Heavenly Havana

I absolutely adore Havana. 

Five centuries of history have helped shape this electric and culturally unique society. A stomping ground for pirates, a slave port for the Spanish and later a gambling capital for the American mafia, Havana has survived it all and retains the glimmer of her former grandeur. The city has given the world salsa, cigars, rum and mojitos and still shares these riches with visitors. It has the feel of a Spanish New Orleans without the frat boys. Historic and slightly seedy. Women in brightly colored dresses and cigars are ready to share a photo for a fee. Latin music lilting as you gingerly walk down narrow stone streets. She has the feeling of a former beauty who continues to put on her best dress and present herself proudly even though time has taken a toll on her splendor.  Peel back the façade of most ornate buildings and you’ll encounter roughly patched plaster and a nest of unruly and slightly frightening electric wires. In fact, an average of four buildings collapses each day in

Cuba. Not through shoddy workmanship but through sheer lack of maintenance and upkeep. Amid the deteriorating buses and share taxis used by local commuters, over 150,000 Classic American cars still troll the roads of Cuba in search of tourist fares. Since parts have been unavailable since the 1959 embargo, ingenious Cuban mechanics have kept the cars- and their source of income- in working order through creative work under the hood. A highlight of any trip to Havana is a ride down leafy boulevards sporting your new straw hat in a pink ’53 Cadillac convertible.

Perhaps my favorite spot is the Malecon, Havana’s long waterfront promenade. Cuban friends tell stories of how their parents met and courted on the Malecon. Today the path continues to be an important meeting spot for Cuban youth who don’t have gaming, Netflix and endless wifi to serve as their entertainment.

Another of my favorite spots that we shared with friends is the nearby Jaimanitas neighborhood and its highlight, Fustelandia. As a writer, I find words difficult to describe this sprawling home where every inch is covered with mosaic. We’re not talking Gaudi Guell Park in Barcelona mosaic, but if the cat stood still, he would have grout and broken plate parts all over his back. Whatever happened to hit the artist Jose Fuste’s fancy each day was the object of his next project using whatever local plates he could find. The three-floor edifice includes giraffes, mermaids, Virgin Marys and countless other mosaic subjects.