Havana

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This article is about the Cuban capital city. For other places named Havana, please see Havana (disambiguation)

Havana
Havana skyline
Location of Havana in Cuba
Area Population Density	721.01 km² 2,201,610 (2002) 3053.5 /km²
Established Location Altitude Province	1515 23°8′N 82°23′W 15 Ciudad de La Habana

Havana (Spanish in full: Ciudad de La Habana, formerly named San Cristóbal de La Habana; UN/LOCODE: CU HAV) is the capital of Cuba. The city also forms one of the 14 provinces of Cuba. With a population of more than 2.2 million, Havana is the largest city in both Cuba and the Caribbean. It is located just over 90 miles (144 km) south-southwest of Key West, Florida. It is located on the northwest coast of Cuba, facing the Straits of Florida, and is surrounded by the province of Havana to the south, east, and west.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Foundation 1.2 Pirates and La Flota 1.3 Havana in the 17th and 18th Centuries 1.4 Havana in the 19th Century 1.5 Republican Period 1.6 Post-revolution 2 General 3 Old Havana 4 Havana's Chinatown 5 Transportation 6 Landmarks in the city 7 Municipalities 8 Sister Cities (Twin Cities) 9 Sports 10 Other images 11 References 12 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Foundation

The current Havana area and its natural bay were first visited by Europeans during Sebastián de Ocampo's circumnavigation of the island, on 1509^[1]. Shortly thereafter, on 1510, the first Spanish colonists arrived from La Hispaniola and thus the Conquest of Cuba began.

Conquistador Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar founded Havana on August 25, 1515 on the southern coast of the island, near the present town of Surgidero de Batabanó. Between 1514 and 1519, the city had at least two different establishments. An early map of Cuba drawn up in 1514 places the town in the mouth of the river Onicaxinal, again on the south coast of Cuba. Another establishment was La Chorrera, which is today in the neighbourhood of Puentes Grandes, next to the Almendares River. The last establishment, commemorated by El Templete, was the sixth town founded by the Spanish on the island, called San Cristobal de la Habana by Pánfilo de Narváez: The name combines San Cristóbal, the patron saint of Havana, and Habana, patrimony of dark origins that could derive from Habaguanex, name of an Indian chief that controlled that area, quoted by Diego Velasquez in his relation to the king of Spain. A legend narrates that Habana was the name of Habaguanex's beautiful daughter [1], but no known historical source corroborates this version.

Havana moved to its current location next to what was then called Puerto de Carenas (literally, "Careening Bay"), in 1519. The quality of this natural bay, which now hosts Havana's harbor, warranted this change of location. Bartolomé de las Casas wrote:

...one of the ships, or both, had the need of careening, which is to renew or mend the parts that travel under the water, and to put tar and wax in them, and entered the port we now call Havana, and there they careened so the port was called de Carenas. This bay is very good and can host many ships, which I visited few years after the Discovery... few are in Spain, or elsewhere in the world, that are their equal...^[1]

Shortly after the founding of Cuba's first cities, the island served as little more than a base for the Conquista of other lands. Hernán Cortés organized his expedition to Mexico from here. Cuba, during the first years of the Discovery, provided no immediate wealth to the conquistadores, as it was poor in gold, silver and precious stones, and many of its settlers moved to the more promising lands of Mexico and South America, that were being discovered and colonized at the time. The legends of Eldorado and the Seven Cities of Gold attracted many adventurers from Spain, but also from the adjacent colonies, leaving Havana, and the rest of Cuba, largely unpopulated.

[edit] Pirates and La Flota

Havana was originally a trading port and suffered regular attacks by buccaneers, pirates, and French corsairs. The first attack and burning of the city was by the French corsair Jacques de Sores. The pirate took Havana with only two caravels, plundering the city and murdering 30 elders and blacks who were imprisoned. De Sores left without obtaining the enormous wealth that he was hoping to find in Havana.

Such attacks convinced the Spanish Crown to fund the construction of the first fortresses in the main cities, not only to counteract the pirates and corsairs but also to exert more control on commerce with the West Indies and limit the extensive contrabando (black market) that developed due to the trade restrictions imposed by the Casa de Contratación of Seville, the crown-controlled trading house that owned a monopoly on trade with the New World.

To counteract pirate attacks on Galleon convoys headed for Spain loaded with prized New World treasures, the Spanish crown decided to protect its ships by concentrating them in one large fleet that would traverse the Atlantic Ocean as a group. A single fleet could receive better coverage by the Spanish Armada. Following a king's decree in 1561, all ships headed for Spain were required to join this fleet in the Havana Bay. Ships arrived from May to August, waiting for the best weather conditions, and the fleet departed Havana for Spain by September.

