Havana, Cuba ~ the buildings

I've just returned from a week long trip to Cuba. It was fantastic and fascinating. I'll be doing a series of posts, highlighting different aspects of my trip. Today, I'm focusing on the buildings of Havana. 

One of the things I was most fascinated by was the architecture, particularly in Havana Vieja (Old Havana was declared a Unesco World Heritage site in 1982.). Havana is 500 years old, and the range of buildings is amazing. Unlike most cities, they haven't torn down many of the old building. And, sadly, have been unable to afford to rehabilitate soooo many of the gorgeous old structures. The city looks as it did 100 years ago...

The population of Cuba is 11 million, with about 2.5 million living in Havana. The island of Cuba is narrow and 740 miles long.



The Spanish ruled Cuba from 1519- 1898, when the US briefly took over. With the Cuban revolution of 1904, Cuba was ruled by it's own people. Throughout the years, Cuba has gone through huge economic booms and huge depressions.



The song lyrics of 'what a beautiful wreck' describe these old buildings...



There is an active restoration going on, in Havana, but the money and materials are VERY slim, so it will be a slow process with hundreds and hundreds of buildings to be restored.





Even though the outside of this building (above) looks beautifully restored, the apartments inside are not. The housing shortage for Cubans is one of their major problems, since soooo many of these structures are uninhabitable. 

There are some structures, in some areas that have been restored to their former glory.





The streets are uniformly clean with street sweepers and residents keeping them tidy. It's the case throughout Cuba.



Our group took a walking tour with respected Architect and historian Maria Elena Martin (above).

Cuba is a very poor country, even though education and healthcare are provided for free. There are extreme shortages for basic goods, ration cards, and the people are paid ~$24 a month, yet must pay high prices for non rationed goods. The countries income is number 1. tourism  and number 2. remittances (which means money and goods send from their family members who live outside the country)

You can find neighborhoods that look like this, but VERY few.

This is the view from the Malecon (the road and 5 mile walk way along the shore.) That's more of Havana in the distance.
Tomorrow, the dance studios and artists we visited. I'm posting for the next week on our trip..through January 20, 2012.