My love affair with Havana, the capital of Cuba began with my first trip to that magical island where time seems to have stopped, just over halfway through the last century some 60 years ago.
To appreciate Havana one needs to know a bit of the history that shaped this amazing city. The journey of what is now Havana began in the 16th century when Diego Velazquez de Cuellar landed discovered the island now known as Cuba. Habana became a trading port and endured regular attacks from pirates, buccaneers and even the French took their turn sacking and burning the city in 1555. Given Havana’s strategic and marketing importance, the Spanish built a wall around the city.
Havana also became an important stop to replenish ships supplies in order to continue their journey to the rest of South America. It is documented that thousands of ships stopped at Havana which led to the development of the countries agriculture and manufacturing sector during this time in history.
Due to the city’s growing dominance by the mid 1700s, Havana had over 70,000 people living in the city. During this time Havana had a larger population than Boston and New York and was the third largest city in the Americas. Lima and Mexico City were the largest.
During this time Havana become the most important Spanish port because ships could be refitted and by 1740 it had become Spain’s largest shipyard and boasted the largest drydock in the world.
So strategic was Havana that competition to control the country and city resulted in international attempts to claim ownership of the country. In 1762, a British fleet with 50 ships and 11,000 men launched an invasion of Cuba. A year later the signing of a peace treaty returned Cuba to Spanish control.
The 1800s were the golden years of Cuba, and Havana being the capital benefited immensely from the prosperity that embraced the island. Arts and cultural facilities flourished coupled with a growing middle class, Havana became the Paris of the Caribbean. With prosperity came rapidly growing economic growth.
The beginning of the 20th century brought both freedom and revolution to Cuba. In 1902 the lights were diminishing on the Spanish empire and Cuba gained its independence and became a Republic. Cuba was ill prepared for Statehood and the United States quickly extended its tentacles into daily Cuban life.
A growing gap between rich and poor, coupled with chronic unemployed, poor health conditions, increasing poverty levels at the hands of American business interests led the path to a revolution which would forever change the face of Cuba.
Depending on who you talk to, the romantics will tell you the revolution in 1959 led by Fidel Castro was great for the country. Despite universal poverty the country does have relative equality born by communism in the purist sense. A universal sharing of resources with no distinctive rich vs poor.
The naysayers on the other hand will tell you the country stands still, minimal growth and no universal human rights that that much of the world appreciates and takes for granted.
Regardless of one’s leanings, to visit Havana is to step back in time. Time stopped for Havana in 1959 when Castro seized power.
One only must walk down the streets to see first-hand what the world looked like 60 years. Automobile enthusiasts spend hours staring in awe at the outward plethora of excellent condition of vintage pre-energy conscious automobiles. The vibe of the musical scene and the remnants of familiar American institutions now laying in decay brings back vivid real time memories to the baby boomer generation.Through this website I hope to share with you, my love of Habana and why today it remains one of my favorite places in the world.