Santiago de Cuba, the second-largest Cuban city

The monument to the Victorious Cuban Mambí soldiers, erected in 1929, on Loma de San Juan, the spot where the Spanish-Cuban-American War’s only land battle took place, on 1 July 1898. Here, the peace treaty was signed between the Spanish and Americans, but the major general of the Mambí troops, Calixto Garcia, was not allowed to participate, despite the fact his troops played the decisive role in the victory. Spanish rule had ended, but Cuba became a virtual U.S. colony under a pseudo-republican government.