A Walk Along the Malecon

Havana's Past, Present and Future Viewed From the Waterfront

Por Andy Johnson III

07 de August de 2017

Having settled into our casa particular, the Cuban name for what we would refer to as a bed & breakfast or more recently Airbnb, we set off to meet up with one of Bethany's friends who happened to be in Havana at the same time. Bright colors and ornate but dilapidated architecture lined the streets of Havana's Vedado neighborhood. The first people we saw along the street were two elderly women sitting in the shade and framed beautifully by the rustic buildings.

Standing along Carlos III, the city's major thoroughfare, we tried to figure out how to hale a tax. Bethany had read that you don't hold your hand up as we do back home but out so we stood there with our hands out before walking down to a busy corner where we finally flagged down a taxi.

Cafe Cubano & Flan

We sat down on the front patio of Tablazo overlooking the crowd for any sign of Bethany's friend, Jenny. She never did make it but we enjoyed some fresh pineapple and mango juice while we waited. Our pork and vegetables were rather bland but the cafe Cubano and flan for dessert made up for it. Cafe Cubano is a small cup of espresso that is sweetened with sugar as it is being brewed. Flan is one of Havana's most popular desserts and tasted heavenly when paired with the sweetened espresso.

WALKING ALONG THE MALECON

After lunch we set out to walk along Havana's famous Malecon, a sea wall that protects the city from all but the Caribbean's largest waves. I've read about and seen pictures of times when the waves pound against the wall so hard that they can soak cars that are driving by. During our stroll along the waterfront, the water was rather still and there weren't too many people out and about. We later found that more people hang out along the Malecon closer to the old part of the city in Habana Vieja.

The intense heat may also have had something to do with the fact that few people were walking along the waterfront and it wasn't long before we had to go on a desperate search for water in a nearby neighborhood. This is how we learned the hard way not to count on the presence of anything like grocery or convenience stores in Havana. We never set out again without plenty of water in the Havana heat.

A Curious Blend of architecture

Havana's water front from Vedado through Centro Habana and to La Rampa features a curious blend of architecture and is both striking for what is there as well as what is not. There are a few hotels and modern office buildings, more mid-century apartment buildings, fascinating art deco structures, monuments to Cuba's history and plenty of crumbling homes designed in the old world European style that is typical for Havana. What is not along Havana's waterfront is resorts, restaurants and tourist traps. I wondered if this would change if foreign investment in Havana became more common. It seemed strange that some of the houses closest to the water seemed the most in disrepair.

One of my favorite structures along the waterfront was an old soccer stadium The stands were covered with axe-head shaped metal structures to provide the onlookers with shade. There was one guy doing a workout as we walked past and for a city that loves soccer, it seemed remarkable that such a well-situated soccer pitch would go unmaintained. Another remarkable building was the Russian Embassy which looks like the handle of a screw driver driven into the ground.

Hotel Nacional

The Hotel Nacional is one of Havana's iconic landmarks and dates back to 1930. From our walk along the Malecon we found the best views of the hotel and its surroundings. The The Monument to the Victims of the USS Maine stands out in juxtaposition to the hotel, as a memory of the American ship that exploded in Havana's waters in 1898 and became a catalyst for the American war against Spain. The eagle that once graced the top of the monument is no longer there and the busts of Presidents McKinley and Roosevelt were removed by a mob in 1961. The inscription that was then added states:

To the victims of the Maine who were sacrificed by the imperialist voracity and their desire to gain control of the island of Cuba

This was to be the first of many symbols that we would find of America's rocky past with the island of Cuba. Although our walk along the Malecon was not well timed and rather hot, it gave us a picture of Cuba that we were not to to find anywhere else during our time in Havana. This blend of Cuba's past, present and future fascinated me with a desire to learn more about this beautiful island.