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Cienfuegos: It is the city that I like the most to spend my Cuba Holidays.In the central south of the Island of Cuba, there is the perfect place for you to spend your Cuba Holidays: the province of Cienfuegos. It was founded in 1819 by Frenchman Luis D´Clovert under the name of Fernandina de Jagua, however, Cienfuegos is popularly known as La Perla del Sur (Pearl of the South) because it is considered one of the most beautiful cities of Cuba; therefore you will not hesitate while deciding where to go on this Caribbean Holidays. This central Cuban province boasts a beautiful port city whose coasts are bathed by the Caribbean Sea and a wonderful harbor prized by pirates and colonizers since time immemorial. Cienfuegos is guarded since the 18th century by the Jagua Castle which lies on the Rivera of a wide harbour. It will make you feel the pleasant impression of being in one of the most elegant cities in Cuba. And it will be one of the first reason of spending in Cuba your all inclusive holidays. You will find either excellent beaches or a sophisticated hotel infrastructure characteristic of big cities due to this facts, the Pearl of the South takes advantage of its attractions since it is the only metropolis founded by French settlers. It has nautical potential as well as historical and cultural background.
There is a remarkable Gallic influence in the city. This influence, indeed, played prominent role early this century in its agricultural and architecture development. An Arc of Triumph similar to the one in Paris was erected in the old part of the city. This legacy makes the city a unique tourist product. Its charms will certainly not disappoint those who make a stop in their Cuba Holidays, and decide to go to Trinidad, the colonial village of the modern times.
The city is waiting for you with open arms and the heart full of places for you to go on this Holidays in Cuba.Cienfuegos is waiting for you on this luxury holidays in Cuba with its arms opened and in its heart a huge variety of places for you to go. The well known Marti Park is one of Cuba's most beautiful plazas that, coupled with its surroundings, have been declared a National Monument. Buildings harking back to the 19th century and the early 20th century lie harmoniously side by side around this square. Visiting Cienfuegos during this all inclusive holidays in Cuba is going to be a journey in time, traveling to the colonial century in Cuba. A nautical compass is a permanent reminder of the foundation of the Fernandina de Jagua Village by French settlers in 1819.
Ciunfuegos many attractions for you on this all inclusive holiday in Cuba, include palaces, parks, theaters, churches and the Paseo del Prado (the Prado Promenade), which stretches it way up to the sea. Your Cuba Holidays invites you to swing by its restaurants and nightclubs, with a very special nightly offer to drop in on El Benny Club next to La Union Hotel, the one spot in town where tribute is paid to El Barbaro del Ritmo and to the best Cuban and international music.
The Marti Park is hooked up to the Prado Avenue through a crowded walkway: Cienfuegos' Boulevard. Jose Marti Park is a place of great beauty because of its surrounding parks; it is the centre of the city. A beautiful walk, called the Prado like the one in Havana, leads you from the centre of the city to the sea wall and finally to Punta Gorda where stands the Jagua Hotel and the Palace of Valle one of the most beautiful buildings in Cuba mixture architectural styles This is the spot where is located one of the nicest Cuba Hotels: La Union Hotel. It is a 49 room establishment founded in 1869 today stands out as an architectural masterpiece and the flagship of all local hotels. Traipsing down Prado Avenue, strollers get to the burgs seawall. Punta Gorda's residential, social and cultural areas are farther to the south. Alongside the western coastline, the water racetrack where many sports events of this kind are held stretches out. As you can see, there is no time to waste on this Cuba Holidays in Cienfuegos.
This is a city that offers you its architecture, culture and traditions.The Terry Theater, a fascinating place, is a faithful reflection of Cienfuegos golden times and you can be witness of that epoch during your Caribbean holidays in Cuba. The Valle Palace is an example of the architectural eclecticism prevailing in the city, where Mudéjar, Byzantine, Venetian, Gothic and Baroque styles are harmoniously combined.
Nuestra Senora de los Angeles de Jagua was built in 1745 by the bay. This fortress is representative of the Cuban 18th century's military constructions. At that time, it was the only defense structure aimed at protecting the country's central region from pirates' attacks coming form the Caribbean.
The Reina cemetery and the Tomas Acea necropolis are both National monuments and part of Cienfuegos culture. The Reina cemetery was built in 1830 and is a veritable museum of the funeral art. Vertical dugouts, a widespread burying system used during the colony, can be admired at this site while you are spending your Cuba Holidays in Cienfuegos.
