Havana (, ; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. It is the most populous city, the largest by area, and the second-largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean region. The population in 2021 was inhabitants, for the capital city and 8,475.57&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> for the metropolitan zone.

Founded in 1519 by the Spanish Empire, Havana had already overtaken Santiago by the mid-16th century due to the geostrategic advantages of its harbor, becoming the capital of the island in 1552. It became a fundamental place for the Spanish colonial empire in the Americas, and a stopping point for galleons returning to the Iberian Peninsula, and walls and forts were built to protect it from naval attacks. The city is the seat of the Cuban government and various ministries, the headquarters of various businesses and home to more than 100 diplomatic offices. In 2009, the city had the third-highest income in the country.

Contemporary Havana can essentially be described as three cities in one: Old Havana, Vedado and the newer suburban districts.

The city attracts over amillion tourists annually (1,176,627 international tourists in 2010, The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and monuments. As typical of Cuba, Havana experiences a tropical climate.

Etymology

In 1514, Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar founded the town of San Cristóbal de la Habana, which means 'Saint Christopher of the Habana'. It has been theorized that the name is derived from Habaguanex, the chief of a local Taíno-speaking tribe about whom nothing else is known. When Habana was adapted into English, the was switched to a because of a linguistic phenomenon known as betacism, which is an assimilation of the voiced bilabial plosive and voiced labiodental fricative sounds that occurs in most modern Spanish dialects. Usage of the word Havana in literature understandably peaked during the Spanish–American War, but it also represents a type of cigar, a color, and a type of rabbit as well as the city. Havana is the prevailing name for the city found in English-language dictionaries.

History

16th century

Beginnings

Diego Velázquez originally founded Havana in 1514, on the opposite coast, south of its current location. An early map of Cuba drawn in 1514 places it at the mouth of the Mayabeque River, now the town of Batabanó. This settlement failed, primarily due to the low and swampy nature of the land around the river. All attempts by the Spanish to establish a settlement in this area ultimately failed.

Between 1514 and 1519, the Spanish established the first settlements on the northern coast of Cuba near present-day Havana. One of them was called La Chorrera, on the current site of the Tower of La Chorrera, next to the mouth of the Almendares River. This settlement was in a better location than the first on the southern coast, as the surrounding land was at a higher elevation and the landscape was less marshy. La Chorrera eventually became the neighborhoods of Vedado and Miramar.

The town that became Havana originated adjacent to what was then called Puerto de Carenas (literally, 'Careening Port'), in 1519. The quality of the Havana Harbor and its surrounding bay is what led to its change of location.

Pánfilo de Narváez gave Havana – the sixth town founded in Cuba – its name: San Cristóbal de la Habana. San Cristóbal is the patron saint of Havana. The first cities founded on the island served as little more than bases for the conquista of other lands.

Attacks

thumb|French pirate [[Jacques de Sores looting and burning Havana in 1555]]

As Havana began as a trading port in the Caribbean, it suffered regular attacks by buccaneers, pirates, and French corsairs. The first attack and resultant burning of the city was by the French corsair Jacques de Sores in 1555. 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 over commerce in the West Indies and to limit the extensive contrabando (smuggling) that had arisen due to the trade restrictions imposed by the Casa de Contratación of Seville (the crown-controlled trading house that held a monopoly on trade in the New World).

Ships from all over the New World carried products first to Havana, to be taken by the fleet to Spain. The thousands of ships that gathered in the city's bay fueled Havana's agriculture and manufacturing industries, since they had to be supplied with food, water, and other products needed to traverse the ocean.]]

Havana expanded greatly during the 17th century. New buildings were constructed from the most abundant materials of the island, primarily wood, combining various Iberian architectural styles as well as borrowing extensively from Canarian characteristics. During this period, the city built many civic monuments and religious buildings, including the El Morro Castle, Convent of St Augustin, the Chapel of the Humilladero, the Fountain of Dorotea de la Lunin La Chorrera, the Church of the Holy Angel, the Hospital de San Lázaro, the Monastery of Santa Teresa, and the Convent of San Felipe Neri.

