| Trinidad | |
| Other Name: | Villa de la Santísima Trinidad |
| Settlement Type: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Cuba |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Sancti Spíritus |
| Established Title: | Founded |
| Established Date: | December 23, 1514[1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 1155 |
| Population As Of: | 2022 |
| Population Total: | 76,500 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | EST |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Coordinates: | 21.8042°N -79.9831°W |
| Elevation M: | 80 |
| Area Code: | +53-41 |
| Website: | https://trinidad.gob.cu/ |
Trinidad (pronounced as /es/) is a town in the province of Sancti Spíritus, central Cuba. Together with the nearby Valle de los Ingenios, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988, because of its historical importance as a center of the sugar trade in the 18th and 19th centuries.[2] Trinidad is one of the best-preserved cities in the Caribbean from the time when the sugar trade was the main industry in the region.
Trinidad was founded on December 23, 1514,[1] by Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar under the name Villa de la Santísima Trinidad.
Hernán Cortés recruited men for his expedition from Juan de Grijalva's home in Trinidad, and Sancti Spíritus, at the start of his 1518 expedition. This included Pedro de Alvarado and his five brothers. After ten days, Cortes sailed, the alcayde Francisco Verdugo failing to prevent Cortes from leaving, despite orders from Diego Velázquez.[3]
The Narvaez Expedition landed at Trinidad in 1527 en route to Florida. Caught in a hurricane, the expedition lost two ships, twenty horses and sixty men to the violent storm.
The town proper is divided into the barrios (quarters) of Primero, Segundo and Tercero. The whole municipality counts the consejos populares (wards) of Centro, Zona Monumento, Armando Mestre, La Purísima, Casilda, Federación Nacional de Trabajadores Azucareros (FNTA), Condado, Topes de Collante, San Pedro, Manacas - Iznaga, Algarrobo, Pitajones, and Caracusey.
Nowadays, Trinidad's main industry is tobacco processing. The older parts of town are well preserved, as the Cuban tourism industry sees benefit from tour groups. In contrast, some parts of town outside the tourist areas are very run down and in disrepair, especially in the centre. Tourism from Western nations is a major source of income in the city.
The city is located on the Caribbean coast near the Escambray Mountains.
See main article: Plaza Mayor, Trinidad, Cuba. The Plaza Mayor of Trinidad is a plaza and an open-air museum of Spanish Colonial architecture. Only a few square blocks in size, the historic plaza area has cobblestone streets, houses in pastel colors with wrought-iron grilles, and colonial-era edifices such as the Santísima Trinidad Cathedral and Convento de San Francisco. The Municipal History Museum is in town also.
The valley has la Torre Iznaga, a 45m (148feet) tower built by Alejo Iznaga Borrell[4] in 1816.
A nearby islet has pristine beaches. Ancón Beach—Playa Ancón, is a white sand beach and was one of the first new resorts to be developed in Cuba following the 1959 revolution. Along the Ancón Peninsula are three hotels: Hotel Costa Sur (South Coast Hotel), Hotel Ancón, and Brisas Trinidad del Mar.
In 2022, the municipality of Trinidad had a population of 76,500.[5] With a total area of 1155km2,[6] it has a population density of 63.6/km2.