CUBA I — Impressions of Old Havana

I do not concur with the hype about the recent “progress”. Old Havana conquers you with it´s morbid charme.

I stayed in one of the so called “casa particulares” in Old Havana. Private people are now allowed to rent out rooms (30 USD the night) and this was the view out of the window. The contrast between renovated houses and neglected areas will be a constant visual aspect in this blog. And everyone wonders, if they the government will win the race against the decay.

My landlady´s house was located near the Revolutionary Museum which is inside the former Presidential Palace. Nearby is the Memorial for the Invasion. It looks like a Mausoleum for Fidel Castro but it exhibits the Grandma, the ship that brought the Castros and is fighters to the island to start the revolution. During my stay Cuba commemorated the first year since Fidel Castro passed away ( 25.11.2016) and kids had to dress up for that special day in school.  They are all young revolutionaries now. The Government does not speak of the death of Fidel but of his ” physical disapperance”. And pictures of him are omnipresent.There are a lot of guidebooks to take you on a tour through Old Habanna the highlights of the City. Let´s start with Plaza de San Francisco.

Plaza de San Francisco is one of the first three Piazzas built in the 16th century. It takes its name from the Franciscan convent built there. The plaza became the site of a market that was moved to Plaza Vieja after complaints from the monks because of the noise.

Aside from the Convento de San Francisco de Asís, the spacious square is dominated by Lonja del Comercio (Commercial Exchange)on the north side and the the Aduana (Customs House) and Sierra Maestra cruise ship terminal on the east side, which hide th harbour view. In the middle of the plaza the fountain Fuente de los Leones. In the late 17th-century and 18th centuries, many wealthy nobles built their homes on the cobbled plaza. like in the picture to the left. The Plaza de San Francisco underwent a full restoration in the late 1990s, as the modern sculpture shows.

From here you can connect through the other mayor Plazas through pleasantly restorted streets. Or you walk sideways where you will get into the “normal” parts of the old district. (The streets of Old Havana are designed like a chess board) Daily life

Of course the Promenade next to ocean, the famous Malecon is a must. But it is not inviting, as a big street leads along the coast and it is not well taken care of. Also here decay versus restauration.

and just one block away

The next highlight from a touristic point of view is the Plaza Vieja.The plaza was originally called Plaza Nueva (New Square). It emerged as an open space in 1559, after the Plaza de Armas and San Francisco. Plaza Vieja was the site of executions, processions, bullfights, and fiestas – all witnessed by Havana’s wealthiest citizens, who looked on from their balconies.The urban architectural complex of Plaza Vieja is represented by valuable colonial buildings from the XVII, XVIII and XIX and some examples of the early twentieth century. Here you will find nice restaurants and musicians to entertain and to give you the cuban flair your are looking for.

Let´s jump to the Capitol.El Capitolio, or the National Capitol Building (Capitolio Nacional de La Habana) is a public edifice and one of the most visited sites in. The building was commissioned by Cuban president Machado and built from 1926 to 1929. It is definitely a tourist spot where the old cars are waiting to take tourists on a ride.

Close by is the  National Theatre and the famous Hotel Inglaterra. If you walk down the promenade towards the Malecon your will have again rather morbid impressions.

Talking about cars. The government so far does not allow the imports of new cars to private individuals. So old cars have been preserved as much as possible to keep them running. There are not classic cars by our standards, everything goes (esp. engines) a long as the car runs.

Waiting for tourists to take them to the main sites. Which includes of course the two bars La Floridita and El Medio where Ernest Hemingway used to go and who created the two drinks Daiquiri and Mojito. On a small plaque hanging in La Floridita, hangs Hemingway’s signed quote: “My mojito in the Bodeguita del Medio and my Daiquiri in the Floridita”.

The last touristic spot to be featured in this blog is the Plaza de la Catedral. The site takes its name of course from the Cathedral located here. Originally a swamp, it was later drained and used as a naval dockyard. Following the construction of the Cathedral in 1727, it became the site of some of the city’s grandest mansions. It is the site of the Museo del Arte Colonial. I liked this Plaza the best. I close this blog with some street pics. No escape from the omnipresent revolutionaries…