In 1649, a fatal yellow fever epidemic brought from Cartagena killed a third of the population in Havana. In 1674, construction of the city walls started as part of the fortification efforts. It would be completed by 1740.

18th century

thumb|right|[[Havana Cathedral, 1748–1777]]

By the middle of the 18th century, Havana had more than seventy thousand inhabitants, making it the third-largest city in the Americas, ranking behind Lima and Mexico City but ahead of Boston and New York City.

During this time, Havana was the most important port in the Spanish West Indies, as it had facilities where ships could be refitted before continuing their voyage. By 1740, it had become Spain's largest and most active shipyard and the only drydock in the New World.

Seven Years' War

thumb|The British fleet entering Havana

The city was sieged by the British during the Siege of Havana in the Seven Years' War. The episode began on 6 June 1762, when at dawn, a British fleet comprising more than 50 ships and a combined force of over 11,000 men of the Royal Navy and Army, sailed into Cuban waters and made an amphibious landing east of Havana.

After the siege, the British immediately opened up Havana to trade with their North American and Caribbean colonies, causing a rapid transformation of Cuban society. Less than a year after Havana was seized, the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1763 by the three warring powers, ending the war. The treaty ceded Spanish Florida to the British in exchange for the return of Havana to Spain.

After regaining the city, the Spanish transformed Havana into the most heavily fortified city in the Americas; similar to Cartagena, a city that under the leadership of Blas de Lezo defeated a British invasion of 30,000 sailors during the Battle of Cartagena in 1741. Construction began on what was to become the Fortress of San Carlos de la Cabaña, the third biggest Spanish fortification in the New World after Castillo San Cristóbal and Castillo San Felipe del Morro, both located in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

On 15 January 1796, the remains of Christopher Columbus were transported to Cuba from Santo Domingo. They rested there until 1898, when they were transferred to the Seville Cathedral after Spain's loss of Cuba in the Spanish-American War.

19th century

thumb|right|Havana Harbor entrance in 1841 by [[Bibliographisches Institut for Meyer's Universum]]

As trade between the Caribbean and North America increased in the early 19th century, Havana became a flourishing city. Havana's theaters featured the most distinguished actors of the day, and prosperity among the burgeoning middle-class led to expensive new classical mansions being erected. During this period, Havana became known as the "Paris of the Antilles".

In 1837, the first railroad in the country was constructed in Havana, a stretch between Havana and Bejucal, which was used to transport sugar from the valley of Güines to the port of Havana. With this, Cuba became the seventh country in the world to have a railroad, and the first Latin American and Spanish-speaking country to do so.

Throughout the century, Havana continued constructing additional cultural facilities, such as the Tacón Theatre, which later became the Gran Teatro de La Habana. In 1863, the city walls were knocked down so that the city could be expanded.

Slavery in Cuba was legal until 1886, leading to interest from slavers in the American South who were looking for ways to preserve a slave state. The Knights of the Golden Circle proposed a 1200mile-radius 'Golden Circle' where slavery would still be permitted. The circle would be centered on Havana and encompass much of North America.

After the Confederate States of America were defeated in the American Civil War in 1865, many former slaveholders fled to Havana on ships, including Confederate Secretary of State Judah P. Benjamin and Vice President and Confederate Secretary of War John C. Breckinridge. Many refugees stayed in Cuba until Andrew Johnson granted amnesty to former Confederates in 1868.

Cuban independence

thumb|right|Destruction of USS Maine in the Havana Harbor

The sinking of the USS Maine battleship in the Havana Harbor was the immediate cause of the Spanish–American War. In Cuba, the war was the culmination of its war of independence with Spain, which was already underway for three years. On 12 August 1898, Spain relinquished sovereignty over Cuba, thus ending Spanish presence in the Americas.

20th century

thumb|Raising the Cuban flag on the [[Palacio de los Capitanes Generales|Governor General's Palace at noon on 20 May 1902]]

thumb|[[Paseo del Prado, Havana in 1909]]

thumb|right|[[National Capitol of Cuba|El Capitolio in 1933, photomechanical print (postcard)]]

Republican era

Havana became the capital of the newly independent Republic of Cuba in 1902. The city held the inauguration of Cuba's first president, Tomás Estrada Palma, who was considered to have upheld the highest standards of administrative integrity during the time of the Republic.

