Cuba–Spain relations Poet José Martí who died in May 1895 at the Battle of Dos Ríos. The war lasted until 1898 when the United States deployed forces to the island. That same year, American naval ship, USS Maine (ACR-1) exploded and sank in the Havana Harbor and resulted in the United States blaming the incident on Spain. This resulted in the Spanish–American War which began in April 1898 until August 1898. At the end of the war, the United States came out as the victors in the war and obtained Cuba as a possession and it resulted in the defeat and collapse
Santiago de Cuba shot after his capture. On January 1, 1959, Fidel Castro proclaimed the victory of the Cuban Revolution from a balcony on Santiago de Cuba's city hall. His ashes were interred in the same cemetery as Marti's. Santiago de Cuba was the hometown of poet José María Heredia. It is the birthplace of the world-famous Bacardi brand, which was started by Facundo Bacardi Masso in 1862. It now houses a museum that displays the extensive art collection of the Bacardí family. Santiago de Cuba is well known for its cultural life. Some of Cuba's most famous musicians, including Compay Segundo, Ibrahim