Starting point
My trip began right where Cuba begins: at Kilometer Zero. Climbing those steps of the National Capitol is almost an act of faith. From above, the city spreads out like a map of dreams. Its imposing dome did not leave me indifferent, with its 91.73 meters high, it is the largest of its kind in the country, and this building, inaugurated in 1929, is a masterpiece of neoclassicism with a Cuban soul.
I experienced a unique scene: the Italian marble shining under the tropical sun, the bronze lions guarding the entrance, and at my feet, the bustling Paseo del Prado. From here, every step I took was a step over layers and layers of political and social history. Today it is the headquarters of the National Assembly, but its corridors still echo the great decisions that forged the nation.
The Prado Walk
Without realizing it, I immersed myself in the Paseo del Prado, that tree-lined boulevard that connects the Capitol with the Malecón. Walking around here is like witnessing a street theater: the craft vendors, the children chasing pigeons, the street musicians who give you a bolero.
I observed its marble benches, the fountains and the bronze lions that, according to legend, were cast from cannons from the War of Independence. This walk is the backbone of the city, the meeting point between Old Havana and Central Havana. In the shade of its trees, you feel like you are in the true living room of the capital.
The Great Theater of Havana "Alicia Alonso"
Suddenly, the noise from the street dies down as you look up. I stopped dead because I came across a dream facade: The Gran Teatro de La Habana, a neo-baroque jewel that seems straight out of a European story, but with an incomparable Latin heart.
Knowing that this is the oldest active theater in Latin America fills me with healthy pride knowing that it is located in the city where I live. Its foundations sink until 1838, when it was the famous Teatro de Tacón. But it was in 1914 when it acquired that majestic appearance that hypnotizes me today. And how nice that they named it after the eternal Alicia Alonso, that prima ballerina assoluta who turned this stage into her temple.
The England Hotel
Turn your head just a few meters and there it is, planted in front of the Central Park, the legendary Hotel Inglés. If walls could talk, this hotel would tell me more secrets than a history book.
Founded in 1875, it is the oldest operating facility on the island. But it's not just its age that makes you fall in love, it's its essence.
It was the first luxury hotel with electricity and private bathrooms in Cuba, and today, although time has passed, it is still the best viewpoint to observe the comings and goings of the city.
The Central Park
And in the middle of everything, like the nerve center that connects everything, is Central Park. This is not just any park; It is the sofa of Havana. Here I stopped to rest and observe various architectural beauties of the place and my eyes stayed on the statues, marble figures and monuments. But, one of them stole my attention: The one made to our national hero José Martí.
This is the place where cigar makers offer you a cigar, where retirees play dominoes in the shade and where tourists and Havana residents mix in a perfectly harmonious chaos. From this place, my gaze encompassed the Capitol, the Theater and the Hotel in a single panorama. It was the perfect angle, the definitive postcard that confirmed to me that I was at the center of the Havana universe.
Important: Images made with my Samsumg Galaxy phone and used Google translator.
