The Wonders of Havana

Grand building with tree in window

Renovated hotel

Havana has some of the most beautiful architecture in the world, beginning with its colonial fortresses, plazas, villas and palaces.  Most of this is crumbling and ruinous, badly needing investment to return it to its colonial glory.  Those families who have family members or friends in the U.S. or Europe have access to remittances that help them restore their homes.  The government has renovated some of the exceptional buildings for hotels.  But, there are thousands of gorgeous buildings in desperate need of repair, at a cost way beyond what anyone in Cuba can afford.

home in Jose Fuster neighborhood

Nonetheless, it is heartening and exhilarating to see what Cubans are doing to create economic opportunity in their neighborhoods.  The Jose Fuster neighborhood in Havana is very poor.  But, years ago, the residents decided to turn their streets and homes into a tourist attraction by making the area an art form, with mosaic walls and houses, sculptures in homes, courtyards and streets, decorative lanterns, artisans and artists’ shops and lots of music.

Jose Fuster mural of Che Guevara

While there are vintage American cars everywhere, in Havana, they have become a staple of the tourist business.  An afternoon’s tour of the city in a vintage Ford or Plymouth or Edsel convertible is part of the fun of visiting Havana.  And a good way for Cubans who own these cars to make a decent living.

Hemingway's living room

One of Havana’s best visits is Ernest Hemingway’s house, Finca Vigia.  He loved Cuba and spent time in the home periodically for many years.  Today, it is one of the most-visited museums in Havana, one where you cannot enter, so walk around peeping in the open windows and doors.  His boat, Pilar, is housed below the house.  Pilar, apparently, was one of the few young women he met who didn’t succumb to his charms.

University of Havana's wise owl

One of our visits was to the University of Havana, the premier university in Cuba.  The universities in the country are divided into faculties, so, rather than following a general studies program for a couple of years, as you would in the U.S., you spend your college years in the school of your (or the government’s) choice, such as medicine, foreign languages, math, engineering, etc.  Students must take a national exam to enter a university and get assigned to one based on their scores.  The government can then assign you to a particular faculty, depending on the needs of the country.  Our guide was from a small city in central Cuba, but did well enough on the national exam to be selected for the University of Havana, the country’s premier university, where he studied foreign languages.

beautifully renovated Ford

In this college, you study one language in the morning and another in the afternoon.  In between, you get classes in Cuban history, literature and other more general studies.  But, the focus is on foreign languages.

Compas Dance Group drummer

Music and art are staples of Cuban life.  Everywhere people are playing instruments in hopes of tips.  And they play and sing well.  In Havana’s main square, there are outdoor shops selling used books, CD’s, records and posters.  There are no magazines because no one can afford to buy or publish them.  But, every once in a while, some artists’ or writers’ group will publish a compendium of poems or essays or stories and these are on sale in a few shops throughout the country.

Morro Castle battlement

The Compas Dance Group was a highlight of our visit to Havana.  Don and I visited last year and loved their wonderful combination of Afro-Cuban music and dance and Spanish colonial flamenco.  Since our visit last year, they have added a roof over what was a courtyard in the center of a crumbling building that they are slowly restoring and decorating with their unique art.  So, they are doing better financially, mostly because now many tourist groups want to visit them.  The performers play percussion instruments, including wooden chairs they make themselves, and dance an original combination of African and flamenco dances.

Mural by Compas Dance Group

Storm off the Malecon