The main event for our third day in Havana would be a
3-hour historic walking tour of the old town which started at noon. A bit nervous that we would be walking around during the hottest part of the day where temperatures soared over 31 degrees in the blazing sun, I had planned a relaxing late afternoon at our hotel’s rooftop pool following the walk. But since the walking tour started so late, we could fit in our own “
pre-walk” to take in a few sights en route to the start of the tour. We would try to visit a beautiful old pharmacy, a ceramics museum, a chocolate shop and museum, a small art gallery and finally a gelato place. This was probably over-ambitious but we would see what we could accomplish.
In the area near Paseo De Marti South where there are street lights with the count-down signals that tell you how long you have to cross the road, it was surprising to see that you are given up to 60 seconds (far longer than any signal that we have in Toronto). But it turns out the time seems to allow you to cross two streets at a right angle and both lights are green at the same time. As we wandered the streets of Old Havana, we soaked in the energy and the culture of the city. From the graffiti art painted on building walls to the scenic views of classic cars parked along narrow streets with colourfully painted buildings, there was a distinct Cuban/Latin vibe all around and so many photographic opportunities.
Back in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries,
pharmacies in Havana were not only places to go buy medicine, but also gathering sites for people to meet and converse about politics and daily life. Three beautiful and luxuriously opulent pharmacies from those days can still be found in Old Havana and each has been turned into a museum that illustrates the pharmaceutical practices of the times. The two smaller ones, Taquechel and Johnson can be found on Calle Obsipo. We went to see the largest one, called
La Reunion, situated on Teniente Rey, a few streets south of the others. Founded in 1853 by Catalonian entrepreneur and apothecary
José Sarrá, it is known as the “
Museum of Pharmacy Habanera”, but is also still a working pharmacy that sells modern medicines as well as specializing in homeopathic remedies. The Reunion consists of three large exhibition halls featuring floor to ceiling mahogany & cedar shelves and old fashioned apothecary jars/containers made of 19th century French porcelain. The museum artifacts, some extracted from archeological excavations, include a large collection of medical bottles and tools, mortar and pesto grinders, books of prescriptions and medical recipes, a century-old French porcelain water filter, a solar microscope, antique measuring pots, scales and more.
Our next stop was the
National Museum of Ceramics, which presents Cuban pottery and ceramic art works from 1950 to the present day on its second floor. The ground floor contains a shop that sells ceramics as souvenirs, temporary exhibition areas, a lecture hall and an archaeological site. The first thing we encountered was the shop, which offered brightly coloured and kitschy pieces priced around 100-200 CUC (one CUC is equivalent to a US dollar). The works included whimsical animal caricatures, gargoyles and several unexpectedly shocking, sexually charged items that referenced phallic symbols and the female uterus.
Entrance to the ceramics museum was supposed to be free, but one of the sales clerks offered to take Rich and I on a personal tour for 2CUC each, which we gladly accepted. We were first led through the temporary exhibitions on the ground floor and saw some interesting pieces of large sculpture including a humanoid figure with arms and legs shaped like parts of a pencil entitled “I Only Want to Write Dreams”. Our guide spoke in hushed tones so as not to be overhead and surprisingly made a few subversive comments about the Cuban government as she pointed out various works that were subtle (or not so subtle) critiques against the social-political-economical situations in Cuba. Unfortunately she spoke broken English with a very heavy accent so it was difficult to understand what she was saying at times. From afar, one piece in particular looked like a series of hands raised in the air, with another set of hands making gestures towards the ground. A mirror was placed underneath the lower set of hands, reflecting their images. Upon careful inspection of those hand gestures, especially when viewed via the mirror, you can see that half of them are rude hand gestures including giving the “F*** you” finger and the “Bulls***” or horns of the devil signal.
We saw other works that could have been created to provide political commentary. One resembled the crumbling buildings in disrepair that we spotted throughout Havana and reflected on how there were no funds available to improve the housing conditions. A piece from Alexis Acanda’s SOS series may be dealing with the drowning deaths associated with refugees trying to flee Cuba? A hybrid between a sewing machine and a human arm sewing a Cuban flag brings to mind the plight of workers in the country, many of whom don't earn enough to live on and require second jobs to survive. A particularly disturbing piece called “Hidden Feelings” depicts a nude woman with part of her stomach exposed to show a tiny fetus inside. The listed materials for this work consisted of red clay, glazes, formol, glass and
human fetus?!?! One of the most poignant pieces that we saw was Osmany Betancourt’s glazed terracotta figures titled “Mirror” from 2002 which deals with the suffering and struggle of the Cuban people through the Revolution, the downfall of the USSR and the US embargo. You can see the suffering on the faces and arched bodies of the two figures, as well as the faces carved onto the round platform that the figures stand on. And then to lighten the mood, we came across the metal cage full of what looked like penises (with scrotums) marked with army stripes and wearing metal army helmets. I don’t even want to guess at what message this work is trying to convey!