Cienfuegos: Cuba's nautical cityBy flair and by nature, Cienfuegos has been deservedly pencilled in as the most maritime city of the Cuban archipelago. From the foundation date of Cienfuegos (formerly called the Village of Fernandina de Jagua) in the first quarter of the 19th century, the sea has meant to be a coexistence element in both its formation and development into one of the shorelines of the peaceful Jagua Bay, considered by many for over two and a half centuries one of the best preserved big gullies in all Hispanic America.
Maybe that explains why seven decades before its peculiar foundation by French settlers, its entrance was already guarded by the stunning fortress of Our Lady of the Angels of Jagua that jealously watched over the only access point through the waters of the Caribbean Sea. At the time, the fortress was labelled the third major military fortification built by the Spaniards on the island of Cuba.
A seductive city linked to the blue sea and its wonders.The depths of its calm and crystal-clear waters together the magnificent protection provided by this bag-shaped bay of 18.5 kilometres long and 6.4 kilometres wide, and even the existence of keys and lesser gullies inside, invite you to enjoy your Cuba Holidays on a province soon turned your summer holidays port into a safe haven from the storming and choppy seas of yesteryear.
That is how the Southern Pearl –as Cubans usually dub this oceanfront city some 250 kilometres from the nation's capital and marked by a perfect mesh of straight streets- has worthily been nicknamed Cuba's nautical burg, thanks in part to its ingrained maritime traditions.
In its capital a seductive city linked to the sea, a special place for your Cuba Holidays because this city welcomes visitors with a wide assortment of tourist services. Cienfuegos province has been identified as a sea city for its characteristics and undeniable values that amaze visitors. Sailing on a yacht along the huge harbour to the sight of the fortress that protects it amidst a green landscape on the picturesque fishermen town known as Porche will be an unforgettable memory on this Cuba Holidays. If your irremediable hobby is the sea, the beaches of this area are very quiet. Cienfuegos has a good hotel infra structure, fishing spots and the possibility to practice a number of water sports.
Rancho Luna, in the province of Cienfuegos, is a fine-sand, quite-waters beach. Due to its well preserved beach, Rancho Luna seems to be a virgin area waiting to be discovered by you during your summer holidays in Cuba. The shelf stretching along its coastline is peculiarly shaped and shelters abundant underwater life. The Rancho Luna Beach sprawls some 18 kilometers from the city. And just 6 kilometers farther, right at the bay's entrance channel, Pasacaballos stands on higher ground.
Cienfuegos and its everlasting charms.Cienfuegos' maritime charms reach outside the boundaries of the only Cuban city that back in the early 20th century sported a replica of world-known Arch of Triumph.
Its two marinas –one of them right in the bay- and three scuba diving centres in the Horizontes Rancho Luna, Faro Luna and Villa Guajimico hotels, give Cuba Holidays makers the chance of revelling in one of the premiere attractions this maritime town has to offer.
Trapped between the bay and an area known as Boca Ambuila, there are over 50 diving sites with sea bottoms that stand out for their gaudiness, beauty, a variety of marine life and an exuberance of coral reefs that shelter a considerable chunk of this Caribbean coastline.
There are plenty of places waiting for the sea, scuba diving and water sport lovers.Underwater caves and valleys, sunken ships and one of the region's most populated coral reefs teeming with abundant marine life make up part of the secrets these formidable waters keep under their magic and blue-hued surface. If you want to add colour to your package holidays in Cuba you have to dive and swim on the Cienfuegos beautiful waters.
However, the wonder that really steals the spotlight in this underwater paradise is no other than Notre Dame, the biggest column-shaped coral of the Americas. What really meets the eye about this seven-meter-high formation is its resemblance with the Gothic-style steeples that crown the world-known Parisian cathedral. Not far from there, Cuba Holidays makers can find top-notch beaches like the almost unexplored Playa Ingles, or Rancho Luna Beach, featuring powder-thin sand and calm waters. The coastal platform is quite rugged and offers countless sites for scuba diving buffs. Some cases in point are the coral reefs spotted both in shallow and mid-deep waters in the Barreras and Las Playitas gullies.
A tad farther from the southern city, Guajimico is the right setting for trailblazers keen to combine coastal and sea tourism. The village –perched on the mouth of La Jutia River- is the undisputed choice for scuba divers and for water sport enthusiasts that like their Caribbean holidays in Cuba to be full of adventure and nature encounter.
