The Caribbean Paris. Havana, Cuba

Sometime a picture can be more than a thousand words. I think this is the case. The same happens with Tomas Gutierrez Alea's film, "Memories of Underdevelopment" The film describes a man and a city torn among three cultures. The island of Cuba is located in the Caribbean; it exists among the United States, Central America, and South America. Like many other countries in Latin America, it was a possession of both American and European colonial powers and its cultural identity expresses this mixture of influences. Havana, the capital city, possesses not only a cultural, mestizo, mixture but, as expressed by Sergio (the main character of the film), a cultural confusion. Through Sergio and Pablo, Gutierrez Alea portrays a post-Revolutionary city nostalgic for its Euro-American heritage, and unsure of its new future. Sergio expresses the irony of the Revolution's so-called Cultural Revolution as reflected in Havana, by noting "Nothing has changed. At first sight it looks like a set, a cardboard city." Unlike other post-Revolutionary Latin American countries, there are no visual, architectural differences. The urban symbolism of the old Batista regime still stands prominently. They used to call it the Caribbean Paris, but not anymore. The area where this photo was taken, back in 2001, is the area where are the most colonial buildings and is the most visited area for tourists who spend a few days in Havana. Besides the evident degradation it's still one of the most beautiful spots. This beautiful city, declared as an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988, seems to be frozen in time for the past few decades. Foreigners can walk through the streets getting hustled by jineteros, taking pictures to the Vintage cars, baroque style buildings and beautiful courtyards, or just having a (Cristal) beer. The Havana’s atmosphere is unique. Havana’s Vieja is famous for the Catedral de San Cristoal de la Habana at the Plaza de la Catedral, and for Hemingway's bar, "La Bodeguita del Medio", where you can buy an expensive mojito. Live music is everywhere, and the Habaneros are performing their music in order to earn their daily doses of convertible pesos, so that they can buy what they need at the dollar stores to take care of their families. This is “la vida Habanera”: old American cars, cigars, rum, jineteros and an enormous amount of difficulties to run the daily life.