Cuban War of Independence Santiago, and established a base. The port of Santiago became the main target of naval operations. The U.S. fleet attacking Santiago needed shelter from the summer hurricane season, thus nearby Guantánamo Bay, with its excellent harbor, was chosen for this purpose and attacked on June 6 (1898 invasion of Guantánamo Bay). The Battle of Santiago de Cuba on July 3, 1898 was the largest naval engagement during the Spanish–American War, resulting in the destruction of the Spanish Caribbean Squadron (Flota de Ultramar). Resistance in Santiago consolidated around Fort Canosa, All the while, major battles between Spaniards and Americans took place
Music of Cuba of the modern Italian violins, which began to become popular since the 16th century. On February 8, 1764, Esteban Salas y Castro, the new Chapel Master, arrived at the Santiago de Cuba Cathedral. To fulfill his musical duties, Salas counted with a small vocal-instrumental group that included two violins. After the arrival in Santiago de Cuba, in 1793, of numerous colonists that fled from the slave revolt in Saint Domingue, "someone named Karl Rischer and a Madame Clarais, that had brought with them a clavichord, founded an orchestra : flute, oboe, clarinet, trumpet, three horns, three violins, viola, two violoncellos