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{{Short description|Capital and largest city of Cuba}}{{Redirect2|Habana|Havanese|the dog breed|Havanese dog||Havana (disambiguation)|and|Habana (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Havana
| settlement_type    = [[Capital city]]
| native_name        = {{native name|es|La Habana}}
| native_name_lang   =
| nickname           = City of Columns<ref>{{cite web|title=How Obama's US-Cuba deal could shape Havana's future|url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/cuba/travel-tips-and-articles/how-obamas-us-cuba-deal-could-shape-havanas-future|publisher=Lonely Planet|access-date=10 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150110042047/http://www.lonelyplanet.com/cuba/travel-tips-and-articles/how-obamas-us-cuba-deal-could-shape-havanas-future|archive-date=10 January 2015}}</ref>
| image_map          = 
| mapsize            = 200px
| map_caption        = 
| pushpin_map        = Cuba#Caribbean#North America
| pushpin_relief     = 1
| coordinates        = {{Coord|23|08|12|N|82|21|32|W|region:CU-03_type:city(2,100,000)|display=inline,title}}
| motto              = 
| image_flag         = Official flag of Havana, Cuba.svg
| flag_border        = no
| flag_size          = 110px
| image_shield       = Coat_of_arms_of_La_Habana.svg
| shield_size        = 50px
| shield_link        = Seal of Havana
| image_skyline      = {{multiple image
| border                   = infobox
| total_width              = 300
| caption_align            = center
| perrow                   = 1/2/2/2
| image1 = DJI 0197 crp wiki.jpg
| caption1 = Skyline of [[Malecón, Havana|Malecón]]
| image2 = El Capitolio Havana Cuba.jpg
| caption2 = [[National Capitol of Cuba]] 
| image3 = Castillo de la Real Fuerza (Jan 2014).jpg
| caption3 = [[Castillo de la Real Fuerza]] 
| image4 = Línea, La Habana, Cuba.jpg
| caption4 = Línea Street
| image5 = Havana (Cuba, February 2023) - 98.jpg
| caption5 = [[Centro Habana|Barrio Chino]]
| image6 = Comité Central del Partido Comunista - Palacio de la Revolucion (18086011665).jpg
| caption6 = [[Palace of the Revolution]] 
| image7 = Havana (Cuba, February 2023) - 80.jpg
| caption7 = [[Morro Castle (Havana)|Castillo del Morro]]
}}
| image_caption      = 
| imagesize          = 
| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = {{flag|Cuba}}
| subdivision_type2 = [[Provinces of Cuba|Province]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[La Habana Province|La Habana]]
| subdivision_type1  = Region
| subdivision_name1  =[[Western Region (Cuba)|Western]]
| seat_type          = 
| seat               = 
| parts_type         = [[Municipalities of Cuba#Havana|Municipalities]]
| parts_style        = <!-- =list (for list), coll (for collapsed list), para (for paragraph format)
Default is list if up to 5 items, coll if more than 5-->
| parts              = [[#Municipalities|15]]
| government_type    = 
| governing_body     = Gobierno Provincial de La Habana
| leader_title       = [[Provinces of Cuba#Presidents of the People's Power Provincial Assemblies|Governor]]
| leader_name        = [[Yanet Hernández Pérez]]
| leader_party       = [[Communist Party of Cuba|PCC]]
| established_title1  = Relocated
| established_date1  = 16 November 1519<br>(current place)
| established_title = Founded
| established_date  =1514<ref name=poster/>
| area_total_km2     = 728.26
| area_land_km2      = 
| area_water_km2     = 
| area_water_percent = 
| population_as_of   = 2022
| population_footnotes = <ref name="h244">{{cite web | title=Ciudad de la Habana (City, Cuba) | website=Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location | date=2022-12-31 | url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/cuba/admin/23__la_habana/ | access-date=2025-07-29}}</ref>
| population_note    = 
