Cuba - Lonely Planet [63]
Enamored Habaneros love their city and it’s not difficult to see why. This is the metropolis that inspired Lorca and enchanted Hemingway, a place where Winston Churchill wistfully concluded that he could quite happily ‘leave his bones.’ But while the setting is mesmerizing and the history like pungent cigar smoke drifting through the louvers, the city is far more than just a museum to rogues and revolutionaries. At least half of Havana’s attraction is visceral. You’ll fall in love here, but you’ll struggle to ever understand why. The city is an impenetrable muse, the ultimate ‘riddle wrapped up in a mystery inside an enigma.’ Hit the streets and let it work its magic.
* * *
HIGHLIGHTS
Architecture Art deco, colonial baroque, neoclassicism, Gaudí-esque experimentation:
take a walk through Havana’s architectural mosaic Click here
The Malecón Take in the dramatic sweep of Havana at sunset Click here
The Cañonazo Ceremony Head across the harbor for a tradition almost as old as the city itself (see boxed text,)
Cabaret Rediscover kitsch at a professional cabaret show Click here
Museo de la Revolución The Revolution will not be televised, it will be brought to you right here – live Click here
TELEPHONE CODE: 07
POPULATION: 2.2 MILLION
AREA: 740 SQ KM
* * *
Return to beginning of chapter
HISTORY
In 1514 San Cristóbal de la Habana was founded on the south coast of Cuba near the mouth of the Río Mayabeque by Spanish conquistador Pánfilo de Narváez. Named after the daughter of a famous Taíno Indian chief, the city was moved twice during its first five years due to mosquito infestations and wasn’t permanently established on its present site until December 17, 1519. According to local legend, the first Mass was said beneath a ceiba tree in present-day Plaza de Armas.
Havana is the most westerly and isolated of Diego Velázquez’ original villas and life was hard in the early days. Things didn’t get any better in 1538 when French corsairs and local slaves razed the city to the ground.
It took the Spanish conquest of Mexico and Peru to swing the pendulum in Havana’s favor. The town’s strategic location, at the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico, made it a perfect nexus point for the annual treasure fleets to regroup in the sheltered harbor before heading east. Thus endowed, its ascension was quick and decisive, and in 1607 Havana replaced Santiago as the capital of Cuba.
The city was sacked by French privateers led by Jacques de Sores in 1555; the Spanish replied by building the La Punta and El Morro forts between 1558 and 1630 to reinforce an already formidable protective ring. From 1674 to 1740, a strong wall around the city was added. These defenses kept the pirates at bay but proved ineffective when Spain became embroiled in the Seven Years’ War with Britain, the strongest maritime power of the era.
On June 6, 1762, a British army under the Earl of Albemarle attacked Havana, landing at Cojímar and striking inland to Guanabacoa. From there they drove west along the northeastern side of the harbor, and on July 30 they attacked El Morro from the rear. Other troops landed at La Chorrera, west of the city, and by August 13 the Spanish were surrounded and forced to surrender. The British held Havana for 11 months. (The same war cost France almost all its colonies in North America, including Québec and Louisiana – a major paradigm shift.)
When the Spanish regained the city a year later in exchange for Florida, they began a crash building program to upgrade the city’s defenses in order to avoid another debilitating siege. A new fortress, La Cabaña, was built along the ridge from which the British had shelled El Morro, and by the time the work was finished in 1774, Havana had become the most heavily fortified city in the New World, the ‘bulwark of the Indies.’
The British occupation resulted in Spain opening Havana to freer trade. In 1765 the city was granted the right to trade with seven Spanish cities instead of only Cádiz, and from 1818 Havana was allowed to ship its sugar, rum, tobacco