Havana
| Havana La Habana |
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| Havana skyline | |||
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| Nickname: Ciudad de las Columnas (Spanish) " City of Columns " |
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| Position of Havana in Cuba | |||
| Coordinates: {{#invoke:Coordinates|coord}}{{#coordinates:23|8|0|N|82|23|0|W|type:city | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| name= }} | |||
| Country |  Cuba
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| Province | Ciudad de La Habana | ||
| Founded | 1515a | ||
| Municipalities | 15
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| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Juan Contino Aslán (Communist Party of Cuba) | ||
| Area | |||
| - City | 721.01 km² (278.4 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 59 m (194 ft) | ||
| Population (2005 & 2006 est)[1] | |||
| - City | 2,400,300 | ||
| - Density | 3,053.5/km² (7,908.5/sq mi) | ||
| - Urban | 2,700,200 | ||
| - Metro | 3,710,100 | ||
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) | ||
| Postal code | 10xxx-19xxx | ||
| Area code(s) | (+53) 7 | ||
| a The present site was founded in 1519. | |||
Havana, officially Ciudad de La Habana, is the capital city, major port, and leading commercial center of Cuba.
Havana has a long and colorful history, from early human habitation 7000 years ago, Spanish settlement starting in 1515, and growth as the main Spanish port for the New World. An influx of African slaves came under a brief period of British control from 1762, there were 60 years of United States control from 1898, until Havana became capital of Fidel Castro's communist Cuba from 1959.
Havana is the center of the Caribbean nation that exported communist revolution to numerous countries throughout South America and Africa.
Geography
The name Habana is probably based upon the name of a local Taíno chief Habaguanex. The city is referred to as Havana in Dutch, English, and Portuguese.
Havana is located along a deep-sea bay with a sheltered harbour. The city extends mostly west and south from the bay, which is entered through a narrow inlet and which divides into three main harbours: Marimelena, Guanabacoa, and Atarés.
The sluggish Almendares River flows north through the city, entering the Straits of Florida a few miles west of the bay.
The city lies on low hills that rise gently from the deep blue waters of the straits. A 200 foot (60 meter) limestone ridge culminates in the heights of La Cabaña and El Morro, the sites of colonial fortifications overlooking the bay. The University of Havana and the Prince's Castle are located on a hill to the west.
Havana, like much of Cuba, enjoys a pleasant year-round tropical climate tempered by trade winds and by warm offshore currents. Average temperatures range from 72°F (22°C) in January and February to 82°F (28°C) in August, and seldom drop below 50°F (10°C). Rainfall is heaviest in October and lightest from February through April, averaging 46 inches (1167 millimetres) annually. Hurricanes occasionally strike the island, but they ordinarily hit the south coast, and damage in Havana is normally less than elsewhere in the country.
Contemporary Havana can be described as three cities in one: Old Havana, Vedado, and the newer suburban districts. Old Havana, with its narrow streets and overhanging balconies, is the traditional centre of part of Havana's commerce, industry, and entertainment, as well as being a residential area.
Vedado, a newer section to the north and west, has become the rival of Old Havana for commercial activity and nightlife. Centro Habana, sometimes described as part of Vedado, is mainly a shopping district that lies between Vedado and Old Havana.
The Capitolio Nacional marks the beginning of Centro Habana, a working class neighborhood, with numerous run-down buildings[2]. Chinatown and The Real Fabrica de Tabacos Partagás, one of Cuba's oldest cigar factories is located in the area[3].
The more affluent residential and industrial districts spread out to the west. Among these is Marianao, dating from the 1920s. Many suburban homes were nationalized to serve as schools, hospitals, and government offices. Several private country clubs were converted to public recreational centres.
Miramar, located west of Vedado along the coast, remains Havana's exclusive area, and includes mansions, foreign embassies, diplomatic residences, upscale shops, and facilities for wealthy foreigners.[4]. The International School of Havana is located in the Miramar neighborhood.
In the 1980s many parts of Old Havana, including the Plaza de Armas, became part of a 35-year multimillion-dollar restoration project, to instill in Cubans an appreciation of their past and to make Havana more attractive to tourists, to increase foreign exchange.
History
The earliest inhabitants of Cuba were the Guanajatabey people,[5] who migrated to the island from the forests of the South American mainland as long ago as 5300 B.C.E. Subsequent migrants, the Taíno and Ciboney, who had migrated north along the Caribbean island chain from the Orinoco delta in Venezuela, drove the Guanajatabeyes to the west of the island.
Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), on his first voyage to the Americas, sighted the eastern point of Cuba on October 28, 1492. The current Havana area and its natural bay were first visited by Europeans during Sebastián de Ocampo's circumnavigation of the island in 1509.[6] Shortly thereafter, in 1510, the first Spanish colonists arrived from Hispaniola and began the conquest of Cuba.
Conquistador Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar ((1465–1524) founded Havana on August 25, 1515, on the southern coast of the island, near the present town of Surgidero de Batabanó. The climate was poor and the region was swampy, so between 1514 and 1519, the city had at least two different establishments. Havana moved to its current location next to what was then called Puerto de Carenas (literally, "Careening Bay"), a superb harbor at the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico, in 1519.
Regular attacks by buccaneers, pirates, and French corsairs meant the Spaniards began building fortifications. To counteract pirate attacks on galleon convoys headed for Spain, following a royal decree in 1561, all ships headed for Spain were required to assemble this fleet in the Havana Bay. Ships arrived from May through August, waiting for the best weather conditions, and together, the fleet departed Havana for Spain by September.
This boosted commerce and development of the adjacent city of Havana. 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.
The thousands of ships gathered in the city's bay also fueled Havana's agriculture and manufacture, since they had to be supplied with food, water, and other products needed to traverse the ocean. In 1563, the Spanish Governor of the island moved from Santiago de Cuba to Havana, making that city the de facto capital.
On December 20, 1592, King Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of city. Later on, the city would be officially designated as "Key to the New World and Rampart of the West Indies" by the Spanish crown. The San Salvador de la Punta castle guarded the west entrance of the bay, while the Castillo de los Tres Reyes Magos del Morro guarded the eastern entrance. The Castillo de la Real Fuerza defended the city's centre, and doubled as the Governor's residence until a more comfortable palace was built. Two other defensive towers, La Chorrera and San Lázaro were also built in this period.
In 1649, an 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, and displayed a golden key to represent the title "Key to the Gulf". On 1674, construction of the city walls began, to be completed by 1740.
By the middle of the 18th century Havana had more than 70,000 inhabitants, and was the third largest city in the Americas, ranking behind Lima and Mexico City but ahead of Boston and New York.[7]
Havana’s fortifications withstood attacks until August 1762, the British under Admiral Sir George Pocock (1706-1792) besieged the city for three-months, and held it as a prize of war for six months until the treaty ending the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763) restored Havana to Spain.
While in control, the British immediately opened up trade with their North American and Caribbean colonies, transforming Cuban society. Food, horses and other goods flooded into the city, and thousands of slaves from West Africa were transported to the island to work on the undermanned sugar plantations.
After regaining the city, the Spanish transformed Havana into the most heavily fortified city in the Americas. By the end of the 18th century, Havana attracted French craftsmen, British merchants, German bankers, and others, giving Havana a distinct international and cosmopolitan character. But Cuba remained a Spanish colony while wars of independence raged elsewhere in Spain’s New World empire in the early 1800s.
In 1837, the first railroad was constructed, a 32 mile (51km) stretch between Havana and Bejucal, which was used for transporting sugar to the harbor. Gas public lighting was introduced in 1848. In 1863, the city walls were knocked down so that the city could be enlarged.
At the end of the 19th century, with an independence movement gaining support, Havana witnessed waning Spanish colonialism in America, which ended definitively when the United States warship Maine was sunk in its port, on February 15, 1898, giving that country the pretext to invade the island.
After the Spanish troops left the island in December 1898, the government of Cuba was handed over to the United States on January 1, 1899. For 60 years, Cuba was a close economic and political ally of the United States. Havana acquired the look of a U.S. city, as more U.S. businesses and tourists moved there. Havana achieved being the Latin American city with the biggest middle class per-capita simultaneously accompanied by gambling and corruption where gangsters and stars were known to mix socially.
Cuba’s government wavered between a fragile democracy and a dictatorship, with corruption running rampant. There were a number of coup attempts against the government of Fulgencio Batista (1901–1973). Change came when Fidel Castro (b. 1926) took control of Cuba on January 1, 1959.
Castro promised to improve social services, public housing, and official buildings. But shortages that affected Cuba following Castro's abrupt declaration of a one party communist state. He nationalized all private property and businesses on the island, prompting an embargo by the U.S. that hit Havana especially hard.
The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, ending the billions of dollars in subsidies to the Cuban government. Many believed the Castro government would soon vanish, as had other Soviet-backed governments in Eastern Europe. However, the communist government turned to tourism for financial support, targeting Canada and western European nations, and bringing in about two billion dollars annually, according to National Geographic.
