Hello from Cuba (13) - Exploring Downtown Havana
Hotel Habana Libre, Thursday, April 14, 2005, 3:02 pm
The last few days I have spent quite a bit of time walking
around downtown Havana - or Habana
Vieja, as they say around here. It is an extremely fascinating
place and one of the most architecturally consistent colonial
city centres in the world.
Plaza de Armas
A few days ago, my local friend Pedro and I went to explore
the Capitolio, which is a beautiful building, ironically very
reminiscent of the Capitol in Washington. Built between 1926
and 1929 as the former seat of the Cuban government, its neoclassical
exterior is complemented by an absolutely astounding Roman
interior with all sorts of meetings rooms, a library, a souvenir
shop and an Internet cafe. In the front entrance hall there
is a huge statue that greets you upon entering, truly an astounding
building.
The park outside the Capitolio is one of my favourite places,
despite the missing seats and backrests of the benches. Yesterday
I also had a chance to visit the Partagas Tobacco Company,
a cigar factory in existence since 1845. I took the $10 tour
and we saw the tobacco rolling school where students learn
cigar production for 90 days. Later we moved upstairs to the
area where the real cigars are made. Workers have quotas of
between 80 and 200 cigars a day (some of which miraculously
find their way into the black market...) and the workers sit
at old wooden work stations and manually roll the tobacco,
while at other work stations the exterior leaf and later the
label and the boxes are added. I really wanted to see a tobacco
factory since tobacco still remains a key industry in Cuba
to this day.
Capitolio Nacional.
Due to its architectural beauty, and not surprisingly, Havana
has been declared a Human Heritage Site by the UNESCO and
it is definitely one of the most beautiful cities I have ever
visited, despite the physical decay that is visible in so
many parts of the city.
Along these lines, I had a chance to see residential areas
in Habana Vieja, where people live in extremely cramped conditions
in crumbling houses, with the occasional house that has already
collapsed in between others. Everybody's life unfolds in the
street, you see children, couples, old people, dogs and cats
at all hours of the day, people generally just sit around
and chat, and the children play street versions of "la pelota",
which is baseball, the national sport. This street life is
something truly different from a nordic city like Toronto
where there are only a few areas where there is significant
pedestrian traffic. And people generally don't sit around
in front of their houses or apartments to chat in the m iddle
of the night.
Cupola of the Capitolio Nacional.
I also had a chance to see Havana's train station, of course
absolutely packed with people, the port area and some rather
derelict industrial areas with crumbling buildings. The lack
of money is apparent everywhere.
On the other hand I have also had a chance to sample some
of the beauty that this city has to offer. I have travelled
a fair bit, particularly to historic southern places in Europe
such as Paris, Milan, Madrid, Barcelona, etc. But in my opinion
Havana is in a category by itself. The colonial
architecture downtown is so consistent, with almost no
new buildings interrupting the visual impression.
Beside the Capitolio is the Teatro Nacional, which is just
next to the famous Hotel Inglaterra and in front is the Parque
Central, where men of all ages get together to discuss news
related to their national sport. 2 days ago was the final
of the playoffs between Havana Campo (if I am correct) and
Santiago de Cuba, the second most important city in the country.
Obviously a huge deal in this country, and Havana ended up
losing 2 to 1, but despite the loss a great opportunity for
the locals to party.
Vintage cars in Havana.
Walking down the famous pedestrian street Calle Obispo, which
has numerous expensive stores for tourists, you approach the
really old historic part of Habana Vieja, places such as the
Plaza de la Catedral (where there was a mass for Pope John
Paul II about a week ago), Plaza Vieja and, my favourite place:
Plaza de Armas. This square dates back to the early 1500s,
and houses the centuries old former city administration office
as well as several other Spanish colonial buildings that surround
a beautiful park with a statue of Carlos Manuel de Cespedes,
the founder of the Cuban homeland.
Yesterday I also had a chance to explore a market that is
put up every Wednesday to Saturday just off the Malecon, near
the Plaza de Armas, where they sell all sorts of trinkets
and merchandise for tourists. I had a chance to pick up a
few little souvenirs for my husband and my colleagues and
then sat down at a little outdoor cafe where there was a young
Cuban band playing traditional old-fashioned Cuban music.
The really interesting thing was an organ that they were playing
that must date back to the 1920s, accompanied by all sorts
of Cuban percussion. I really love Cuban music, but I haven't
yet had a chance to listen to it a lot. My friend and I wanted
to go and visit the "Casa de la Musica" yesterday where they
play live music at a reasonable price, but for some reason
it was closed, something not unusual around here.
I also had a chance to walk down to "Prado", a long avenue
with a pedestrian walkway with trees on both sides, and two
lines of traffic on both sides of the pedestrian area, somewhat
reminiscent of the Ramblas in Barcelona. Very close to the
Prado is the Museo de la Revolucion which used to be the palace
of the last Cuban dictator, Fulgencio
Batista, prior to the Revolution. Fidel Castro's yacht,
the "Granma"which he used to cross over from Mexico with his
rebellious companions, is displayed in a glass-encased building
just behind the palace-like Museo de la Revolucion, and surrounded
by various tanks and military vehicles dating back to revolutionary
combat. The Revolution is definitely present whereever you
go.
I think I have seen most of the important sights of the city,
excluding the Plaza de la Revolucion, which houses the Comite
Central and the political apparatus of the Cuban government.
I still have to make a little excursion to that area and also
take a photo or two of the memorial of Che Guevara, who still
appears to be a very revered individual around here, often
admittedly more so than Fidel Castro.
2 weeks is a pretty long time to spend in a city and due to
the fact that I have completely immersed myself in the culture,
I think I have a pretty good feel for La
Habana and I am slowly but surely mentally getting ready
to go home. It's been great, but I am also happy to get back
home to see my husband, my friends, to have my normal life
back. There are only 2 and a half days left now for my Cuban
experiment and there are a few more places to see, but I am
also looking forward to coming back home to Toronto.
Interesting and useful books about Cuba:
Related Articles:
"My
Post-Cuba Reflections: Appreciation and Balance"
"Cuba
is Calling - Why I selected Cuba as my language study destination"
Hello from Cuba (1) -
First Impressions"
"Hello from Cuba (2) - Rain
in Vinales"
"Hello from Cuba (3) - Hiking
Vinales and Exploring Nature"
"Hello from Cuba (4) - Bureaucracy
Galore - The University of Havana"
"Hello from Cuba (5) - Another
Mind-Twisting Experience"
"Hello from Cuba (6) - The
Student Experience and Political Insights"
"Hello from Cuba (7) - Fun
and Recreation"
"Hello from Cuba (8) - Bicycle
Rides, Camellos and Cannon Shots"
"Hello from Cuba (9) - Havana
Neighbourhoods"
"Hello from Cuba (10) - A
Country Excursion"
"Hello from Cuba (11) - Inside
a Cuban Home"
"Hello from Cuba (12) - Contrasts
and Contradictions"
"Hello from Cuba (13) - Exploring
Downtown Havana"
"Hello from Cuba (14) - Field
Trips and Interviews"
"Hello from Cuba (15) - Getting
ready to say 'Goodbye, Havana'..."
"Hello from Cuba (16) - The
final day"