This boosted commerce and development of the adjacent city of Havana (just a humble villa at the time). Goods traded in Havana included gold, silver, alpaca wool from the Andes, emeralds from Colombia, mahoganies from Cuba and Guatemala, leather from the Guajira, spices, sticks of dye from Campeche, corn, manioc, and cocoa. Ships from all over the New World carried products to Havana so that they could be taken by the fleet to Spain. The thousands of ships gathered in the city's bay also fueled Havana's agriculture and manufacture, as they had to be supplied with food, water, and other products in order to traverse the ocean.

In 1563, the Capitán General (the Spanish Governor of the island) moved from Santiago de Cuba to Havana due to that city's newly gained wealth and importance, unofficially sanctioning its status as capital of the island. On December 20, 1592, King Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of City. Later, the city would be officially designated as "Key to the New World and antemural of the West Indies" by the Spanish crown.

In the meantime, efforts to build or improve the defensive infrastructures of the city were carried on. The San Juan de la Punta castle guarded the west entrance of the bay, while the Castillo de los Tres Reyes Magos del Morro guarded the east entrance. The Castillo de la Real Fuerza defended the city's center, and doubled as the Governor's residence until a more comfortable palace was built. Two more defensive towers, La Chorrera and San Lázaro were built in this period, as well.

[edit] Havana in the 17th and 18th Centuries

Havana expanded greatly in the 17th century. New buildings were constructed from the most abundant materials of the island, mainly wood, combining various Iberian architectural styles, as well as borrowing profusely from Canarian characteristics. During this period the city also built civic monuments and religious constructions. The convent of St Augustin, El Morro Castle, the chapel of the Humilladero, the fountain of Dorotea de la Luna in La Chorrera, the church of the Holy Angel, the hospital of San Lazaro, the monastery of Santa Teresa and the convent of San Felipe Neri were all completed in this era.

In 1649 a fatal epidemic brought from Cartagena in Colombia, affected a third of the population of Havana. On November 30, 1665, Queen Mariana of Austria, widow of King Philip IV of Spain, ratified the heraldic shield of Cuba, which took as its symbolic motifs the first three castles of Havana: that of the Real Force, of Three Santos Reyes Magos del Morro and San Salvador de la Punta. The shield also displayed a symbolic golden key to represent the title of "Key of the Gulf". On 1674, the works for the City Walls were started, as part of the fortification efforts. They would be completed on 1740.

By the middle of the 18th century Havana had more than seventy thousand inhabitants, and was the third largest city in the Americas, ranking behind Lima and Mexico City but ahead of Boston and New York.^[2] The prosperity of Havana brought continued international attention, and the city was unexpectedly seized by the Royal Navy. The episode began on June 6, 1762, when at dawn, an impressive British fleet, containing more than fifty ships and fourteen thousand men, drew into Cuban waters. The British seized the city as part of the Seven Years' War, opening it to free trade and bringing thousands of enslaved Africans to the island. The city was subsequently governed by Sir George Keppel on behalf of Great Britain. In the middle of 1763, only a year after the invasion, the British returned Havana to the Spanish in exchange for Florida.

After regaining the city, the Spanish transformed Havana into the most heavily fortified city in the Americas. Construction began on what was to become the Fortress of San Carlos de la Cabaña, the biggest Spanish fortification in the New World. The work extended for eleven years and was enormously costly, but on completion the fort was considered an unassailable bastion and essential to Havana's defence. It was provided with a large number of cannons forged in Barcelona. Other fortifications were constructed, as well: the castle of Atarés defended the Shipyard in the inner bay, while the castle of El Príncipe guarded the city from the west. Several cannon batteries located along the bay's canal (among which the San Nazario and Doce Apóstoles batteries) ensured no points of the harbor remained undefended.

The Havana cathedral was constructed in 1748 as a Jesuit church, and converted in 1777 into the Parroquial Mayor church, after the Suppression of the Jesuits from Spanish territory on 1767. On 1788, it formally became a Cathedral. Between 1789 and 1790 Cuba was apportioned into individual diocese by the Roman Catholic Church. On January 15, 1796, the remains of Christopher Columbus were transported to the island from Santo Domingo. They rested here until 1898, when they were transferred to Seville's Cathedral, after Spain's loss of Cuba.

