Carabalí Olugo

Santiago de Cuba


This comparsa (carnival music and dance group) represents the Tivoli neighborhood in Santiago’s July carnival. The tradition is derived from 19th-century societies formed along ethnic lines, a factor still reflected in the music.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Santiago de Cuba attractions

1. Museo de la Lucha Clandestina

0.32 MILES

This gorgeous yellow colonial-style building houses a museum detailing the underground struggle against Batista in the 1950s. It's a fascinating, if…

2. Tivolí

0.32 MILES

Santiago's old French quarter was first settled by colonists from Haiti in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Set on a south-facing hillside…

3. Fidel Castro House

0.33 MILES

Across the street from the Museo de la Lucha Clandestina is the house where Fidel Castro lived from 1931 to 1933 while a student in Santiago de Cuba…

4. Padre Pico Steps

0.33 MILES

The picturesque Padre Pico steps are almost 100 years old and still hosting rousing games of dominoes; the steps lead to the Tivolí neighborhood.

5. Maqueta de la Ciudad

0.37 MILES

Cuba is obsessed with scale city models, and Santiago, with this incredibly detailed maqueta, is no exception. Interesting historical and architectural…

6. Balcón de Velázquez

0.4 MILES

The alfresco Balcón de Velázquez is the site of an old Spanish fort. It offers ethereal views over the terracotta-tiled roofs of the Tivolí neighborhood…

7. Museo Arquidiocesano

0.43 MILES

The Museo Arquidiocesano houses a dullish collection of furniture, liturgical objects and paintings including the Ecce Homo, believed to be Cuba’s oldest…