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Havana good time
Seemingly caught in a 1950s time warp, Havana is a fascinating mixture of communism and Caribbean. Pat Riddell spends a few days in Castro's shadow ...
"The government," said our new friend Alex, "takes everything." I wondered if that was entirely true as he helped himself to another beer on our bill. He soon returned the favour. Presenting us with our first Cuban cigar, Alex explained in broken English it was "just like Castro smokes" - I guess we'll overlook the fact he gave up smoking over 20 years ago.
His girlfriend Katia, now part of our entourage and also recipient of a beer, invited us to her impending 27th birthday party and, unprompted, Ernesto told us at length about his brother, a political exile in Manhattan, and his sister who was studying IT at Oxford. In some cities you really need to scratch the surface to find its heart - not so here. Having been in Havana just 24 hours, we soon realised it scratched its surface for you. It is impossible not to meet the locals, even more so when you're sat in a bar, and in two hours we had an idea about Cuban life that a guidebook can't give you (albeit for the price of a few beers).
The clichés about Havana are all true - the beautiful colonial architecture really is crumbling, there really are immaculate 1950s Chevrolets and Buicks prowling the streets, constant music and dancing meet your every turn and Cubans are welcoming, friendly people who are fiercely proud of their country.
Havana today is the result of three defining factors - more than 400 years of Spanish rule, the 1959 revolution and the subsequent US embargo. While the embargo continues to cripple the country's economy, it is a relic from the Cold War which ensures the city remains a testament to its past.
Its centre, La Habana Vieja (Old Havana), has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with buildings dating back to the 16th century, when the city was an important hub for Spanish trading thanks to its vast harbour. It was a Spanish colony rich on sugar cane and affluent families built the mansions, parks and grand avenues which remain in La Habana Vieja, where a significant number of Habaneros live now. But without the resources to maintain buildings, their facades have been ravaged, resulting in the faded colours and crumbling walls visible today.
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