Havana's shipyard (named El Arsenal) was extremely active, thanks to the wood resources available in the vicinity of the city. The Santísima Trinidad was the largest warship. of her time. Launched in 1769, she was about 62 meters long, had three decks and 120 cannons. She was later upgraded to as many as 144 cannons and four decks. She sank following the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. This ship cost 40.000 pesos fuertes of the time, which gives an idea of the importance of the Arsenal, by comparing its cost to the 26 million pesos fuertes and 109 ships produced during the Arsenal's existence. [2]

[edit] Havana in the 19th Century

As trade between Caribbean and North American states increased in the early 19th century, Havana became a flourishing and fashionable city. Havana's theatres received the most distinguished actors of the age, and prosperity amongst the burgeoning middle-class led to new expensive classical mansions being erected. During this period Havana became known as the Paris of the Antilles.

The 19th century opened with the arrival in Havana of Alexander von Humboldt, who was impressed by the vitality of the port. In 1837, the first stretch of railroad was constructed, of 51 km, between Havana and Bejucal, which was used for transporting sugar from the valley of Guines to the port of the city. With this, Cuba became the fifth country in the world to have a railroad, and the first Spanish-speaking country. Throughout the century, Havana was enriched by the construction of additional cultural facilities, such as the theater Tacon, one of the most luxurious in the world, the Artistic and Literary Liceo (Lyceum) and the theater Coliseo. In 1863, the city walls were knocked down so that the metropolis could be extended. At the end of the century, the well-off classes moved to the quarter of the Vedado. Later, they emigrated towards Miramar, and today, increasingly on the west, they have settled in Siboney. At the end of the 19th century Havana saw the last moments of the Spanish colonization in America, which ended definitively when the United States warship Maine was sunk in its port, giving that country the pretext to invade the island. The 20th century began with Havana, and therefore Cuba, under occupation by the USA.

[edit] Republican Period

Under American influence, the city grew and prospered. Numerous hotels, casinos and nightclubs were constructed in the 1930s to serve Havana's burgeoning tourist industry. Santos Traficante took the roulette of the Sans-Souci, Meyer Lansky directed the Riviera, and Lucky Luciano, the National Casino. Before the hotels and restaurants, the Cadillac, Chevrolet and Buick park in triple line waiting, to the buttons. At that time Havana became an exotic capital of gambling and corruption where gangsters and stars were known to mix socially. A gallery of black and white portraits from the era still adorns the walls of the bar of the National Hotel, including pictures of Frank Sinatra with Ava Gardner, Marlene Dietrich and Gary Cooper.

[edit] Post-revolution

After the revolution of 1959 efforts were made to improve social services, public housing and official buildings. Nevertheless, shortages that affected Cuba following the revolution and subsequent U.S. embargo hit Havana especially hard; much of the city is crumbling without sufficient resources to preserve the old buildings from the effects of the tropical climate and occasional hurricanes. Following a severe economic downturn after the collapse of Soviet Russia, the government has increasingly turned to tourism for financial support. A major effort has gone into rebuilding Old Havana for tourist purposes and a number of streets and squares have been rehabilitated. Construction is ongoing.

In 1991, the Pan American Games were held in Havana.

[edit] General

Havana City is the smallest of the Cuban provinces, but the most populated. There are different architectural styles in the city, from houses of the XVII to modern constructions. Havana is the most important destination for tourists in Cuba and one of the most important in Latin America. It is also the main base for the government of the country, and various ministries are based in the city, as are the head offices of businesses such as Corporacion Cimex. The industries in Havana are an important part of the economy of the country. Havana’s harbor is the most important in Cuba and through it come and go half of the Cuban imports and exports.

On the night of July 8-9, 2005, the eastern suburbs of the city took a direct hit from Hurricane Dennis, and in October 2005, the coastal regions suffered severe flooding following Hurricane Wilma.

[edit] Old Havana

Main article: Old Havana

Old Havana, or La Habana Vieja as Cubans call it, is the richest colonial set of Latin America. Havana Vieja was founded by the Spanish in 1519 in the natural harbor of the Bay of Havana. It became a stopping point for the treasure laden Spanish Galleons on the crossing between the New World and the Old World. In the 17th century it was one of the main ship-building centers. The narrow streets of Old Havana contain many buildings of historical and cultural significance, accounting for perhaps as many as one-third of the approximately 3,000 buildings found in Old Havana.

Old Havana is the ancient city formed from the port, the official center and the Plaza de Armas. Alejo Carpentier called Old Havana the place "de las columnas"(of the columns). The Cuban government is taking many steps to preserve and to restore Old Havana, through the Office of the City Historian, directed by Eusebio Leal. Old Havana and its fortifications were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1982.

