Havana's Frozen in Time: Cuba's Capital Between Past and Future
Havana's crumbling colonial grandeur, its 1950s American cars, its rooftop bars and salsa rhythms create an atmosphere of gorgeous, melancholy nostalgia that no other city in the world can replicate.
Havana was founded by the Spanish in 1519 and grew into one of the most important ports in the Americas — the staging point for the treasure fleets that carried silver from the mines of Mexico and Peru back to Spain. The wealth of the colonial period built the palaces, churches, and fortifications of Old Havana, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982 and is one of the best-preserved colonial city centres in the Americas. The buildings are in various states of repair — some meticulously restored, others held together by scaffolding and optimism — and the contrast between the grandeur of the architecture and the patina of decay gives the city its distinctive atmosphere.
The American cars that crowd Havana's streets are the most visible symbol of the city's frozen-in-time quality. When the US trade embargo was imposed in 1962, the supply of new American vehicles was cut off, and the Cubans have been maintaining and repairing the same fleet of 1950s Chevrolets, Buicks, Fords, and Cadillacs ever since — improvising parts, rebuilding engines, and painting the cars in vivid colours that make them look more like works of art than working vehicles. The cars are now a major tourist attraction in themselves, and many owners supplement their income by offering tours in their vintage machines.
The Malecón, the eight-kilometre seafront promenade that runs along the northern edge of the city, is the social heart of Havana — the place where Habaneros come to fish, to court, to drink rum, and to watch the waves crash against the sea wall. At sunset, when the light turns the colonial buildings behind the promenade gold and the Caribbean glitters in front, the Malecón is one of the most beautiful urban spaces in the world. At night, it becomes an outdoor living room for the entire city, with musicians, lovers, and families sharing the wide pavement.
The music of Havana is inescapable and irresistible — son, salsa, rumba, and jazz pour from every bar, restaurant, and open window, and the standard of musicianship is extraordinarily high. The Buena Vista Social Club, the 1997 album and documentary that introduced the world to a generation of elderly Cuban musicians, sparked a global interest in Cuban music that has never really faded. The Casa de la Música in Miramar and the Fabrica de Arte Cubano in Vedado are the best venues for live music, but the most authentic experiences are in the smaller bars of Old Havana, where a trio might play for tips in a corner.
The neighbourhood of Vedado, west of Old Havana, was developed in the early 20th century as the residential district of Havana's wealthy classes, and its wide boulevards lined with art deco and modernist mansions give it a very different character from the colonial centre. The Hotel Nacional, opened in 1930 and overlooking the Malecón, has hosted everyone from Winston Churchill to Frank Sinatra, and its terrace bar — with views over the sea and the city — is one of the great places to drink a mojito in the world.
Cuban food has a reputation for being uninspiring, and the state-run restaurants — paladares — that dominated the dining scene for decades did little to challenge that reputation. But the liberalisation of private enterprise in recent years has produced a new generation of privately owned restaurants that are transforming Havana's food scene. The best of them serve creative interpretations of Cuban classics — ropa vieja, lechón asado, moros y cristianos — using fresh local ingredients and techniques borrowed from the international kitchens where many of the young chefs have trained.
The relationship between Cuba and the outside world is in a state of flux, and the experience of visiting Havana is changing as a result. The opening of private businesses, the spread of internet access, and the gradual relaxation of travel restrictions have all altered the city's character in ways that are both positive and bittersweet — the authenticity that made Havana so compelling is partly a product of its isolation, and as that isolation ends, the city is becoming simultaneously more comfortable and less unique. Visiting now, while the transition is still in progress, means experiencing a city that is genuinely in the process of becoming something new.