I liked a couple of pieces that reminded me of Pablo Picasso’s ceramics, both in terms of shape and painted designs, including a covered bowl shaped like a bird, which was a common motif for Picasso’s pottery. I am forever amazed by ceramic works that are made to look like other mediums, like the wrinkly paper pages of a book or an old metal typewriter. The top floor of the museum went on and on as we were led from one room to another. Throughout the tour, the guide kept promising us a surprise. It was indeed a head-scratching surprise when she finally led us up to a large piece called “Legend of the Black Bridge”, quickly and furtively picked up the ceramic bird that was sitting on top of three other ceramic pillars, thrust the bird into my hands and took a photo of me holding the object. She then repeated the same act with Rich. Apparently it was quite the honour for us to be holding this bird, but to this day, we aren’t really sure why. Was this something religious? Spiritual? Political? For us, it was just weird but fun. This ceramics museum was much larger and more impressive than what we expected and we were very glad that we took the time to visit it, although we actually took much more time than originally planned.
Right next to the Ceramics museum was the
Chocolate “museum”, which is more of a chocolate shop/café/tasting room with a few artifacts related to the production and serving of chocolate and hot or cold chocolate drinks. There was an antique ceramic hot chocolate pot with an ornate handle used to pour the drink, and a hinged lid that had an opening to fit a long wooden handle called a moulinet, which is used to whip the hot chocolate. We saw many beautiful cups and saucers from across Europe, mostly dating from the early 20th Century and some chocolate moulds to create interesting shapes. While the small museum was interesting, what we really wanted was the nice tall glass of icy cold chocolate drink, which was great on a hot day. I was less keen on the piece of Cuban dark chocolate that we tried.
There was a display that provided examples of the various ingredients that could go into creating chocolate including vanilla, cocoa, powdered milk, lecithin (a fatty substance), cocoa liquor, and various types of sugar and cocao butter. The walls were decorated with vintage tin advertisements for past chocolate shops and cocoa suppliers, while in the back room stands a sculpture of a figure holding what looks like a large cocoa bean. This was a fun stop and a great way to cool off and rest our feet before continuing our trek through Old Havana.
Our next intended stop was at the
Wifredo Lam Contemporary Art Gallery, named in honour of one of Cuba’s most noted modern artists. The painter, who is of Afro-Chinese descent, is mostly known for his paintings but also dabbled in sculpture, ceramics and printmaking. When we arrived, we were overwhelmed by the enormous crowd trying to get into the gallery, as it turned out to be the opening day of an exhibition for the
Havana Biennale. It was just as well that we couldn’t get in, since we were short on time after spending longer than planned at the ceramics museum. Also we found out that the gallery did not actually display works by Lam (who we would see on a future day at the Cuban National Art Gallery), so it was no big loss to skip this. Instead we continued on to the
Helad’Oro, a
gelato place that was just a few blocks away from the start of our walking tour. Having read reviews online ahead of the trip, we went for the two most recommended flavours—
mojito and lemon pie. We also benefited from the seats and the cold air conditioning in the place, and after this final rest and refreshment, we were ready for our 3 hour walking tour.
The starting point for our walking tour was the
La Gargola Hostel, featuring a winged gargoyle on its façade. We were joined by our friends Peter and Suzie for what turned out to be a private tour for the four of us. We were pleasantly surprised to find that our tour guide Luis spoke perfect English and for the first time, we had no trouble understanding what was being told to us. The tour would cover the four major squares or plazas of Old Havana, culminating in a late lunch at a local eatery selected by the tour guide.
