IT WAS ON AUGUST 25, 1515 WHEN THE CITY OF HAVANA WAS FOUNDED. FOR THE FIRST TIME THAT IS. EVER SINCE ITS BIRTH, HAVANA HAS KNOWN RURAL TIMES, CHARACTERIZED FROM THE BEGINNING WITH THE FACT THAT NOT ONE ATTEMPT TO ACTUALLY FOUND A SOLID ESTABLISHMENT ON CUBAN’S SOUTH COAST SUCCEEDED. THE TOWN SAN CRISTOBAL DE LA HABANA WAS THE SIXTH ATTEMPT. IT WAS PLACED MORE NORTH THAN THE ORIGINAL COLONY AND WOULD FINALLY GROW IN WHAT WE KNOW TODAY AS HAVANA, ANTILLEAN METROPOLE AND PEARL OF THE CARIBBEAN.
Originally built as a trading port, Havana suffered many pirate attacks, which over the years became so fierce it convinced the Spanish Crown to build fortresses (Castillo de la Fuerza and Castillo del Morro) and concentrate the commercial fleet that carried New World treasures such as gold and silver, wool, mahogany, emeralds, leather and spices to Spain. The fleet would assemble in the port of Havana and ironically enough this brought the humble city great wealth. Needless to say that the city flourished and many new buildings rose from the barren grounds. It was in this period of wealth, the 17th century, that many monuments and religious constructions were built, such as the monastery of Santa Teresa and the convent of San Felipe Neri, the fountain of Dorotea de la Luna and the church of the Holy Angel. In 1649 a fatal epidemic killed nearly one third of Havana’s population, but 100 years later the city was one of the largest in the America’s and, with more then seventy thousand inhabitants, even outranked New York.
Havana. Many have tried to describe it and almost just as many have failed. Walking through this most celebrated city in the Western hemisphere, it is not hard to imagine how its streets were once filled with artisans, nuns, merchants and prostitutes, and were plantation owners were drinking rum in ornamental bars and hotels. Those people are gone, but the rum is still there, and so are many of those bars and hotels. Because Havana is a place that seems to have been captured in a time bubble. It isn’t like nothing ever changed. The bizarre combination of architecture is proof of that. History has left its print on each corner and the city offers a dream-like journey through colonial and early republican time through the 1959 revolution into the post-Soviet era, all the way into the 21st century.
The city is a jewel of neo-classical, romantic and baroque buildings that lean against monumental constructions that date back to art deco, art nouveau and modernism. Against a backdrop of Caribbean music, it are those ancient buildings that look down on the muddy streets, occupied by playing children, cigar smoking men and women and large Chevrolets Buicks and Cadillacs, beautiful in their rusted bright colors. If the walls could talk they could probably explain that nostalgic and melancholic feeling everybody gets while strolling through the heart of the old city. That feeling of the promise of an golden age long gone. Havana is a cacophony of multi sensorial experiences and the people are just the same.
Los Habaneros, the people from Havana are among the most beautiful in Latin America and probably the world. In the old times, when the Spanish colonized the island of Cuba, they shipped over many African slaves. Over the years the Mediterranean and African blood mixed, with influences from the southern parts of the United States and Northern Europe. The result is a beauty in both women and men as seldom seen anywhere else. The fact that Cuba and its capital city Havana have been isolated from the rest of the world for many years has given its inhabitants a natural charm. Walking on the famous Malecon seawall, the soul of Havana, with its impressive waves, you can find many young Habaneros hanging around, talking, playing sports, drinking rum and making music. It all ads to the irrestistable and enchanting elegance of Havana.
But nothing is what it seems. Where socialism seems ideal on paper, history proofs it seldom works out in reality. The political regime in Cuba and Havana has dictated the lives of the people for 50 years, and the results are touchable. Where decay has an architectural charm, the real ruins of Havana is its population of over one million inhabitants. In a system that is supposed to take care of its people, it mostly dictates to obey, and leaves nothing but poverty. Tourists have dinner and drinks on the terraces of the Hotel Inglaterra, unaware that the bill they pay equals a year salary for the average Habanero. They admire the beautiful girls on the Malecon and the gorgeous boys that so casual hang out outside the Hotel Nacionale de Cuba, not knowing some of them are most willing to share their body with them for only 20 euros. Sad as this seems it also adds to the irresistible charm of Havana, and despite of it all, the city fills you with wonder and magic. No matter what, La Habana is a jewel and will leave you with indelible experiences and memories. –B-
HAVANA | BEAUTIFUL