In this very area, there is the former Cienfuegos' Yacht Club of the times before the revolution, nowadays it is back to life and turns it into the Cienfuegos Club, a true exposé of Cienfuegos' traditions in the field of water sports that features an array of nautical and recreational activities and for those visitors that love sailing and practicing water sports, this is a place that they can not miss during their Cuba Holidays.
Discovering a world of silence on your summer holidays in CubaThe area's main attraction is no doubt lying under the crystal-clear waters in a world of silence. It is the perfect place for escaping from every day life hurry and to give you a time for relaxation and joy on this amazing Cuba Holidays. The motley bottoms are teeming with marine life in the form of corals and sponges, with channels that weave their way like true life mazes into the rocks, and coral reefs that jut out of the surface in some points, among other surprises.
Another underwater adventure is proposed by the Faro Luna Amigo Club & Hotel, a marvelous representation of Cuba Hotels. It is a quiet and charming 41-room, all-inclusive resort anchored atop a marine terrace pretty near the Rancho Luna Beach (some 300 meters). Next to the hotel, visitors will find the Cuba Faro Luna ACUC Scuba Diving Center, where diving courses under ACUC, Resort, Open Water and Advanced certification levels are taught during this all inclusive holidays in Cuba.
The perfect city for sailing, diving, fishing and doing everything related to the sea on your Cuba holidays.Marina Puertosol Jagua, located in Punta Gorda, offers a number of facilities for boats. In its 30 berths, vessels are provided with fresh water, refueling, power, safety and custom services.
The Jagua Bay is a strategic spot to practice waters ports. In its 88 square kilometers provide space for a one-nautical-mile track suitable for international speedboat races that have already taken place there.
At the Barreras cove and Las Playitas, the ocean floor is an inviting setting for scuba diving. In shallower waters we find different coral formations, sponges and gorgonians. The deeper you go into the water, the more delight you will feel on this unique Cuba Holidays.
In the same area, the Faro de Luna, Guajimico and Whaleshark scuba diving centers provide training courses for beginners as well as, day and night dives to wrecked ships and coral reefs. Trips in catamarans and pedalo and kayak rental are other options of these centers for you to enjoy on this Cuba Holidays.
Coral barriers get to be spectacular in most of the places. One good example is "Dama del Caribe" (Lady of the Caribbean), located at the entrance of the Jagua Bay. The barrier is home for many species of all colors and shapes. Several wrecked ships can also be found in the area. Cienfuegos has so much to offer you, on this Caribbean holiday in Cuba, not only on its land but also under its waters.
Fast and Furious on this Cuba HolidaysThose same blessings –now buttressed by the presence of a permanent city, a well-preserved natural environment and improved infrastructure- have helped plan regattas and other nautical events featuring speedboat and aqua bike races in recent times, let alone the opportunity of developing a tourist modality that has growing on a steady basis in different spots across Cuba: cruise tourism.
Speed will soon stage a comeback in the unruffled waters of the Jagua Bay. In this gorgeous one-nautical-mile-long racetrack in Cienfuegos, the second round of the World Aqua Bike Grand Prix will take place from April 11 to 13, following a couple of other competitions that include the Glass Cup and the LG Cup (both in professional category) scheduled to be held in the bay of Santiago de Cuba from April 4 through 6 this year. You can not miss both events will spending your luxury holidays in Cuba.
Fans and onlookers of the world's premiere circuits of nautical racing will this time around have the chance of buying travel packages at very affordable prices designed by Cubanacan Travels, the official sponsor of the World Aqua Bike Championship.
Two world-class lodging facilities in Cienfuegos –the downtown La Union Hotel run by Cubanacan S.A. and the refurbished Gran Caribe Jagua resort- will provide accommodations for both racers and fanfare with special-priced packages that include transportation to and from the hotel, attendance to official and competitive ceremonies and a guide-assisted panoramic tour.
Moreover, on the days of the tournaments Cuba Holidays makers may buy tour packages inside the city of Cienfuegos featuring a stroll down the historic core that was declared a National Monument. They could equally enjoy an unforgettable night at the Benny's playing Cuba's best traditional music, and sign up on the abovementioned boat rides across the Jagua Bay, that same bay that has contributed so much to Cienfuegos' moniker: the beautiful city by the sea.
This is a full green city for you to admire on this Cuba Holidays.Cienfuegos is a place loved by nature. The combination of the unique blue of its waters and the brilliant green of its vegetation, it's a combination to take home with you on your pictures on this summer holidays in Cuba. An example of this ever fresh green is Guajimico. It is a spot of the province which is distinguished in the first place by its cave systems and the unique variety of its flora and fauna. It is located between the provinces of Cienfuegos and Trinidad.
