Wender·Vista
Santiago de Cuba
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileCuba
on the south coast of eastern Cuba, between the Sierra Maestra and the sea

Santiago de Cuba

— — the city the son cubano came from.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“Cuba's second city, set in a deep bay under the Sierra Maestra. Founded in 1515, the cradle of son cubano and trova. Iron balconies lean over narrow streets that drop toward the harbour. In the Casa de la Trova on Calle Heredia, three musicians play through the afternoon for whoever happens to be sitting. The light, late in the day, is the colour of old copper. — from the studio

from the studio
Santiago de Cuba
— bring it home

Santiago de Cuba, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Santiago de Cuba

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Santiago de Cuba sits at the head of a long pouch of a bay on the island's south-eastern coast, with the Sierra Maestra rising directly behind it. It is Cuba's second-largest city and was founded in 1515 by Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, who briefly made it the colonial capital. The Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca, the 17th-century clifftop fortress at the mouth of the bay, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997 as one of the most complete surviving examples of Spanish-American military architecture.

— the year

The city's calendar bends around its July carnival, the oldest in Cuba, rooted in the cabildos of free and enslaved Africans and held in the week leading up to 26 July. Conga groups from the older neighbourhoods — Los Hoyos, San Agustín, Paso Franco — walk their routes for hours behind a wall of corneta china and drums. The same streets carry the Fiesta del Fuego earlier in the month, which gathers musicians and dancers from across the Caribbean.

— the visit

Most visitors begin on Parque Céspedes, the square at the city's centre, where the cathedral, the Casa de Diego Velázquez (1516, the oldest house in Cuba) and the Hotel Casa Granda face each other. A short walk down Calle Heredia leads to the Casa de la Trova, open daily, where afternoon sessions are free and evening sets cost a few CUP. The Castillo del Morro lies about 10 kilometres south-west of the centre and is open most days from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

— where
Cuba · Santiago de Cuba, Santiago de Cuba Province
— position
20.0247° N · 75.8219° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
10 km SW
Castillo del Morro
clifftop fortress
40 km W
Sierra Maestra
mountain range
20 km NW
El Cobre
pilgrimage basilica
30 km E
Baconao
biosphere reserve
N
Santiago de Cuba
Castillo del Morro
Sierra Maestra
El Cobre
Baconao
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Santiago de Cuba — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

It sits on the south-eastern coast of Cuba, at the head of a deep natural bay, with the Sierra Maestra rising directly behind it. It is the capital of Santiago de Cuba Province and the island's second-largest city.

Son cubano, trova, and bolero all took recognisable form here in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Casa de la Trova on Calle Heredia, open since 1968, is still the daily gathering point for the city's traditional musicians.

The Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca, begun in 1638 above the entrance to Santiago bay, is a UNESCO-listed clifftop fortress. It was designed by the Italian engineer Giovanni Battista Antonelli and is one of the best-preserved Spanish-American forts.

The main carnival runs in the week leading up to 26 July, the oldest carnival tradition in Cuba. The Fiesta del Fuego, a Caribbean cultural festival, takes place earlier in July.

Santiago de Cuba was founded in 1515 by the Spanish conquistador Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, who made it the island's colonial capital until the seat moved to Havana in 1556.

Spanish is spoken throughout the city. The Cuban peso (CUP) is the everyday currency; foreign visitors generally exchange cash on arrival, as international card networks remain unreliable on the island.

— about the piece in your home

Customers with family in eastern Cuba have chosen this piece for parents and grandparents. A Medium with a handwritten note from the studio, or a Coaster Set for a smaller gesture, carries the city's warmth without crowding a shelf.

The copper-and-indigo palette sits well with warm Caribbean interiors, with Spanish-colonial wood furniture, and with jewel-tone maximalist rooms that already use clay reds and deep greens. It is less at home in cool minimalist schemes.

A single Large reads well above a console or narrow sideboard. Above a full sofa, a 4-tile or 9-tile Mural carries the wall; the Mural format suits the city's wide harbour view.

Yes. Choose the Dura Satin or Matte finish for any wet wall, backsplash, or shower install. The Glossy finish is intended for framed wall placements away from steam and direct splash.

A soft microfibre cloth with plain water is enough for routine dust. For kitchen grease or shower film, a drop of mild soap on a damp cloth, then a clean-water wipe, keeps the surface clear.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to a single Knoxville studio. We do not license imagery in or out, and the colour lives slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.