Santa Clara is often skipped when traveling in Cuba, and I can understand why. Compared to the other destinations in Cuba, it’s unimpressive, and the tourist highlights may seem disappointing. Perhaps the only reasons people do make it over is to hear a bit about revolutionary hero Che Guevara and visit his exaggerated Mausoleum and the near by revolution museum. But the two attractions together, coupled with the rest of the sights in the city, will maybe take you half a day. A bit more of the local experience is in the weird local nightlight bars featuring some great music and odd trans-show entertainment with a very active LGBT scene, not exactly what you’d expect from a conservative highly-controlled society like Cuba. So, if you’re heading up from Trinidad back to the north, this might be a good place for a stop for a few hours, but probably no more, to give you a taste of the contrasts between the revolution narratives and how the very lively local party life.
Here’s a bit of my walk around the city…
Videos from the music bar:
Location:
Not a must stop, but an okay stopover for a hours going from the south to the north and catch some funky nighlife.