A Place in Havana to Build a Home

Photo Feature by Juan Suarez

HAVANA TIMES — Many years ago, a State machine shop located on Rafeca, a thoroughfare in Havana’s municipality of Cerro, was shut down because of regular flooding in the area.

A short time later, this abandoned structure, which occupies nearly a hundred square meters and is located near 20 and 3-story government buildings and a police station, was allocated to homeless families, given the option of building their homes there through their own efforts.

Much time has passed since these families began to build their homes amid the workshop’s old columns and rusted beams. It’s taken some of them more than six years to make their dreams a reality, and some haven’t even reached these yet.

The recent heavy rainfalls in Havana flooded the area with more than 2 meters of water. Two days later, the place was nearly inaccessible and many found themselves in a difficult situation.

The residents say the government has promised to bring in fill materials to prevent future flooding.

Here are some photos I took.

Click on the thumbnails below to view all the photos in this gallery. On your PC or laptop, you can use the directional arrows on the keyboard to move within the gallery. On cell phones use the keys on the screen.