By the beginning of the 21st century, much of Havana was dilapidated and crumbling, with its citizens not having the money or the government authorization to preserve the old buildings.
On the night of July 8-9, 2005, the eastern suburbs of the city took a direct hit from Hurricane Dennis, with 100 mph (160 km/h) winds the storm whipped fierce 10-foot (3.0 m) waves over Havana's seawall, and its winds tore apart pieces of some of the city's crumbling colonial buildings. Chunks of concrete fell from the city's colonial buildings. At least 5000 homes were damaged in Havana's surrounding province [8]. Three months later, on October 2005, the coastal regions suffered severe flooding following Hurricane Wilma.
Government
Cuba is a communist state. The president is both chief of state and head of government, and proposes members of the cabinet of ministers. The unicameral National Assembly of People's Power comprises 614 members elected directly from slates approved by special candidacy commissions to serve five-year terms.
The national government is headquartered in Havana and plays an extremely visible role in the city's life. Havana is dependent upon the national government for much of its budgetary and overall political direction.
The all-embracing authority of the Communist Party of Cuba, the Revolutionary Armed Forces (Military of Cuba), the militia, and neighbourhood groups called the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDRs), has led to a declining role for the city government, which, nevertheless, still provides such essential services as garbage collection and fire protection. The CDRs, which exist in virtually every street and apartment block, have two main functions: first, to actually defend the revolution against both external and internal opposition by keeping routine record of every resident's activities and, second, to handle routine tasks in maintaining neighborhoods.
Havana is one of the 14 Cuban provinces. Havana city borders are contiguous with the Habana Province, thus Havana functions as both a city and a province. There are two joint councils upon which city and provincial authorities meet. One embraces municipal and provincial leaders on a national basis, the other, a Havana city and provincial council. A mayor is the chief administrative officer. Havana is divided into 15 constituent municipalities.
Economy
The Cuban Government adheres to socialist principles in which most of the means of production are owned and run by the government and most of the labor force is employed by the state. There was a trend towards more private sector employment in the early 21st century. The government has rolled back limited reforms undertaken in the 1990s to increase enterprise efficiency and alleviate serious shortages of food, consumer goods, and services.
With an estimated per capita GDP of $11,000 in 2007, the average Cuban's standard of living remained, in 2008, at a lower level than before the downturn of the 1990s, which was caused by the loss of Soviet aid and domestic inefficiencies.
The extreme centralized economy has resulted in extreme economic stagnation throughout Havana and countless buildings have become vacant, abandoned, and beyond repair.
The sugar industry, upon which the island's economy has been based for 300 years, is centred elsewhere on the island and controls some three-fourths of the export economy. But light manufacturing facilities, meat-packing plants, and chemical and pharmaceutical operations are concentrated in Havana. Other food-processing industries are also important, along with shipbuilding, vehicle manufacturing, production of alcoholic beverages (particularly rum), textiles, and tobacco products, particularly the world-famous Habanos cigars.[9]
Havana has a network of suburban, inter-urban and long-distance rail lines, the only one in the Caribbean region. The railways are nationalised and run by the Union for Railways of Cuba.
Havana's Omnibus Metropolitanos has a idely diverse flee of new and old donated bus models. The Metrobus division operates "camellos" (camels), which are trailers transformed into buses, on the busiest routes. The camellos are a Cuban invention after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
José Martí International Airport, located about 11km south of the city center, is Cuba's main international and domestic getaway. Havana remains Cuba’s main port, and most imports and exports pass through there, while it supports a considerable fishing industry.
Demographics
The city/province had 2,400,300 inhabitants in 2006, and the urban area over 3,710,100, making Havana the largest city in both Cuba and the Caribbean region.[10]
People classified as white made up 65.1 percent of Cuba's population in 2002, mulatto and mestizo 24.8 percent, and black 10.1 percent. Havana has a significant minority of Chinese, Russians mostly living in Habana del Este who emigrated during the Soviet era, and several thousand North African teen and pre-teen refugees. Spanish is the official language.
Roman Catholics form the largest religious group in Havana. The Jewish community in Havana was reduced after the revolution from once having embraced more than 15,000 Jews[11], many of whom had fled Nazi persecution and subsequently left Cuba to Miami or returned to Israel after Castro took to power in 1959. Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, and Santeria are also represented.
Under the Castro government, educational and employment opportunities were made available to Cubans of all ethnic backgrounds, although top positions and fields of study were usually reserved only to signed communist party members.
During the 1980s Cuba began to attract worldwide attention for its treatment of heart diseases and eye problems, some of this treatment administered in Havana. There has long been a high standard of health care in the city.