The province exhibits other gorgeous spots where El Nicho stands out, situated at 500 m above the sea level; this is a singular structure of water falls that form streams and natural pools. You can only appreciate the quality of its waters taking a bath on this natural pools, while you are enjoying its fresh and crystal waters you will realize that this Cuba Holidays will be unforgettable.
There are other places like the Yaguanabo Valley, a beautiful slope among mountains and the Ciego Montero Spa, situated at 23 km away from the city. The waters and the mug from this part of the city where the Ciego Montero Spa is located are famous for their medicinal powers. Many people from all around the world spend their Cuba Holidays at this place just for taking a bath on its medicinal waters and mugs.
Laguna de Guanaroca-Yagunabo-El Nicho is a natural reserve covering six thousand hectares. It is an excellent location for a reencounter with nature during your holidays in Cuba. One of its main attractions is a highly endemic flora with 65 thousand plant species. It is, in addition, a nesting site for flamingoes and other waterfowl.
Cienfuegos also has offers for those visitors interested in Archeology and Botanic.If you are interested in adding a touch of risk and adventure to your Cuba Holidays, you can go to The Martin del Infierno cave, it houses Latin America Longest stalagmite which is 65 meters long. Cienfuegos features archeological sites where indigenous vestiges can be found as well as other sites where corsairs and pirates took refuge.
The most advisable is to begin by the Botanic Garden while enjoying your Christmas holidays in Cienfuegos. The Botanical Garden, one of the most important of the world, is located at few minutes from the heart of the city and it is a good place for you to go during your package holidays in Cuba. In its 97 hectares- seven of which cover a nature reserve forest area- visitors will find more than two thousand plant species comprising 670 varieties and 125 families.
Escambray: a mountain range full of surprises.Escambray, flanking the northeast of the province, is another attraction to be found in the Pearl of the South as part of this perfect Cuba Holidays, where nature lovers climb mountains and enjoy the beauties of the Hanabanilla fauna Refuge, which covers part of both, Villa Clara and Cienguegos provinces.
Escambray is the ideal area for hiking lovers, an option to take into account while spending this luxury holidays in Cuba. It is also the second Cuban mountain range; it is only surpassed by the famous mountain range of the Sierra Maestra, located in the eastern area of the island. The Cordillera links the three provinces of the center: Villa Clara, Cienfuegos and Sancti Spíritus, and this characteristic have turned these places into natural areas of great attractions for your Caribbean holidays in Cuba.
Many are the spots to be visited in the Escambray. The Hanabanilla-the only lake located among mountains in Cuba-has a surface of crystal-clear water of 18 km2, and stands out for its extraordinary beauty. Taking a bath on its quite waters, sailing on boast or just take e rest while fishing in Hanabanilla are among the reasons to visit this beautiful place on this Cuba Holidays.
Cienfuegos is also a good spot to have a nature encounter.The name Escambray in Cuba is associated with nature and suggests mountains, exuberant vegetation, rivers and landscapes, typical of the heart of the island in its southern area.
As you can appreciate, Cienfuegos is a marvelous city that has all the elements you will need to have the best Cuba Holidays you have ever had. The invitation is done and this Cuban province is waiting for you to visit it during your next holidays in Cuba.
"The City that I Like the Most"Benny More –unanimously voted the Highest Son Singer in a country where music spurts out of every nook and cranny- dubbed Cienfuegos "the city I like the most." And this is no doubt a phrase that truly conveys a feeling that many people share and suggest from the bottom of their hearts.
The Southern Pearl offers Cuba Holidays makers the possibility of catching on the healthiest maritime environment as they trudge along its bustling Malecon driveway and make out the numerous keys that dot this huge bay. And even as they sign up on the many boat rides around the bay all the way to nearby Carena Key –former summertime getaway of the city's well-heeled families- or take a tour to the small fishermen village of El Perche, whose picture-perfect wooden houses match the majestic Our Lady of the Angels of Jagua Fortress, simply called the Jagua Castle among local dwellers.
Another choice for those who like maritime strolls on their Caribbean Holidays–some of them include a relaxing fishing trip- is a visit to the Guano del Este Key lighthouse some 45 nautical miles off the port of Cienfuegos, or a similar watchtower located in Los Colorados Cape, right between the Pasacaballo and Rancho Luna hotels.
