La Cueva (“The Cave”) is a favorite weekend spot for locals and the venturesome tourists that get wind of it by word of mouth. The cavernous disco is located on the northern outskirts of town, about a 10-minute walk up a hill away from the center of Trinidad, an old Spanish colony that feels even more preserved in time than the rest of Cuba. Two hundred miles from the bustle of Havana, horses still trot down the narrow cobblestone streets of sleepy Trinidad, a Caribbean coastal town founded by Spanish explorers in the 1500s that rose to prominence as Cuba’s sugar economy boomed in the 18th and 19th centuries. The historic town is an unlikely setting for one of the world’s most bizarre discos. As you approach La Cueva, the first curious thing you’ll notice is there’s no noise at all coming from the club. It’s not until you walk through the gated entrance, descend down a long flight of stairs and through a tunnel into the jagged cavity that the dance floor opens up and the music starts blaring. The second thing you’ll notice is that it’s very hot. You’re in the Caribbean after all, dancing in a throng of a thousand people. In a cave.