We passed by the Hotel Ambos Mundos, known as the first home of Ernest Hemingway when he inadvertently first arrived in Cuba in 1932 after his boat broke down en route to Europe. Hemingway lived in an apartment on the 5th floor for 14 years and wrote Form Who The Bell Tolls there. Today, his room has been turned into a mini museum with some of his belongings including books, fishing rods, a typewriter and some Abercrombie suits. Next we passed by the bar La Bodeguita del Medio, another frequent haunt of Hemingway’s as well as other writers, musicians and journalists who frequented the joint because there was a printing press here. Open since 1928, it is said to be the place where the mojito (rum, sugar, lime juice and mint) was invented and Hemingway’s bar of choice to order this drink (while La Floridita was where he ordered daiquiris). Other famous visitors to La Bodeguita included Errol Flynn, Brigette Bardot and Sophia Loren. It has become a tradition for people to sign their names on the walls of this establishment. Outside the bar, the self-professed “Poet of Cuba” Orlando La Guardia sits at his old-fashioned typewriter and composes poetry on demand for money. While wandering around in this area, we saw an old gent with a large
cigar in his mouth, offering to take photos with the tourists (also for money most
likely). I thought he epitomized the
definition of “dapper” or “dandy”.
Our first major square was the Plaza de la Cathedral, which contains a baroque 1770s cathedral, a Colonial Art Museum, and multiple cafes and an art gallery. The location was originally a swamp and the area was once called “Swamp Square”. Eventually it became the site of some of the city’s grandest mansions including the Palacio del Conde Lombillo, which today houses the Revitalization Master Plan of the City Historian’s office, and the Palacio del Marqués de Arcos, which once housed the post office . Many of the buildings in the square, as well as the cathedral itself are noted for their beautiful vitreous stained glass painted on wooden frames. The Cathedral of Havana was initially built by the Jesuits in 1748 but they were expelled from the island before its completion in 1777. The cathedral is largely built with blocks of coral and you can see marine fossils on the façade. It has asymmetrical towers built at different times after the central section, resulting in different heights and widths. One of the bells in the towers is the oldest in Cuba, dating back to 1747. We saw many locals pedaling their wares in this square, including women wearing colourful headscarves and the traditional Cuban dresses with multi-coloured layers of ruffles, and the man pushing a bicycle with a basket containing two basset hounds wearing spectacles.
The interior of the cathedral was originally constructed with a wood ceiling and floors, which were later replaced with limestone and marble respectively. Once again we marveled at the stunning windows, which seemed brighter and more vibrant than in other churches, and had what felt like modern, abstract themes as opposed to the religious or political scenes typically depicted in large cathedrals. The remains of Christopher Columbus were kept here from 1796-1898 before they were moved to Seville, Spain. We saw a life-sized sculpture of Pope John Paul II, who in 1969 asked that the celebration of Christmas be restored, after it was banned in the 1959 Cuban revolution. There was a sculpture of Saint Christopher, patron of travelers who was de-canonized because it was deemed there was insufficient historic evidence of his performed miracle. We also saw tributes to the Virgin Loretta, protector of homes and the Virgin of Guadalope, patron saint of sailors saved from storms.
Our next stop was the
History Mural, painted along the entire side of a building on
Mercaderes Street, across from the home of the
Marquis de Arcos, which we saw the back of at the Cathedral Square. The mural was created in 1990 by Cuban artist Andrés Carillo using the technique of spraying silver on sand. It depicts 67 important historic, political, artistic, literary, scientific and intellectual figures from 19th Century Cuba including a famous black violinist who stands out as being the only figure of colour in the mural. The façade of the building depicted in the mural is a mirror image of Marquis’ home, including the positioning of doorways, balconies and windows. Unfortunately the area around the mural is under construction and the legend explaining who these people were has been taken down, although I probably would not recognize the names anyways.
The second square on our tour was
Plaza de Armas (meaning parade ground) or Army Square. The oldest square in the city, it was founded in the early 16th Century and initially named Plaza de la Iglesia after the small church that once was here. It got its current name in the late 16th Century when its purpose became to house troops who would protect the Governor’s home, which is now the city museum and Vice President’s palace. Nestled in a lush garden is the statue of
Carlos Manuela Cepedes, initiator of the Cuban Wars of Independence, who became the first president of Cuba in 1869 and created the first constitution. Unfortunately Cepedes was deposed in a coup in 1873, forced by his enemies to flee, and captured and killed by the Spanish in 1874. The streets in front of the governor’s house are made from a
parquet of wood because the wife of Governor and General Don Miguel Tacon did not want to hear the footsteps of the marching troops. Also in the square is the
Central Santa Lucia 1181, part of a a sugar mill locomotive used to transport sugar cane between mills.
