Good day, family. Good cloudy day, but don't worry, later
on the sun will surely come out for us. Welcome to La Perla del Sur, welcome to Cienfuegos.
This is one of the most beautiful cities in Cuba, a World Heritage Site and a destination for
many. In the municipality of Cienfuegos you will find a population of more than
178 thousand people, more women than men, a population of Cubans that is declining.
Today, in addition to telling you a little more about current life in Cuba, I am going
to show you the main places you can visit if you come here to CIenfuegos and the order
in which you can do it, so that this video and the next can
serve as a guide. From my personal experience, I recommend coming to Cienfuegos
for 7 days, enough time to get to know not only the center, but also the places
that are around the city. As a result of the lack of tourism, rents
are relatively cheap (from 10 USD - average salary in Cuba = 30 USD per month), of course, for the pocket of a foreigner. This is
one of the main streets: Prado. Here you will find many shops, cafes, the
occasional restaurant. Walking through Prado you will reach the Malecón, but before you get
there you will come across a monument to one of the most important musicians in Cuba.
Bartolomé Maximiliano Moré Gutiérrez, better known as Benny Moré, was a successful
Cuban singer and composer, one of the greatest exponents of bolero. Here the obligatory photos are taken,
and here the money sent by exiles to their relatives in Cuba is also collected, under
the propaganda banner. And how does someone who does not receive remittances from abroad or have a business
related to tourism manage to receive dollars and buy food for their children?
Those people don't live... they survive.
Let's mingle a bit among the people. I invite you to walk along the boulevard of Cienfuegos.
If El Prado with its two kilometers of extension is the longest Paseo,
this is the busiest street. Here is the bulk of the stores
in MLC, where the basics are sold, and yes, there are still some stores
in national currency, and since you must be curious, we will see them later.
Now I want you to imagine that you're walking
down these streets, so I'll leave you with the ambient sound.
Before reaching the central park of Cienfuegos, on your left you will find
a fair where local artisans make a living. Here you can come to buy
souvenirs and, in this way, you will also contribute to helping the people of Cuba.
In the walk along the boulevard you will have noticed that this building is the one that stands out the most. The
Government Palace has existed since 1819 and served as the presidential residence, as a town hall and
as a jail. It was remodeled until it reached its current appearance in 1950.
Cienfuegos, named in 1829 in honor of Captain General José Cienfuegos Jovellanos, is
a wonderful city. The atmosphere of peace and tranquility that is perceived when sitting
in this park is something that you must experience. Surely you know what I mean.
If you have felt something similar in any other part of Cuba or the world, let me know in the comments.
While we continue waiting for the sunrise, I don't know if you have heard the phrase "there is no Saturday
without sun", we are going to continue walking through the park to see what other monuments and buildings
are in its surroundings. The first roundabout to be built was almost in front
of the Terry Theater, built of wood. Then it was demolished to build this one you are seeing today.
In the center of the park there is a monument that I cannot help but compare with the one in Havana,
the Monument to our apostle José Martí, sculpted by the Italian Giovanni Nicolini.
The marble lions were the first sculptures to be placed in this park
and opposite, the Nuestra Señora de La Purísima Concepción cathedral, inaugurated in 1833.
Next to the San Lorenzo school is the Terry theater,
one of those places that definitely They should visit, it is over 130 years old.
The entrance costs 20 pesos for Cubans and 240 for foreigners.
The workers' arch is another of those constructions that arouses curiosity,
and behind it is the Ferrer Palace,
a local development project, museum, admission costs 15 pesos. We
are going to dedicate the last video of the Cienfuegos series to this site.
Well I want to show you the famous little train that goes to Punta Gorda, there we are also
going to make a video, I have a tour planned. Look at the little train that is
there and I suppose it is working, but we are going to find out that right now.
Let me ask you a question my loves, is the little train working?
- Yes, we are waiting for six more people to leave. - So every day is working? - Yes, won't you come now? I already wanted to mount you... - No, thank you, thank you. (laughs)
Good afternoon, what place do you recommend to eat here?
- But... - Where to eat good, nice and cheap, with the three B's. - Well, let's see that restaurant that is there.
- OK thanks. - Where are you from? - From here in Cuba.
(5 minutes later) What they sold in that place really didn't convince me, at least not for now.
The lady also recommended that I stop by the San Carlos hotel, where she says they
sell very cheap. And you must be wondering how to manage here if everything is
sold in MLC and how to use the cards. Well, later I'm going to make a video
where I'm going to explain all the details, so stay here for the channel.
- Hello, is this the San Carlos hotel, for lunch? - The hotel is already full to capacity, 80 people and there is no room for one more.
(...Pay attention to the ambient sound...) Well nothing, you can't because it's already filled to its maximum capacity. They are asking for
the last one for the bread, "the last one for the bread" and "lower your hand, lower your hand". Well, nothing, they told me to go to the Hotel Unión,
which is up ahead, let's see if I can have lunch there. Well, I was lucky here, now, they say they serve
gourmet food here, quite gourmet. Look at the serving sizes and share what you think.
I have no complaints about the shrimp and the service is excellent.
The shrimp cost 280 pesos (2.80 USD) and, by the coincidences of life, in
the afternoon they were going to raise the price, to the whole menu, this is the new one.
It was a lucky moment, what is now priced in the afternoon will cost almost twice as much.
A place that I recommend where I had lunch and dinner on many occasions is Casa Prado, with
good portions of food (a little more expensive, yes) and very good service.
I want to clarify that they are not paying me to promote this
site, but yes, I recommend it. Now let's take a look at the national currency stores.
The truth is that, today, even the most essential must be paid for in
MLC. What remains for stores in national currency is practically nothing,
low-quality products. In a store I found paint, miraculously, because even that is already in MLC.
But even in the stores in MLC they ration you the sale.
I want to take advantage of this part of the video to congratulate Volker, who had his birthday on
June 16, Berto Gutiérrez on the 25th, Miguelina Durán on the 26th, send greetings to
Ainn Antúnez, and to the Luna family, from Argentina. Special congratulations to David Green, who
turns June 30, and to Amalia, who turns 101, congratulate her in the comments.
- I arrived. Do you remember me? This is the letter, right? Let me ask you for something light. Do you have a fairly quiet place here, maybe upstairs?
- Yes, so now we have music upstairs. - Oh the music comes from above? How interesting. - Up there there is never anything but today there is music.
- Surprise me with a good piña colada and surprise
me because I'm making a video and my piña colada has to come out, so now you know.
- Alcoholic piña colada, of course, right? - Yes of course.
And in the end the sun came out for us. Of the places I have visited in Cienfuegos,
the terrace of the Ferrer Palace is one of my favorite places, why you will
see it in a few seconds. The piña colada was good, at 200 pesos, and around here, a courtesy of the house.
From up here there is a fantastic view and it is from above that you see the
true color of a city. Thank you very much for staying until the end. If you come to Cuba,
remember to support local businesses, those of the townspeople. If you liked this video,
if it was informative for you, leave me a like and share it on your social networks and
subscribe, so that you support our channel. See you next week. Luck!