Havana Vieja: Dilapidated Beauty

I have reached Havana. This dilapidated beauty took just seconds to win my heart.

Crumbling, buzzing, joyful and deprived, she pulses with the essence of a vibrant life determined to be lived.

She is peaceful, she is unrestrained, she is all color, all movement, all declaration of heart, and endurance through celebration.


All this extroverted joy and celebration must hide some frustrated hope. Although so far, i have not sensed this shadow myself. Kindess, community, music & dance, and an entirely palpable sense of union, of a need and desire to share the pleasures and burdens of life, pervade the streets... which is where life happens in Havana.

this is my casa, and my room on the right.
door's open. come in...

I found a room in the home of a woman called Merci, who is helping me with my spanish. These private homes, or 'casa particulares', are a flavorful local alternative to hotel stays throughout Cuba.

My vibe train seems to still be on track. This was my first night:

Arriving at the airport, and unable to withdraw money from an ATM or cash converter, i was helped by an easy going Bermudan gay called Imar, who moved to Cuba four years ago in support of the revolution, and to study physiotherapy.


We later shared a cab, and a walk through Havana Vieja (Old Havana). From a street window, we bought a lunch-box size pineapple juice each, and cuban rum in the same packaging. Tearing open the cardboard, we mixed our own drinks and went looking for food.

Plaza Vieja was all barocades for a private event. A wink and a few coins later, security slipped us in and we took a seat on a gorgeous restaurant terrace overlooking the celebration of Havana's 490 year anniversary.


One thousand people poured into the square, and sipping fresh pina we awed for hours... opera, poetry, rumba, salsa, african dance, acting out of historical colonial scenes... Havana came out in force for my first night, and Imar said he hadn't seen anything like it in four years (he lives in a small town an hour's flight away).

Late in the night, I walked down still thriving steets to my new home just two blocks away, and collapsed into bed. Knowing, for certain, i had arrived somewhere very, very special.

but look closely, it's all ruins