Havana Provides a Step Back in Time to Curious Visitors

Cuba is a land lost in time with an interesting history and a spirited people. Tens of thousands of Americans have visited this neighboring island of 10 million residents on organized tours or cruise ship excursions. These "people to people" exchanges took place after some tentative improvements in diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba.

Coming into Havana harbor and seeing the old City by ship at sunrise provides a great view. Two Spanish colonial forts line the ridge above the bay. Their thick walls and cannon emplacements served as a strong deterrent to intrigues by other colonial powers or raids by Caribbean pirates for several hundred years.  Most tours of the City include visits to these forts along with the more benevolent landmark of a marble statue of Jesus Christ known as Cristo de La Havana.

Once you arrive in the Old City, a walking tour will bring you to several cobblestone squares with magnificent cathedrals as well as dozens of colonial era buildings with porticos and balconies. While Soviet style concrete block buildings and high rise apartments have befouled portions of the City's architecture, the absence of economic development and limited modern construction for 60 years has left Havana with a large inventory of potentially interesting buildings to restore.

The focus of the City's efforts at present is the five-mile-long boulevard and seawall along the harbor known as the Malecon where people young and old sit out at night to take in the sea breeze or socialize with family and friends. People speak of foreign investors building modern hotels nearby and attracting international retailers to sell their goods locally, but progress is slow. To brighten up the sometimes-dreary views and liven up the experience, Cubans have turned touring by classic car into an art form.  Hundreds of brightly colored American cars from 1950s and 1960s are available for hire for private cruising around the island or taxi service. Posing alongside these beautiful relics is a key part of many tours.

Tropicana Cabaret

No trip to Havana would be complete, however, without an evening at one of the traditional nightclubs such as the Tropicana Cabaret where dozens of flashy singers and dancers perform salsa numbers and Latin rhythms just as they did for Hollywood stars and well-heeled gamblers decades ago.  Where else can you see a talented male singer perform Living La Vida Loca with twice the energy of Ricky Martin? Or hear a songstress present a haunting ballad surrounded by ladies with lighted lampshades on their heads? The food may not be special, but every group of guests receives a bottle of rum and an electric experience.

Colon Cemetary

Another popular and unusual attraction for visitors in Havana is the Colon cemetery which boasts some impressive above ground mausoleums, chapels and ornate grave sites memorializing the families of the land barons, businessman, artists and military leaders who controlled the island until Castro's communist revolution in 1959. Columbus himself was buried for a century nearby in the Havana cathedral until 1895 when his family exhumed his remains for the second time and moved them back to Seville in Spain for permanent internment. The reverence for ancestors is evident throughout the cemetery as many families still maintain their plots with flowers and repairs to the stonework.

Interaction with local merchants is somewhat limited for visitors to Havana. Most group or individual tours stop at government approved establishments featuring demonstrations and selling coffee, cigar and rum products or traditional handicrafts. But bargains for tourists at these stores are few and far between.

The contrast between Havana's aspirations and it's reality is an unavoidable theme when viewing these landmarks. While one can envision a future for Havana and the surrounding area that will include world-class resorts and entertainment venues, the bright lights of these developments are likely to elude Havana until Cuba’s leaders are able to encourage private investment. The people of this lovely island certainly deserve the chance to reach their full potential.