Cienfuegos was founded in 1812 on Spanish territory, but the settlers were French moving from the recently sold Louisiana in North America. The governor was Spanish and gave them permission to build a city. As a thank you they named it after him: Cienfuegos. Of course before the Spanish came, Cuba was inhabited by an indigenous people called Taino, but the entire population died – probably by European diseases.
The theatre is close to all the other neoclassical gems like Museo Provincial as seen in the first image and the Cathedral by the lovely José Marti Parque. You’ll also find an Arc de Triomphe celebrating the independence – from the Spanish…!