Localization

Plaza Mayor is bordered by the streets Real del Jigüe, Cristo and Desengaño.

 

In the Villas founded in the 16th and 17th centuries in Cuba, the land left empty to function as square was built either next to a castle, or rather to an important church or cathedral. The elite section of the town, consisted of the wealthiest and most illustrious people, were trying to show their status by having their mansions built around this square. Naturally, this has led to the fact that the areas in the historical center became surrounded by magnificent buildings with magnificent interior decorations.

Plaza Mayor that emerged this way, forms the historic center with surrounding notable mansions, built in the 18th and 19th centuries, when the sugar trade and slave trade from the nearby Valle de los Ingenios brought great riches to the area. When the sugar trade diminished and the slave trade ended in the mid-19th century, Trinidad was greatly affected by this situation and the construction of large mansions in the city ceased. In this way, the colonial buildings, especially those surrounding the Plaza Mayor, could be preserved. These buildings that survived today as they were configured initially, are used as museums today.

It would not be wrong to say that Plaza Mayor in Trinidad is the second most significant square in the country after Cathedral Square in Havana. However, unlike the 18th and 19th centuries, this vibrant square has become a place that attracts tourists more than the locals.

As the night begins, the space takes on a pleasant atmosphere with the sound of live music.

History

From the first years of urbanization of the town, particularly with the construction of the Old Parish Church that we call Iglesia Mayor de la Santísima Trinidad today, located on the site of the square, this space began to be outlined as a square. In 1657, the space was restored by the inhabitants, and became the main place for religious processions, patron saint festivities, promenades and commerce.

Since the presence of the church increased the status of this area, the city's most well-known families began to build their mansions around this square, starting from the beginning of the 18th century, despite the difficult topography of the area. Even though the area did not have a defined structure, in those years it was called Plaza de la Iglesia. A huge cross was erected in the square.

In 1812, when the Statue of Justice was erected, the square was called Plaza de la Constitución. Later, when the Enlightenment movement weakened and absolutism regained strength in Spain, the statue was removed from the square.

In 1834 Luis Brunet, one of the powerful landowners of the time, proposed to place the bust of Spanish Queen Isabel II, and it was approved by royal decree in the same year. However, there is no record of this bust being erected in the square.
In the city plan of 1842, the name of the square was mentioned as Plaza Mayor.

During the first decades of the 19th century an intense process of rebuilding began in the houses that surrounded the square so that it was rearranged and inaugurated as Plaza de Recreo in 1857. A chaotic appearance emerged as a result of the lack of urban planning. For example, the Iglesia Mayor de la Santísima Trinidad was built on its side and many of the houses also on its side, with the entrance facades facing the streets leading to the square.

Development works in the area and its surroundings accelerated during the time of Francisco Serrano, 1st Duke of la Torre, Captain General of Cuba from 1859 to 1862. The governor provided the necessary financing for the reconstruction of the square, and it took its current form through the efforts of Engineer Julio Sagebien y Delgado and the Trinitarian Julio Bastida. At that time, the square was also called as Plaza Serrano. To finance the restoration of the square, a lottery game with gold ounces per card was foreseen. At that time, the square that was inaugurated as a park officially in 1857, was also called as Plaza Serrano.

In 1868, two cisterns were built in the highest parts of the square to guarantee the water of the city. They are still in perfect condition.

By the middle of the 19th century, when the slave trade was outlawed and the volume of the sugar trade decreased, there occured less construction activity around the square. Until the beginning of the revolution, the square and the historical buildings surrounding it gradually lost their importance.

In 1925, when a bust of José Martí was placed on the central pedestal, the square began to be known as Martí Park.
Although different names were given in different periods, the name of Plaza Mayor, which reminds of the purpose of its establishment, is more widely accepted by the public, so that after the Revolution it was decided to call it Plaza Mayor, like many of the main colonial squares in the world.

After the revolution, the square and the houses around it were restored and started to be used as house museums and art gallery. In 1988, the Plaza Mayor was declared as an UNESCO World Heritage Site together with the mansions and the church around.