The University of Havana, located in the Vedado section of Havana, was established in 1728. The city's only other university, the respected Catholic University in Marianao, was closed after the revolution. The Polytechnic Institute "Joe Antonio Echeverria" trains most of Cuba's engineers.
The vocational Cuban National Ballet School with 4350 students is the biggest ballet school in the world and the most prestigious ballet school in Cuba [12], directed by Ramona de Sáa.
Of interest
Havana has a wide variety of museums, palaces, public squares, avenues, churches, and fortresses. The restoration of Old Havana included a museum for relics of the Cuban revolution. The government placed special emphasis on cultural activities, many of which are free or involve only a minimal charge. Landmarks include:
- National Capitol Building, which was built in 1929 as the Senate and House of Representatives and said to be a replica of Washington DC's Capitol. Its dome dominates Havana's skyline. The Cuban Academy of Sciences headquarters and the National Museum of Natural History) is located there.
- Fortaleza San Carlos de la Cabaña, which is a fortress on the east side of the Havana bay, constructed at the end of the 18th century.
- Castillo de los Tres Reyes Magos del Morro, which is a picturesque fortress guarding the entrance to Havana bay.
- San Salvador de la Punta Fortress, which is a small fortress built in the 16th century, at the western entry point to the Havana harbour. It played a crucial role in the defence of Havana during the first centuries of colonisation. The fortress still houses some 20 old guns and other military antiques.
- Christ of Havana, which is Havana's statue of Jesu much like the famous Cristo Redentor in Rio de Janeiro. Carved from marble by Jilma Madera, it was erected in 1958 on a platform which makes a good spot from which to watch old Havana and the harbour.
- Great Theatre of Havana, which is famous particularly for the acclaimed National Ballet of Cuba. It sometimes hosts performances by the National Opera. The theater is also known as concert hall, Garcia Lorca, the biggest in Cuba.
- Colon Cemetery, which was built in 1876, has nearly one million tombs.
Havana's two baseball teams in the Cuban National Series are Industriales and Metropolitanos. The city has several large sports stadiums, the largest one is the Estadio Latinoamericano. Havana was host to the 11th Pan American Games in 1991. Havana was host to the 1992 IAAF World Cup in Athletics.
Looking to the future
Havana has a long and colorful history, although much of the city remains a crumbled image of a more glorious past. In 2008, Cuba was slowly recovering from a severe economic downturn in 1990, following the withdrawal of former Soviet subsidies, worth $4-billion to $6-billion annually. This economic shock meant the government turned to tourism for foreign exchange, and has led to refurbishment of Old Havana.
Cubans still want to escape to the United States and a brighter future, using homemade rafts, and smugglers. The U.S. Coast Guard intercepted 2864 individuals attempting to cross the Straits of Florida in 2006. Havana's prospects are tied to the fortunes of the Government of Cuba. A representative constitutional democracy plus a private-enterprise based economy would go a long way towards unleashing the economic powerhouse that has long existed in Havana.
Notes
- ↑ Monga Bay.com. 2003. Largest Cities in the Caribbean Retrieved December 2, 2008.
- ↑ Centro Habana- Centro Habana guia turistica, Cuba
- ↑ Centro Habana
- ↑ Havana Miramar School
- ↑ Gott, Richard Cuba: A new history, Yale University Press: 2004, Chapter 1.
- ↑ Thomas, Hugh : Cuba, A pursuit of freedom 2nd Edition p.1
- ↑ [1] Havana, Cuba's history with tropical systems
- ↑ The economy of Havana
- ↑ (English) Latin America Population - Havana city population.
- ↑ Present-Day Jewish Life in Cuba
- ↑ (Spanish) La Escuela Nacional de Ballet - La Escuela desarrolla una experiencia única en el mundo, enmarcada en la Batalla de Ideas.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Barclay, Juliet, and Martin Charles. 2003. Havana: portrait of a city. London: Cassell Illustrated.ISBN 9781844031276
- Cluster, Dick, and Rafael Hernández. 2006. The history of Havana / by Dick Cluster and Rafael Hernández. Palgrave essential histories. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9781403971074
- Havana History and Architecture of a Romantic City. 2009. Monacelli Pr. ISBN 9781580932387
- McAuslan, Fiona, and Matthew Norman. 2007. The rough guide to Cuba. New York: Rough Guides. ISBN 9781843538110
- Michener, James A., and John Kings. 1989. Six days in Havana. Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN 9780292776296
- World Fact Book. 2008. Cuba Retrieved November 27, 2008.
External links
- Havana City Map Retrieved November 29, 2008.
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