In July 1940, during World War II, Cuba hosted the Havana Conference, where representatives from the U.S. and 20 other countries in Latin America met in Havana and agreed to a policy of defending European-owned colonies and dependencies in North and South America, if the host country fell to the Axis powers.

In 1958, Cuba was a relatively wealthy country by Latin American standards, and in some cases even by world standards. It had the third-highest GDP per capita in Latin America in the late 1950s, surpassed by only Venezuela and Uruguay.

Cuba implemented perhaps some of the largest labor protection laws for workers in the Americas, including bans on dismissal and protection against mechanization. These were obtained in large part "at the cost of the unemployed and the peasants", leading to economic disparities. Between 1933 and 1958, Cuba significantly expanded economic regulations, causing further problems.

Unemployment became an issue as graduates entering the workforce could not find jobs. The middle class, which was then comparable to that of the United States in terms of wealth, became increasingly dissatisfied with unemployment and political persecution, yet labor unions continued supporting Batista until the very end.

Although Cuba had the highest ratio of hospital beds to people in the Caribbean (88 beds for every 300 people), around 80% of them were in Havana. Outside the capital, there was only one rural hospital, equipped with 10 beds. Prostitution in Cuba grew significantly during the first half of the 20th century, and was mainly centered in Havana. The number of prostitutes in the city grew from 4,000 in 1912 to over 11,000 in the late 1950s, earning the city a reputation.

Post-revolution

thumb|Paseo de Martí in 1978

After the Cuban Revolution in 1959, the new revolutionary government under Fidel Castro began to improve social services, public housing, and official buildings. Nevertheless, Castro's abrupt expropriation of all private property and industry (under a Marxist-Leninist model), followed by the U.S. embargo against Cuba in 1960, led to shortages that hit Cuba and Havana hard.

By 1966–68, the Cuban government had nationalized all privately owned business entities in Cuba, down to "certain kinds of small retail forms of commerce" as per law No. 1076.

An economic downturn occurred after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The two countries had close relations, and when Soviet subsidies ended, billions of dollars that Cuba was receiving from the Soviet Union were lost. Many believed the revolutionary government would soon collapse, as happened to the Soviet satellite states in Eastern Europe.

21st century

Tourism in Cuba has brought foreign investors to remodel the nationalized Manzana de Gómez building and turn it into the Gran Hotel Manzana Kempinski La Habana, a 5-star hotel, showing efforts to develop the city's hospitality industry. In Old Havana, a number of streets and squares have been rehabilitated in an effort to attract more tourism.

On the night of 27 January 2019, an unusually violent and destructive tornado ripped through Havana. The tornado killed eight people and injured over 190. It was assigned an official rating of EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita scale by the Cuban Meteorology Institute, making this the first F4 or EF4 tornado in Cuba since 1940.

Administration

Governorate (1550 - 1601)

The Havana City Council was first created in 1550, during the Governorate of Cuba.

In 1557, the Council voted to ban all freed black men from owning taverns, inns, and selling tobacco or wine.

Captaincy General (1607 - 1898)

Under the Captaincy General of Cuba, the Havana City Council existed.

thumb|City Hall and "Plaza de Armas", 1937

Republic of Cuba (1901 - 1959)

After the Cuban War of Independence, Cuba created a new constitution in 1901. The Havana City Council was re-inaugurated on July 2, 1901. Alfredo Zayas was briefly appointed mayor, followed by the installment of Miguel Gener y Rincón, the acting Secretary of Justice of Cuba, after winning the 1900 Cuban local elections.

Modern republic

After the Cuban Revolution in 1959, the municipal government of Habana was restructured as part of a broader restructuring of the Cuban state by the revolutionary government.

