Fodor's Expert Review Parque Céspedes

At times it seems that Santiago's main activity is the curious stare-down that takes place in Parque Céspedes between mojito-sipping tourists at the Hotel Casa Granda's café and white-hatted locals, who sit across the way. Long the central meeting place for santiagueros, this large plaza buzzes with sound and movement day and night. Musicians wander past and around its shady benches, which are occupied from early in the morning to late in the evening. At the park's center is a large bronze statue of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, whose Grito de Yara declared Cuba's independence from Spain in 1868 and began the Ten Years' War. Hurricane Sandy uprooted most of the park's trees in 2012; residents here patiently wait for the vegetation to grow back.