Now a police station,
Castillo de la Real Fuerza was completed in 1577 and is the oldest fort in the Americas that is still standing. It was considered to be too far inland to be of use for protecting the harbour. A watchtower was added in 1634 with a weather vane at the top, shaped like a lady with a large cross in her hands. It is thought that the sculpture is in honour of
Isabel de Bobadilla, Havana’s only female governor who took over after her husband Hernando de Soto died while away on an expedition to Florida. Unaware of his passing, she spent many years scanning the horizon for signs of his return. The image of this figure has become the symbol for “
Made in Cuba”. The neo-classical temple called
El Templete was built in 1827 on the spot where Havana founded in 1519, and where the first mass was held. Three large murals by Jean Baptiste Vermay depict the first mass, the first council and the blessing of the Templete on its inauguration and a bust of his image sits on a platform in the centre of the building. People make wishes and leave offerings at the base of a sacred
Ceiba tree planted on the grounds. A ceremony takes place around the tree each November 15 when people circle it three times and make a wish that is supposedly granted.
Plaza de San Francisco de Asís is named after the Franciscan convent built there in the 16th Century. At one side is a stone fountain with four lions at its base, that was donated to the city by a wealthy patron after his wife rejected the fountain for their home. The square was nicknamed “Pigeon Square” because of all the pigeons that hovered in the area. The 1907
Chamber of Commerce building also sits in this square and is where most of the foreign companies have their headquarters. There is one contemporary sculpture as well as two magnificent bronze sculptures found in and around the square. The contemporary sculpture sits in front of the Chamber of Commerce and is called “
The Conversation”. The first bronze is a depiction of
Frederic Chopin sitting on the edge of a bench. The second one, found to the side of the convent, is named the “
Gentleman of Paris”, referring to José María López Lledín, an elegant vagabond with a trademark beard who wandered around Havana and became a cult figure. This bronze was created in 2001 by sculptor José Villa Soberón, who was also the creator of the
John Lennon sculpture in Lennon park and the
Ernest Hemmingway sculpture in the bar El Floridita. Legend has it that good luck will befall you if you put your right hand on the beard of the Gentleman of Paris and step on his left foot. From the Plaza de San Francisco, we could see the cruise ships in the harbour. We were told by our tour guide that there is currently room for 2 cruise ships to dock at one time, but plans are in place to add 4 more. We were lucky to visit Havana before this happened.
The last square that we visited on our walking tour before heading to lunch was
Plaza Vieja or Old Square. Dating back to 1559, Plaza Vieja was home to some of the richest people in Havana and rivaled Plaza de Armas as a residential haven. Today the buildings house art galleries and photography studios including the
Camera Obscura where live 360 degree images of the city are projected for display in a dark room on the roof of a tower. The water fountain in the centre of the square is a recreation, as the original one was destroyed when the President wanted to build an underground parking lot in the spot. The most noticeable part of the square is the
large bronze sculpture of a nude bald woman in spiked heels holding a fork and sitting on top of a one-legged
rooster. According to our tour guide, the piece references the rampant prostitution in the 1990s, while the fork alludes to poverty and hunger which drove women to the trade. The rooster (or "coq" which is a homonym for "cock") itself might be a sexual connotation while the one leg symbolizes the unbalanced times. Called
“Fantastic Trip”, the sculpture was created in 2012 by noted Cuban sculptor Roberto Fabelo but it remains unsigned since the Cuban government was embarrassed by it. This was our second time visiting this square. We had dropped by on our first day and stopped at the coffee bar for drinks and a piece of cake. That is when we learned that the bar did not receive its fresh water supply that day and therefore they could only serve hot drinks (that boiled any germs out of the water?). On our second visit during this tour, the Havana Biennale had started and the square was decorated with colourful floats dangling between buildings.
Having completed our walking tour, we now headed for our lunch at
Bar Sarrá, named after the Sarrá Pharmaceutical chain whose museum we saw earlier in the day. After a long hot several hours of walking around Old Havana, the first thing we wanted were ice cold drinks and the ones we received were the most lush, gorgeous drinks so far. I had a strawberry daiquiri while Rich had a pineapple daiquiri and Suzie had a lemon/lime icy drink that looked amazing. When the food came, it was also delicious and full of Cuban flavours including lime and cilantro. I ordered the lightly fried red snapper fish filet with a tomato and basil salsa while Rich ordered the pork with tamarind and peanuts. Both meals came with crispy sauteed seasonal vegetables and a "bean rice" which I thought I would not like since I don't usually like hard beans, but I found quite tasty. For dessert we had a piece of flan with a scoop of chocolate ice cream and an espresso with a complementary piece of chocolate. It was the perfect end to our walking tour and since we ate around 3pm, we were so full that we skipped dinner that night.
We spent the late afternoon relaxing at the pool and drinking mojitos, then called it an early night after a long, hot tiring day.
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