The 1976 constitution which established the National Assembly of People's Power centralized political authority and changed the government of Havana again. The constitution granted Havana both city (Havana city) and provincial (Habana Province) status, thus Havana functions as both a city and province of Cuba. It is administered by a city-provincial council with a governor as the chief officer. The current governor is Yanet Hernández Pérez, she was elected on 28 May 2023.

The city has little autonomy and is dependent upon the national government, particularly for much of its budgetary constraints and political direction.

thumb|left|[[Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba|Comite Central del Partido Comunista de Cuba (Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party)]]

Voters elect delegates to Municipal Assemblies in competitive elections every five years, and the Municipal Assemblies are responsible for each of the city's boroughs. These assemblies elect the borough presidents and vice presidents, which are equivalents to mayors and vice mayors in the other provinces. There is only one political party, the Communist Party, but since there must be a minimum of two candidates, members of the Communist Party often run against each other. Candidates are not required to be members of the party. They are nominated directly by citizens in open meetings within each election district. Municipal Assembly delegates within the boroughs in turn elect members of the Provincial Council (until 2019 the Provincial Assembly), which in Havana serves roughly as the City Council; its president appoints the Governor and Vice Governor, who serve as the Mayor and Vice Mayor of Havana and can be either elected by the council or appointed by the president with council confirmation. There are direct elections for the city's deputies to the National Assembly based on slates, and a portion of the candidates is nominated at the local level.

The People's Councils (Consejos Populares) consist of local city delegates who elect a full-time representative to preside over the body. These councils are directly responsible for the city's neighbourhoods and wards. In addition, there is involvement of "mass organizations" and representatives of local government agencies, industries and services. The 105 People's Councils in Havana cover an average of 20,000 residents each.

The former province of La Habana (Habana Campo) was separated into Artemisa and Mayabeque Province in 2010. Mayabeque forms the border on the south and east, and Artemisa on the west.

Geography

Location

thumb|Topographic map of Havana

thumb|Satellite view of Havana in October 2005

thumb|right|[[Paseo del Prado, Havana in April 2019]]

Havana lies on the northern coast of Cuba along the Straits of Florida, south of the Florida Keys, where the Gulf of Mexico joins the Atlantic Ocean. The city extends mostly westward and southward from the bay, which is entered through a narrow inlet and which divides into three main harbors: Marimelena, Guanabacoa, and Atarés. The Almendares River traverses the city from south to north, entering the Straits of Florida a few miles west of the bay.

The city is mostly located on low hills that rise gently from the Florida Strait. A noteworthy elevation is the 200-foot-high (60-meter) limestone ridge that slopes up from the east and culminates in the heights of La Cabaña and El Morro, the sites of Spanish fortifications overlooking the eastern bay. Another notable rise is the hill to the west that is occupied by the University of Havana and the Castillo del Príncipe (Havana).

Climate

Havana has a tropical climate that is tempered by the island's position in the belt of the trade winds and by the warm offshore currents. Under the Köppen climate classification, Havana has a tropical savanna climate (Aw) that closely borders on a tropical rainforest climate (Af) and a tropical monsoon climate (Am). Average temperatures range from in January and February to in August. The temperature seldom drops below . The lowest temperature was in Santiago de Las Vegas, Boyeros. The lowest recorded temperature in Cuba was in Bainoa, Mayabeque Province (before 2011 the eastern part of Havana province). Rainfall is heaviest in June and October and lightest from December through April, averaging annually. Hurricanes occasionally strike the island, but they ordinarily hit the south coast, and damage in Havana has been less than elsewhere in the country. The most recent tropical cyclone to come near Havana at hurricane strength was Ian in 2022.

Tornadoes can be somewhat rare in Cuba. Nonetheless, on the evening of 28 January 2019, a very rare strong EF4 tornado struck the eastern side of Havana. The tornado caused extensive damage, destroying at least 90 homes, killing four people and injuring 195. By 4 February the death toll had increased to six, with 11 people still in critical condition.

