We are off and running again after lunch. Our ultimate goal is the Colon Cemetery, the large cemetery in the Vedado section of Havana. But, before we arrive, we take a winding tour of the coast and neighborhoods that have developed outside of Havana proper.
Our first stop is across the Bay of Havana at the Castillo de los Tres Reyes Magos del Morro – or the Morro Fortress. This castle/fortress has guarded the entrance to the Bay of Havana since 1589 and was actually captured in the British invasion in 1762. It is a huge rock structure (thus the name “Morro” – a rock that can be seen from the sea and used for navigation), and a great photo op with the city of Havana in the distance, the blue Atlantic in the background – and of course the huge cannons still on display.
Back under the Bay (through the tunnel built in 1958 when Batista wanted to expand the city to the East and needed a way to quickly get from the city of Habana to the Eastern beach areas – which before the tunnel took more than an hour to access), Julie tells us that it is a Cuban tradition to make a wish and then hold your breath for the entire length of the tunnel. If you can do it, your wish will come true. I know I quit smoking years ago and work out constantly – but let’s just put it this way – my wish may come true – but it won’t be from that tunnel! Ed’s wish will come true, though. Guess that says a lot about lung capacity or something…
So, back on the city side of the water again, we make our way down the Malecon heading to Vedado and Miramar. The Malecon has some incredibly fabulous buildings, but so many are in disrepair. The State is taking over the refurbishment of these buildings and moving the residents out to Alamar, a housing project in East Habana (through the same tunnel we just traversed). More on Alamar and the people living there later.
As we continue down the Malecon, the grand Colonial Spanish buildings give way to more modern high rises. We also pass the “United States Interests Section in Havana”. This is actually the Swiss Embassy, where, since the US and Cuba do not have formal diplomatic relations, the US has “space” in the building and staff from the Foreign Service Personnel of the State Department. Cuba has a similar situation in Washington, DC, residing in the Swiss embassy there. The US and Cuban “interests” are both de facto embassies, but without “formal” relations, they are simply called “interests”.
It’s really just an uninteresting large office building, the interesting things are the propaganda battles that have taken place outside! First there was the Elian Gonzales protests. The Cubans took a grassy section of the median (which had previously held billboards displaying propaganda against the US), paved it and built a stage. From here, demonstrations were held supporting the return of Elian to Cuba. Julie remembers being bused here from school and taking part in the demonstrations on a few occasions.
Then, there is a huge bank of over 100 flagpoles, right outside of the building. These were in retaliation for billboards and an electronic sign that were placed on the “Interests” building decrying Cuba and displaying anti-socialist messages. The flags on the flag poles effectively blocked the messages from being seen by passersby. There were also anti-US billboards facing the US Interests Sections, but those have all been taken down now that the new administration is in place. Wild. Just wild!
On into Vedado we go, driving up wide tree-lined boulevards and watching the art deco style buildings pass us by. Cuban architecture reflects the different “benefactors” they have had – original architecture is very much Spanish Colonial (the Spanish first settled Cuba); then in the early 20th Century, the architecture turned toward high rises and art deco to look more like Chicago or New York City, as the Americans became Cuba’s maid trade partner. Then, after the revolution, the Soviets became influential to Cuba and the architecture reflected Eastern Block style – which the Cubans refer to as “Dark Cuban architecture”.
Vedado – which means “Forbidden” because it originally was an old forest that the Spanish settlers used to protect themselves from the pirates – was settled by the wealthy looking for a place to go outside the city proper. There are grand old mansions and buildings all around and up and down the avenues. The green-ness of the area makes people say that this is the first time the city “breathed”.
Winding our way to the cemetery, we pass a carnival that looks a tad long of tooth. We learn that before the Revolution, all the rides were US built and the carnival was very busy. After the Revolution, there was no way to get replacement parts when rides broke, so they turned to China and purchased rides there. Now, the rides don’t work anymore because, well, lets just say, Chinese junk!
We arrive at the Colon Cemetery, which was started in 1871 and named after Christopher Columbus, however his remains were never buried here. It’s a massive cemetery of over 56 hectares (140+ acres) – almost 7% of the size of Habana - with more than 2.5 million people buried there. There are 40 burials every day here. And how do they keep burying people? Aren’t they running out of room? Well, yes, they are, so they re-use the graves! After a few years, remains are removed, boxed up and placed in a storage facility. (This is similar to what is done in New Orleans where space is also at a premium). The pictures below show a tomb that was purchased from the original family and re-used for the new occupant. You can see where they scraped the old name out of the marble!
The cemetery is laid out in grids, with the most expensive, “best” block of the cemetery being the avenue immediately after entering through the front gate. The memorials along this avenue are incredible works of art. Most carved from Carrera marble that was used as ballast on the colonial ships. Lots of famous people are buried here – including Hemingway’s bartender who developed his signature drink: the daiquiri.
There is also a huge monument to 27 fire fighters who died in “The Great Fire” of 1890. A shopkeeper had illegal explosives in his store when the store caught fire. He called the fire fighters but did not tell them about the explosives. Thus, in the huge explosions the fire fighters died. The shopkeeper was so distraught that he built this monument to remember the fallen fire fighters. There are bats (which mean betrayal), faces of each fire fighter carved into the marble and grieving women. A fabulously detailed mausoleum!
Moving on we learn that short columns/towers or those that appear broken off signify an accidental or unexpected death. We also hear the story of the two sisters who were married on the same day, which is said to be bad luck. They both became pregnant, and one sister and her baby died in childbirth. When they were buried, the child was placed at her feet. Years later they had to exhume the grave and the baby was found in her arms. The tomb is now called La Milagrosa – or the Miraculous One. It is said that the woman’s husband visited the tomb for 40 years – always talking to his wife and tapping the bells located at each corner of the tomb. Then he would back out of the tomb site.
Today women who have trouble conceiving, are pregnant and wish for a healthy baby, or simply want good blessings on a marriage come to the cemetery and perform the same traditional walk around the tomb. Then after their blessing is granted, they return and bring marble plaques thanking La Milagrosa for the blessing. Of course – we all have to take part in at least the first part of the tradition, walking, ringing, rubbing the baby’s behind then backing out of the gravesite. This one I can do so hopefully my wish/blessing will come true!
This final picture is the tomb for the brewers of Crystal beer – Richard and my favorite Cuban beer!
Finished with the cemetery, from here the bus is headed back to the hotel for a little rest and refreshment before our 5:30 lecture on Cuban Economy and US relations.
But – we have another plan in mind. Some of the group want to visit the Hotel Nacional – the hotel made famous by the mafia, poitical dignitaries and Hollywood stars before the Revolution. It is between the cemetery and our hotel, so we can get dropped off, go to the 4pm tour and taxi back to the hotel in time for the lecture! Game on – see the next blog entry!
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