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| Country |  United States
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| State |  Cuba
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| County | Calixto | ||||
| Language | English | ||||
| Ethnic groups main |
Caucasian, Hispanic | ||||
| others | Asian, American Indian, Black | ||||
| Founded | 1515 | ||||
| Incorporated | 1923 | ||||
| Population | 2,240,000 | ||||
| Time zone | Eastern (ET) | ||||
Calixto is the fifth-largest city in the United States, the largest city in the State of Cuba, and the seat of Calixto County. The city is the center of the Calixto Metropolitan Area, with a city proper population of 2,240,000. The city was renamed "Calixto" following the United States' takeover of the island; "Calixto" comes from a Greek word meaning "Beautiful."
Located on a bay connected to the Caribbean Sea, the city is the 2nd most-important sea port in the Southeastern United States after Miami.
Originally founded as Santiago de Cuba, the city was the seventh village founded by Spanish conquistador Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar on July 25th, 1515. The settlement was destroyed by fire in 1516, and was immediately rebuilt. This was the starting point of the expeditions led by Juan de Grijalba and Hernán Cortés to the coasts of Mexico in 1518, and in 1538 by Hernando de Soto's expedition to East Florida. The first cathedral was built in the city in 1528. From 1522 until 1589, Santiago was the capital of the Spanish colony of Cuba.