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Municipalities

<!--linked section from "Municipalities of Havana" redirect-->

The city is divided into 15 municipalities – or boroughs, which are further subdivided into 105 consejos populares (wards)

thumb|These preserved colorful [[Spanish Colonial architecture|Spanish Colonial era buildings are a sight common across Havana.]]

thumb|18th-century entrance of the [[Castillo del Príncipe, photo taken in 1997]]

  1. Playa: Santa Fe, Siboney, Cubanacán, Ampliación Almendares, Miramar, Sierra, Ceiba, Buena Vista.
  2. Plaza de la Revolución: El Carmelo, Vedado-Malecón, Rampa, Príncipe, Plaza, Nuevo Vedado-Puentes Grandes, Colón-Nuevo Vedado, Vedado.
  3. Centro Habana: Cayo Hueso, Pueblo Nuevo, Los Sitios, Dragones, Colón.
  4. La Habana Vieja: Prado, Catedral, Plaza Vieja, Belén, San Isidro, Jesús María, Tallapiedra.
  5. Regla: Guaicanimar, Loma Modelo, Casablanca.
  6. La Habana del Este: Camilo Cienfuegos, Cojímar, Guiteras, Alturas de Alamar, Alamar Este, Guanabo, Campo Florido, Alamar-Playa.
  7. Guanabacoa: Mañana-Habana Nueva, Villa I, Villa II, Chivas-Roble, Debeche-Nalon, Hata-Naranjo, Peñalver-Bacuranao, Minas-Barreras.
  8. San Miguel del Padrón: Rocafort, Luyanó Moderno, Diezmero, San Francisco de Paula, Dolores-Veracruz, Jacomino.
  9. Diez de Octubre: Luyanó, Jesús del Monte, Lawton, Vista Alegre, Goyle, Sevillano, La Víbora, Santos Suárez, Tamarindo.
  10. Cerro: Latinoamericano, Pilar-Atares, Cerro, Las Cañas, El Canal, Palatino, Armada.
  11. Marianao: CAI-Los Ángeles, Pocito-Palmas, Zamora-Cocosolo, Libertad, Pogoloti-Belén-Finlay, Santa Felicia.
  12. La Lisa: Alturas de La Lisa, Balcón Arimao, El Cano-Valle Grande-Bello 26 y Morado, Punta Brava, Arroyo Arenas, San Agustín, Versalles-Coronela.
  13. Boyeros: Santiago de Las Vegas, Nuevo Santiago, Boyeros, Wajay, Calabazar, Altahabana-Capdevila, Armada-Aldabó.
  14. Arroyo Naranjo: Los Pinos, Poey, Víbora Park, Mantilla, Párraga, Calvario-Fraternidad, Guinera, Eléctrico, Managua, Callejas.
  15. Cotorro: San Pedro-Centro Cotorro, Santa Maria del Rosario, Lotería, Cuatro Caminos, Magdalena-Torriente, Alberro.

Demography

By the end of the 2012 census, 19.1% of the population of Cuba lived in Havana.

Havana agglomeration grew rapidly during the first half of the 20th century reaching 1million inhabitants in the 1943 census. The con-urbanization expanded over the Havana municipality borders into neighbor municipalities of Marianao, Regla and Guanabacoa. Starting from the 1980s, the city's population is growing slowly as a result of balanced development policies, low birth rate, its relatively high rate of emigration abroad, and controlled domestic migration. Because of the city and country's low birth rate and high life expectancy, its age structure is similar to a developed country, with Havana having an even higher proportion of elderly than the country as a whole.

  • Mestizo or Mulatto (mixed race): 26.4%
  • Black: 15.2%
  • Asian: 0.2%

The Cuban government controls the movement of people into Havana on the grounds that the Havana metropolitan area (home to nearly 20% of the country's population) is overstretched in terms of land use, water, electricity, transportation, and other elements of the urban infrastructure. There is a population of internal migrants to Havana nicknamed "palestinos" (Palestinians) who mostly hail from the eastern region of Oriente.

