Santiago de Cuba was founded in 1514 and was Cuba’s capital until 1553, when Havana assumed its current position. Due to its location opposite Jamaica and Haiti, Santiago was not as strongly influenced by the United States as Havana; the city boasts a relaxed, Caribbean atmosphere. Its reputation as a hot and sticky location is owing rather to the steamy local culture than its climate. For the city has a provocative, heady magic of its own. It’s in the strains of jazz and rumba, son and salsa that surround you as you walk its streets. In the fleeting yet haunting glances from a balcony or from behind iron trellis. In the clicking of dominoes that echoes in the shadow of a doorway. Santiago may be less stunning and better preserved than Havana, but it is every bit as enchanting.