Havana · Caribbean

Overview

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Part Cádiz, part Miami, Havana is an intoxicating mixture of opulence and decay, Old World and New, socialism and capitalism, Europe, Africa, and America. The Spanish baroque architecture of the 16th- and 17th-century colonial period, the neoclassical dome of the Capitolio (built in 1929 and modeled on the U.S. Capitol), and Vedado''''''''''''''''s modern glass-and-steel skyscrapers all have stories to tell.

Once-elegant buildings crumble behind Corinthian columns while 1950s Chevrolets and Oldsmobiles overshadow Soviet-made Volgas and Ladas and a new wave of Japanese Hyundais and Nissans. Tiny motor scooter-powered coco-taxis and ciclo-taxis, bicycle rickshaws for two, roll by. Modern hotel and apartment blocks tower garishly over streets choked with roaring trucks spewing clouds of black fumes. Exhortatory slogans printed in red and black block letters loom alongside bars and cafés where red-hot salsa bands set the city to music. The air is all but asphyxiating, the heat is relentless, and many things are in disrepair; yet all this seems only to add to Havana''''''''''''''''s rough allure. Graham Greene and Ernest Hemingway drank deeply of it and were inspired; Ava Gardner and Winston Churchill -- to name a few -- also imbibed and were enchanted.

One of the oldest cities in the Americas, Havana was founded on Cuba''''''''''''''''s southern coast as San Cristóbal de la Habana in 1514. In 1519 it was moved to its present northwestern location, where a natural harbor, one of the Caribbean''''''''''''''''s best, made it an ideal maritime hub. For almost 250 years, however, Havana was little more than a staging area for Spanish convoys loaded with New World treasures bound for Europe. In 1750, Cuba''''''''''''''''spopulation numbered only about 150,000, half of whom lived in Havana or in other towns such as Matanzas, Trinidad, Sancti Spíritus, and Santiago de Cuba. The island had a handful of relatively aristocratic criollo (descendents of Spanish settlers born in the New World) families but few plantations, and hence, few slaves. Trade with foreigners for the island''''''''''''''''s few resources was officially banned (though there was a lively smuggling industry), making Cuba seem isolated. In 12 years, all this would change, and Havana, with its great port, would be transformed.

In 1762, Britain''''''''''''''''s Lord Albemarle conquered Havana during the Seven Years'''''''''''''''' War. Under his yearlong administration, British merchants flocked to the city. They sold foodstuffs, cloth, horses, agricultural equipment, and thousands of slaves. Though the island was turned back over to the Spanish in 1763 (under the Treaty of Paris and in exchange for Florida), the ties to British markets were already strong. The ports were flung open to trade, and the interior was flung open to development. Before the British arrived, Havana saw half a dozen ships a year, and the average size of Cuba''''''''''''''''s few plantations was 300 acres; after the British left, about 200 ships called annually in Havana, and the island''''''''''''''''s ever greater number of plantations grew to an average of 700 acres. By the 19th century, Havana was the Western Hemisphere''''''''''''''''s busiest commercial center, made fabulously rich by sugar, tobacco, coffee, and rum. Behind such exports was a plantation society run by criollos for their own benefit and that of the peninsulares in Spain. The labor force consisted of vast numbers of West African slaves, whose culture, traditions, and blood often mixed withthat of the criollos to create a truly Cuban people and heritage.

Cuba''''''''''''''''s campaign for independence began along with its 19th-century prosperity, and Havana, as the capital, was often in the eye of the storm. During the Ten Years'''''''''''''''' War (1868-78), Cuba''''''''''''''''s first attempt to break free of Spain, the city was a haven for conservatives loyal to the mother country. Havana would later became a hotbed of liberalism and the nerve center for phase two of the independence movement -- sparked by its native son, the eloquent writer and revolutionary José Martí -- which led to the Second War of Independence (1892). In 1898, Havana harbor was the last port of call for the Maine, a major U.S. military vessel, which was blown up (depending on whose history books you read) by accident, by Americans, or by pro-annexationist Cubans. This event led to the Spanish-American War, the end of Spanish sovereignty, and the beginning of heavy U.S. involvement in Cuban affairs. Though the 1950s Revolution against dictator Fulgencio Batista began on the eastern end of the island, Fidel Castro''''''''''''''''s most charismatic moment was his triumphal entry into Havana on January 1, 1959.

Castro''''''''''''''''s Soviet-style regime improved the quality of life for most Cubans, especially in the areas of education and medicine. But the 1990 collapse of the Soviet Union combined with the long-standing U.S. blockade have caused severe shortages of goods throughout the island. A steady flow of visitors from Canada and Europe and the state authorization of the U.S. dollar as legal tender have helped to improve matters.

Havana today is a work in progress, rough and real, caught in its own history and struggling toward an uncertain future.Palpably, the determination and openheartedness of the Cuban people have given present-day Havana an undeniable poetic power.