The city's significant minority of Chinese, mostly of Cantonese origin, were brought in the mid-19th century by Spanish settlers via the Philippines with work contracts and after completing 8-year contracts many Chinese immigrants settled permanently in Havana. today, Chinese ancestors could count up to 100,000. Chinese born/ native Chinese (mostly Cantonese as well) are around 400 presently. There are some 3,000 Russians living in the city; as reported by the Russian Embassy in Havana, most are women married to Cubans who had studied in the Soviet Union. Havana also shelters other non-Cuban populations of an unknown size. There is a population of several thousand North African teen and pre-teen refugees.

Between 2018, the most recent census, and the mid-Twentieth Century census of 1953, Havana's population has grown by an estimated 87 percent, a growth rate typical of most Caribbean cities.

<gallery>

File:El zapateado (cropped).jpg|El Zapateado, Havana, in 1847, by Frédéric Mialhe

File:El Casero (no caption).jpg|El Casero, Havana, in 1855, by B. May and Frédéric Mialhe

Economy

thumb|[[Lonja del Comercio building]]

Havana has a diversified economy, with traditional sectors, such as manufacturing, construction, transportation and communications, and new or revived ones such as biotechnology and tourism.

The city's economy first developed on the basis of its location, which made it one of the early great trade centers in the New World. Sugar and a flourishing slave trade first brought riches to the city, and later, after independence, it became a renowned resort. Despite efforts by Fidel Castro's government to spread Cuba's industrial activity to all parts of the island, Havana remains the center of much of the nation's industry.

The traditional sugar industry, upon which the island's economy has been based for three centuries, is centered 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. Although the harbors of Cienfuegos and Matanzas, in particular, have been developed under the revolutionary government, Havana remains Cuba's primary port facility; 50% of Cuban imports and exports pass through Havana. The port also supports a considerable fishing industry.

In 2000, nearly 89% of the city's officially recorded labor force worked for government-run agencies, institutions or enterprises. Havana, on average, has the country's highest incomes and human development indicators. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba re-emphasized tourism as a major industry leading to its recovery. Tourism is now Havana and Cuba's primary economic source.

Havana's economy is still in flux, despite Raúl Castro's embrace of free enterprise in 2011. Though there was an uptick in small businesses in 2011, many have since gone out of business, due to lack of business and income on the part of the local residents, whose salaries average $20 per month.

Commerce and finance

After the Revolution, Cuba's traditional capitalist free-enterprise system was replaced by a heavily socialized economic system. In Havana, Cuban-owned businesses and U.S.-owned businesses were nationalized and today most businesses operate solely under state control.

In Old Havana and throughout Vedado there are several small private businesses, such as shoe-repair shops or dressmaking facilities. Banking as well is also under state control, and the National Bank of Cuba, headquartered in Havana, is the control center of the Cuban economy. Its branches in some cases occupy buildings that were in pre-revolutionary times the offices of Cuban or foreign banks.

In the late 1990s Vedado, located along the Atlantic waterfront, started to represent the principal commercial area. It was developed extensively between 1930 and 1960, when Havana developed as a major destination for U.S. tourists; high-rise hotels, casinos, restaurants, and upscale commercial establishments, many reflecting the art deco style.

Vedado is today Havana's financial district, and the main banks, airline companies offices, shops, most businesses headquarters, numerous high-rise apartments and hotels, are located in the area. The University of Havana is located in Vedado.

Tourism

thumb|right|Sight-seeing busses at the [[Parque Central, Havana|Parque Central]]

The city has long been a popular attraction for tourists. Between 1915 and 1930, Havana hosted more tourists than any other location in the Caribbean. The influx was due in large part to Cuba's proximity to the United States, where restrictive prohibition on alcohol and other pastimes stood in stark contrast to the island's traditionally relaxed attitude to leisure pursuits. A pamphlet published by E.C. Kropp Co., Milwaukee, WI, between 1921 and 1939 promoting tourism in Havana, Cuba, can be found in the University of Houston Digital Library, Havana, Cuba, The Summer Land of the World, Digital Collection.

With the deterioration of Cuba – United States relations and the imposition of the trade embargo on the island in 1961, tourism dropped drastically and did not return to anything close to its pre-revolution levels until 1989. The revolutionary government in general, and Fidel Castro in particular, opposed any considerable development of tourism. In 1982, the Cuban government passed a foreign investment code that opened a number of sectors to foreign capital.

