Living in a Havana Ruin (Video)
By Lente Habanero
HAVANA TIMES – Hurricane season is coming to an end, and there has been a lot of heavy rain. The building located at #105 Aguiar Street, on the corner of Cuarteles street, in Old Havana, is in danger of collapsing. The solution for its residents and neighbors nearby still isn’t clear.
Poor living conditions in Havana is something that weighs heavily on locals’ minds. Not only those living in homes that are in danger of collapsing, any building can collapse at any moment. Walking down the city’s streets is a dangerous act, as it isn’t the first time that somebody has had a piece of balcony or building fall on top of them.
The municipal government’s response has been to send a demolition brigade to knock down the affected part, which is more likely to fall down. The rest remains hanging in time, like a static miracle.
The housing office in Old Havana neighborhood that deals with these cases isn’t doing its part. There are many complaints about their mishandling of cases, and the most worrying thing is that documents get lost once in their hands. This especially happens with file records that verify the case is open.
According to a woman we interviewed, these documents are “lost” by housing officials for somebody else’s benefit. There is always money in the middle, or they wipe clean any record of a pending case and the housing association’s mishandling of a case.
The video does not have subtitles but the visuals speak for themselves.
this is not acceptable for the wonderful people of old havana should be living.they deserve better and much more,i pray for havana that things will change for the better soon. !
It is difficult for many visitors to see the beautiful renovations of historic buildings and hotels that make Havana an attractive destination to attract tourists, foreign currency and to create jobs. But visitors also see the buildings that are falling apart with people living in them. Can’t there be a better balance in restoration priorities? Visitors would respect Cuba more if housing restoration got more attention. This would respect the equality objectives of the revolution. Not easy in times of hardship – but the wonderful people of Cuba deserve it.