse Publishing in 2015. Her latest book, A Taste of Cuba (Apollo Publishers, 2018), celebrates the wonderful taste of Cuban cuisine, as well as the sites, colors, and energy of the Cuban culture. Alonso has given speeches about photography, journalism and Cuba. She has appeared on television and in the press, as a Cuba consultant giving interviews in both English and Spanish. Cynthia is married to Cuban writer José Luis Alonso, and they live in New York City with their daughter.
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