Through the creation of firms open to such foreign investment (such as Cubanacan), Cuba began to attract capital for hotel development, managing to increase the number of tourists from 130,000 (in 1980) to 326,000 (by the end of that decade).

Havana has also been a popular health tourism destination for more than 20 years. Foreign patients travel to Cuba, Havana in particular, for a wide range of treatments including eye-surgery, neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease, and orthopedics. Many patients are from Latin America, although medical treatment for retinitis pigmentosa, often known as night blindness, has attracted many patients from Europe and North America.

Havana attracts over amillion tourists annually,</small>

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The years after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the city, and Cuba in general have suffered decades of economic deterioration, including the Special Period of the 1990s. The national government does not have an official definition of poverty. The government researchers argue that "poverty" in most commonly accepted meanings does not really exist in Cuba, but rather that there is a sector of the population that can be described as "at risk" or "vulnerable" using internationally accepted measures. People living in slums have access to the same education, health care, job opportunities and social security as those who live in formerly privileged neighborhoods. Shanty towns are scattered throughout the city except for in a few central areas.

Transport

Airports

Havana is served by José Martí International Airport. The Airport lies about south of the city center, in the municipality of Boyeros, and is the main hub for the country's flag carrier Cubana de Aviación. The airport is Cuba's main international and domestic gateway, it connects Havana with the rest of the Caribbean, North, Central and South America, Europe and one destination in Africa.

The city is also served by Playa Baracoa Airport, a small airport to the west of city used for some domestic flights, primarily Aerogaviota.

Rail

thumb|left|Interior of the [[Central Railway Station, Havana|Central Railway Station]]

Havana has a network of suburban, interurban and long-distance rail lines. The railways are nationalized and run by the FFCC (Ferrocarriles de Cuba – Railways of Cuba). The FFCC connects Havana with all the provinces of Cuba, and the Havana Suburban Railway serves the city. The main railway stations are: Central Rail Station, La Coubre Rail Station, Casablanca Station, and Estación de Tulipán.

In 2004 the annual passenger volume was some 11million, but demand is estimated at two-and-a-half to three times this value, with the busiest route being between Havana and Santiago de Cuba, some apart by rail. In 2000 the Union de Ferrocarriles de Cuba bought French first class airconditioned coaches. New Chinese made and Russian made coaches for distance trains debuted in the 2010s, and some now serve suburban services.

In the 1980s there were plans for a Metro system in Havana similar to Moscow's, as a result of the Soviet Union influence in Cuba at the time. The studies of geology and finance made by Cuban, Czech and Soviet specialists were already well advanced in the 1980s. The Cuban press showed the construction project and the course route, linking municipalities and neighborhoods in the capital.

Tramway

thumb|Havana tramway in 1950

Havana operated a tram system until 1952, which began as a horsecar system, Ferro Carril Urbano de la Habana in 1858, merged with rival coach operator in 1863 as Empresa del Ferro-Carril Urbano y Omnibus de La Habana and later electrified in 1900 under new foreign owners as Havana Electric Railway Company. Ridership decline resulted in bankruptcy in 1950 with new owner Autobus Modernos SA abandoning the systems in favor of buses and the remaining cars were sold to Matanzas in 1952.

Roads

The city's road network is quite extensive, and has broad avenues, main streets and major access roads to the city such as the Autopista Nacional (A1), Carretera Central and Via Blanca. The road network has been under construction and growth since the Spanish era but is undergoing a major deterioration due to low maintenance.

Motorways (autopistas) include:

  • A1 – Autopista Nacional, from Havana to Santa Clara and Sancti Spiritus, with additional short sections near Santiago and Guantanamo
  • A4 – Autopista Este-Oeste, from Havana to Pinar del Río
  • Via Blanca, to Matanzas and Varadero
  • Havana ring road (), which starts at a under the entrance to Havana Harbor
  • Autopista del Mediodia, from Havana to San Antonio de los Baños
  • an autopista from Havana to Melena del Sur
  • an autopista from Havana to Mariel

Education

thumb|Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Havana

The national government assumes all responsibility for education, and there are adequate primary, secondary, and vocational training schools throughout Cuba. The schools are of varying quality and education is free and compulsory at all levels except higher learning, which is also free.