That Thin Voice like the Wind That is how Roberto Fernandez Retamar defined Benny More, an icon of Cuba's popular music who became a larger-than-life crooner at age 44 when he passed away in Havana nearly 44 years ago. The man who was born in Santa Isabel de las Lajas, a small town in the province of Cienfuegos, on August 24, 1919, and nearly died onstage on February 19, 1963, is now coming back as the star of a new movie, The Benny, led by young talented director Jorge Luis Sanchez. While visiting Cienfuegos on this Cuba Holidays you will have the unique opportunity of knowing more about the history and life of such extraordinary Cuban Musician. So far, the flick has brought down the house in movie theatres across Cuba and set new box-office highs with half a million goers in a just a few weeks following its premiere. In an effort to celebrate the anniversary of his demise, record label EGREM launched Benny Sings Boleros earlier this year, a two-volume album that culls 30 masterpieces sung by the legendary act. This will be the best souvenir to take home as a memory of this remarkable luxury holidays in Cuba.
Knowing more about the history of "El Barbaro del Ritmo"Only as part of this Package holidays in Cuba you will discover that Bartolome Maximiliano More Benitez –that was his real name- learned to play guitar at an early age, and this instrument was with him in parties and serenades in his hometown. He moved to Havana in 1940 and for a number of years he was nothing but a walking troubadour who used to belt out tunes in cafés, parks and in the streets.
Five years later, he travelled to Mexico as part of Miguel Matamoros' well-known band and made several presentations in Mexican nightclubs before joining the orchestra of Damaso Perez Prado, the King of Mambo. It was in that country where he recorded albums, acted in films and successfully performed in theatres and cabarets. He returned to Cuba and stayed on the island for a while, eventually joining Merceron, Marianao's eastern band.
A few months later, he trekked back to Mexico to resume a successful musical career. He returned to Cuba in 1953 and performed with the Bebo Valdes' orchestra before coming up with his own group: The Benny More Giant Band. This orchestra landed with a personal style of its own and with it he put on a streak of shows on the radio, on TV, in theatres and cabarets. That's how he climbed the stardom of music in Cuba, in Latin America and the Caribbean, and captured the heart of his people. Benny More's favourite place was "El Ali Bar", a small bar that is located in Havana City and that you have to visit when you leave Cienfuegos for having the complete background of this one of a kind Cuba Holidays full of Benny More music.
El Barbaro del Ritmo, as he was nicknamed, built a style of his own unseen up to that moment. His rhythmic gait and his way of singing were unique, with pitches and tones that stamped the undisputed seal of his musical creation –despite the fact that he'd never studied music in any school.
Tall and slender, donning a wide-brimmed hat and blandishing a cane, he climbed onstage in Cuba and elsewhere in the region with his charismatic personality –too often controversial and overreacting- that whipped the legend into shape. When this famous musician passed away, Cuban people cried for him as he was his only son, his funeral was famous and remarkable. However, for Cuban people Benny More has not passed away he is in very Cuban and foreign friend that like his music, that dance with its music and that help to pass his songs from one generation to other, to one country to other, El Benny More is present in each of the Cuban lyrics and music.
Benny More an autodidactic musician.Uttering phrases and shouts, and taking his own dance steps, his performances were those of an extraordinary showman. Today, his music and many anecdotes about his fleeting life are handed down from one generation to the next, shaping up the collective memory of the Cuban people and of his fans in other lands of the Americas. That is why a typical statue was raised on his honour while walking through Cienfuegos streets you can meet into a beautiful statue of his same size that seems to be alive, because El Benny, like his people called him, will be always like this statue among the Cuban People and inside their hearts. You can be part of this musical heritage while enjoying the Cuba Holidays of your Life.
As you can see Cienfuegos has all the elements you need to spend the best of your Caribbean Holidays. A city full of lights, colour with a beautiful architecture, with the bet accommodations is waiting for you to visit on this summer holidays. Do not think it twice the charms of its sea as well as the beauties of its nature are there for you to enjoy them. Its night's attractions are so many that you will have to spend more than a week on this city in order to see them all, its theatres, cinemas, cabarets; hotels are world wide famous because of their quality. A city to be visited in family because it has attractions for the whole family is waiting for you on the southern part of Cuba, so without any hesitation take the first Cuban Flight you have available and travel to Cuba on this magic Cuba Holidays.Due to all its charms Cienfuegos is known as "The Pearl of the South". Come and discover it on your unforgettable Cuba Holidays and sing with us in perfectly Spanish that "Cienfuegos es la ciudad que mas me gusta a mi".
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