[edit] Havana's Chinatown

Chinese Cuban community is today clustered around the largely dying Barrio Chino — called Barrio Chino de La Habana — on Calle Zanja. Unlike that of Argentina and other Latin American countries, the overseas Chinese population of Cuba was once large. Only one Chinese-language newspaper, Kwong Wah Po, remains in Cuba. Havana's Chinatown was formerly among the largest in Latin America as the neighborhood comprised of 44 square blocks during its prime. Chinese immigration to Cuba started in 1847 when Spanish settlers brought in Cantonese contract workers to work in the sugar fields. Hundreds of thousands of Chinese workers were brought in from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan during the following decades to replace the labor of African slaves. After completing 8-year contracts, the Chinese immigrants generally settled permanently in Havana, where their descendants have since intermarried with local Cubans.

To tie in with the Revolution's economic reliance on tourism, attempts have recently been launched to attract revitalization investment for the Chinatown from Mainland Chinese state-run enterprises and overseas Chinese private investors, particularly Chinese Canadians. ^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Transportation

Further information: Transportation in Cuba

Havana's international airport is José Martí International Airport. It lies about 10 km south of the city center, and is the main hub for Cubana de Aviación. Havana's bus service is well used, and buses are often very crowded. The bus service operates fixed routes. These are trailers transformed into buses, known as camels, so called for their two humps. The "camel buses" usually cover the longer routes to the outskirts. The Colectivos are taxis that operate long and fixed routes, only embarking when complete with passengers. These taxis are cheaper than the buses, and drivers wait in the surroundings of the bus stations. The passenger ferry travels to Regla and Casablanca every 10 or 15 minutes from Muelle Luz, on the San Pedro and Santa Clara corner, in the Southeast of Old Havana.

[edit] Landmarks in the city

• Castillo del Morro, picturesque fortress guarding the entrance to Havana bay. The construction of the castle Los Tres Reyes del Morro owed to the step along in Havana of the English pirate Sir Francis Drake.
• La Cabaña fortress, located on the east side of the Havana bay. The most impressive fortress of the Spanish colony was La Cabaña, it impresses with its walls of the ends of the XVIIIth century constructed along with El Morro.
• Malecón is the avenue that runs along the seawall at the northern shore of Havana, from Habana Vieja to the Almendares River, forming the southern boundary of Old Havana, Centro and Vedado.
• National Capitol, styled after the U.S. Capitol.
• The Museum of the Revolution, located in the former Presidential Palace, with the boat Granma on display in front of the museum.
• Tropicana - tropical cabaret with a 60 year old history.
• Necrópolis Cristóbal Colón - burial grounds and open air museum^[3]
• Havana has a series of beaches spread out along the Via Blanca highway east of the city.
• Hotel Nacional de Cuba, or the National Hotel.

[edit] Municipalities

The city is divided into 15 municipios - municipalities or boroughs.

1. Arroyo Naranjo
2. Boyeros
3. Centro Habana
4. Cerro
5. Cotorro
6. Diez de Octubre
7. Guanabacoa
8. La Habana del Este
9. La Habana Vieja (Old Havana)
10. La Lisa
11. Marianao
12. Playa (includes Miramar, and extends to Santa Fe in the west)
13. Plaza de la Revolucion (sometimes abbreviated to 'Plaza'; includes Vedado)
14. Regla
15. San Miguel del Padrón

[edit] Sister Cities (Twin Cities)

• Madrid, Spain
• Glasgow, Scotland
• Istanbul, Turkey
• Tehran, Iran
• Cádiz, Spain
• Belo Horizonte, Brazil
• Cuzco, Peru
• Gijón, Spain
• Mobile, Alabama, United States
• São Paulo, Brazil

[edit] Sports

• Havana was host to the 11th Pan American Games in 1991. Stadiums and facilities for this were built in the relatively unpopulated eastern suburbs.
• Havana was a candidate to host the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, but was not shortlisted.

[edit] Other images

La Fuerza fortress	El Capitolio Nacional	San Cristóbal Cathedral	Central Rail Station
John Lennon bronze sculpture with his current removable glasses	Sunrise in havana	Havana at night	Parque Central from Hotel Inglaterra, 2005
View to Habana from the Hotel Sevilla, 2002	Habana Libre Hotel in Vedado	View to Habana from the Hotel Habana Libre, 2002

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Havana travel guide from Wikitravel
• Map of Havana. To zoom in, click on an area of the map. These are very large High resolution JPEG images (~1 Megabyte)
• Photos of people and Sights in Havana

Coordinates: 23°06′54.8″N, 82°23′11.3″W