The University of Havana, located in the Vedado section of Havana, was established in 1728 and was regarded as a leading institution of higher learning in the Western Hemisphere. Soon after the Revolution, the university, as well as all other educational institutions, were nationalized. Since then several other universities have opened, like the Higher Learning Polytechnic Institute José Antonio Echeverría where the vast majority of today's Cuban engineers are taught.

The Cuban National Ballet School with 4,350 students is one of the largest ballet schools in the world and the most prestigious ballet school in Cuba.

Landmarks and historical centers

thumb|View of the [[Plaza de San Francisco de Asís|Plaza de San Francisco of Havana in 1841 by James G. Sawkins]]

  • Habana Vieja: contains the core of the original city of Havana. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  • Plaza Vieja: a plaza in Old Havana, it was the site of executions, processions, bullfights, and fiestas.
  • Fortress San Carlos de la Cabaña: a fortress located on the east side of the Havana bay, La Cabaña is the most impressive fortress from Spanish times, particularly its walls constructed at the end of the 18th century.
  • El Capitolio Nacional: built in 1929 as the Senate and House of Representatives, the colossal building is recognizable by its dome, which dominates the city's skyline. Inside stands the third largest indoor statue in the world, La Estatua de la República. Nowadays, the Cuban Academy of Sciences headquarters and the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural (the National Museum of Natural History) has its venue within the building and contains the largest natural history collection in the country.
  • El Morro Castle: is a fortress guarding the entrance to Havana bay; Morro Castle was built because of the threat to the harbor from pirates.
  • Fortress San Salvador de la Punta: a small fortress built in the 16th century, at the western entry point to the Havana harbor, it played a crucial role in the defense of Havana during the initial centuries of Spanish presence. It houses some twenty old guns and military antiques.
  • Christ of Havana: Havana's 20-meter (66ft) marble statue of Christ (1958) blesses the city from the east hillside of the bay, much like the famous Cristo Redentor in Rio de Janeiro.
  • The Great Theatre of Havana: is an opera house famous particularly for the National Ballet of Cuba, it sometimes hosts performances by the National Opera. The theater is also known as concert hall, García Lorca, the biggest in Cuba.
  • The Malecon/Sea wall: is the avenue that runs along the north coast of the city, beside the seawall. The Malecón is the most popular avenue of Havana, it is known for its sunsets.
  • Hotel Nacional de Cuba: an Art Deco National Hotel famous in the 1950s as a gambling and entertainment complex.
  • Museo de la Revolución: located in the former Presidential Palace, with the yacht Granma on display behind the museum.
  • Necrópolis Cristóbal Colón: a cemetery and open-air museum, it is one of the most famous cemeteries in Latin America, known for its beauty and magnificence. The cemetery was built in 1876 and has nearly 1million tombs. Some gravestones are decorated with sculpture by Ramos Blancos, among others.

Culture

Symbols

thumb|upright|Coat of arms of La Habana

The coat of arms of Havana consists of three castles that represent the three castles that defended the city: the Fuerza Castle, the Morro Castle and the Punta Castle. The key represents that Havana was the gateway to the New World. The shield, supported by an oak branch on one side and a laurel wreath on the other, symbolizes the strength of the nation, the laurel wreath, honor, and glory. These symbols represent the rights of man.

Architecture

thumb|right|[[Plaza del Vapor, Havana, about 1900]]

Havana has diverse styles of architecture, from castles built in the 16th century, to modernist high-rise buildings.

The present condition of many structures have deteriorated since 1959 or have been demolished, including the demolition of the Plaza del Vapor, built in 1835 by the architect of the Palacio de la Marquesa de Villalba, Eugenio Rayneri Sorrentino, the father of Eugenio Rayneri Piedra the architect of the El Capitolio of 1929. The Plaza del Vapor was demolished in 1959 by the new, revolutionary government.