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Havana
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Havana is a gritty, steamy, irresistible city. Much of this vast, sprawling metropolis of 2.2 million people has suffered from decades of neglect, its decaying buildings and potholed streets. Yet this monumental city is also as grandiose and romantic as any European or New World nation. Its charming historic core is a jewel with a grid of intimate streets lined by baroque churches, palaces, castles, and mansions, which serve as eloquent evocations of the once mighty power of Spain.
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Havana is one of the world's great historical cities, resembling an abandoned stage set still waiting for the curtain to rise. Founded on its current site in 1519, San Cristóbal de la Habana rapidly evolved to become Spain's key to the New World, full of architectural gems. Havana's relatively lax morals drew Yankees, who were tempted by the lures of casinos, <i>mojitos</i> (a rum cocktail), and more sinful indulgences, such as live sex shows, cocaine parlors, and other esoteric frontiers of the Latin mystique.
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The postrevolutionary era has been hard on Havana. Neglected for four long, hard decades, the once-proud city sank into decline. Monstrous Soviet-style apartment blocks replaced the shantytowns of prerevolutionary Cuba with their own form of blight. Greater Havana, compromising 15 <i>municipios</i>, or municipalities, retains an amalgam of colonial-era villages, engulfed by the greater metropolis but still rich in historical allure.
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Havana's serpentine seafront drive, the Malecn was laid out in 1901 by the U.S. governor, General Leonard Woods (1860-1927). It twines 5 miles west from the base of the Prado to the Rio Almendares. The seawall is a great meeting point for lovers, and for children who come to swim in the square baths produced from the shoreline rocks.
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In inclement weather, waves cascade over the seawall. The once glorious colonial structures facing the ocean have proven incapable of withstanding the corrosive assault. Many are being restored today. Many individual buildings are being sponsored by different Spanish provinces. A Portuguese company plans to completely rebuild the dangerously pitted seafront walkway.<P>
The most ideal time to visit the Malecón is between September and April. The biggest waves are to be seen in Vedado, by the Hotel Riviera.
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