| population_total   = 2137847
| population_density_km2 = 2,936
| population_urban   = 2,146,237
| population_urban_footnotes = <ref name="j046">{{cite web | title=Havana, Cuba Population (2025) | website=Population Stat | date=2019-09-05 | url=https://populationstat.com/cuba/havana | access-date=2025-07-29}}</ref>
| population_demonym = Habanero, -a
| population_rank    = [[List of North American cities by population|8th]] in North America<br />[[List of cities in Cuba|1st]] in Cuba
| blank3_name        = [[Human Development Index|HDI]] (2019)
| blank3_info        = 0.834<ref>{{cite web|url = https://globaldatalab.org/shdi/shdi/CUB/|title = Subnational Human Development Index|publisher = Global Data Lab|access-date = 16 June 2020}}</ref> – <span style="color:#090;">very high</span>
<!-- GDP --------------->| demographics_type1 = GDP {{nobold|(nominal, 2023)}}
| demographics1_footnotes = 
| demographics1_title1 = [[Capital city]]
| demographics1_info1 = $21.4&nbsp;billion<ref name="TelluBase">{{cite web|url=https://tellusant.com/repo/tb/tellubase_factsheet_cub.pdf|publisher=Tellusant|title=TelluBase—Cuba Fact Sheet|access-date = 2024-01-11}}</ref>
| demographics1_title3 = Per capita
| demographics1_info3 = $9,900
| timezone           = [[UTC−05:00]]
| utc_offset         = −5
| timezone_DST       = [[UTC−04:00]]
| utc_offset_DST     = −4
| elevation_m        = 59
| elevation_ft       = 195
| blank_name_sec1    = Patron saint
| blank_info_sec1    = [[Saint Christopher|San Cristóbal]]
| website            = {{URL|www.lahabana.gob.cu}}
| footnotes          = {{designation list | embed=yes
   | designation1 = WHS
   | designation1_offname = [[Old Havana]] and its Fortification System
   | designation1_date = 1982 <small>(6th [[World Heritage Committee|session]])</small>
   | designation1_type = Cultural
   | designation1_criteria = iv, v
   | designation1_number = [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/204 204]
   | designation1_free1name = Region
   | designation1_free1value = [[List of World Heritage Sites in North America|the Caribbean]]
  }}
| official_name      = 
| other_name         = 
| population_metro   = 2,156,350
| population_metro_footnotes = <ref name="j226">{{cite web | title=Havana Population 2025 | website=World Population Review | url=https://worldpopulationreview.com/cities/cuba/havana#:~:text=Havana's%202025%20population%20is%20now,represents%20a%200.18%25%20annual%20change. | access-date=2025-07-29}}</ref>
}}

'''Havana''' ({{IPAc-en|h|ə|ˈ|v|æ|n|ə}}, {{IPAc-en|USalso|h|ə|ˈ|v|ɑː|n|ə}}; {{langx|es|La Habana}} {{IPA|es|la‿aˈβana||HAV.ogg}})<ref>{{Cite book|title=Anagó: vocabulario lucumí: El yoruba que se habla en Cuba|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YAqtDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22ain%C3%A1+yogo%22&pg=PT32|publisher=Linkgua|date=2019-04-01|isbn=978-84-9007-834-1|author=Cabrera, Lydia|language=es}}</ref> is the capital and largest city of [[Cuba]]. The heart of [[La Habana Province]], Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.<ref name="CIA Factbook">[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/cuba/ Cuba]. ''[[The World Factbook]]''. [[Central Intelligence Agency]].</ref> It is the most populous city, the largest by area, and the [[List of metropolitan areas in the West Indies|second-largest metropolitan area]] in the [[Caribbean]] region. The population in 2021 was {{formatnum:2142939}} inhabitants,<ref name= Official_census>{{cite web|url=http://www.one.cu/publicaciones/cepde/cpv2012/20131107resumenadelantado/Tablas/4.pdf|work =2012 Official Census|title = Población total por color de la piel según provincias y municipios|archive-date = 10 November 2013|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131110011903/http://www.one.cu/publicaciones/cepde/cpv2012/20131107resumenadelantado/Tablas/4.pdf|publisher = Oficina Nacional de Estadística e Información}}</ref><ref name="CIA Factbook"/> and its area is {{convert|728.26|km2|abbr=on}}<ref name=JJ>{{cite web|url = http://www.onei.gob.cu/sites/default/files/anuario_demografico_2021_0.pdf|title = Demographic Yearbook of Cuba 2021/Anuario Demografico de Cuba 2021 (in Spanish)|access-date = 4 August 2022|archive-date = 18 November 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221118211559/http://www.onei.gob.cu/sites/default/files/anuario_demografico_2021_0.pdf}}</ref> for the capital city and 8,475.57&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> for the metropolitan zone.<ref name=Official_census/> Its official population was 1,749,964 inhabitants in 2024.{{cn|date=October 2025}}

Havana was founded by the [[Spanish Empire|Spanish]] in the 16th century. It served as a springboard for the [[Spanish colonization of the Americas|Spanish conquest of the Americas]], becoming a stopping point for Spanish [[galleon]]s returning to Spain. King [[Philip III of Spain]] granted Havana the title of capital in 1607.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Havana |title = Havana|work = The Free Dictionary|quote = capital of Spanish Cuba in 1552}}</ref> Walls and forts were built to protect the city.<ref>{{cite web|website = www.galenfrysinger.com |url =  http://www.galenfrysinger.com/old_havana.htm |title = Old Havana}}</ref> The city is the seat of the [[Government of Cuba|Cuban government]] and various ministries, the headquarters of various businesses and home to more than 100 diplomatic offices.<ref name="Embassies in Havana">{{cite web|title=Cuba – Embassies and Consulates |url= https://www.embassypages.com/cuba |publisher=Embassypages.com|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181004144931/https://www.embassypages.com/cuba|archive-date = 4 October 2018}}</ref> In 2009, the city had the third-highest income in the country.<ref name="Monthly Income by Province">{{cite web|title=Workforce and Salary (Section 4.5) |publisher=Oficina Nacional de Estadisticas – Republica de Cuba |language=es|url=http://www.one.cu/aec2009/esp/07_tabla_cuadro.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101216054154/http://www.one.cu/aec2009/esp/07_tabla_cuadro.htm |archive-date=2010-12-16}}</ref>

Contemporary Havana can essentially be described as three cities in one: [[Old Havana]], [[Vedado]] and the newer suburban districts.<ref name=":2" /> The city extends mostly westward and southward from the [[Havana Harbor|bay]], which is entered through a narrow inlet and which divides into three main harbors: [[Havana Harbour#Facilities|Marimelena, Guanabacoa and Antares]]. The [[Almendares River]] traverses the city from south to north, entering the [[Straits of Florida]] a few miles west of the bay.<ref name="Anuario Estadistico">{{cite web|title=Anuario Estadistico de Ciudad de La Habana|url=http://www.one.cu/aed2010/03Ciudad%20Habana/esp/20080618_tabla_cuadro.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110804121625/http://www.one.cu/aed2010/03Ciudad%20Habana/esp/20080618_tabla_cuadro.htm|archive-date=4 August 2011|publisher=ONE – Oficina Nacional de Estadisticas (National Statistics Office)|access-date=28 November 2011|language=es}}</ref>

The city attracts over a{{nbsp}}million tourists annually<ref name="Havana Tourism">{{cite web|title=Section 15 (Turismo), article 15.7 (Visitantes por mes)|url=http://www.one.cu/aed2010/03Ciudad%20Habana/esp/20080618_tabla_cuadro.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110804121625/http://www.one.cu/aed2010/03Ciudad%20Habana/esp/20080618_tabla_cuadro.htm|archive-date=4 August 2011|publisher=ONE- Oficina de Estadisticas de Cuba|access-date=28 November 2011|language=es}}</ref> (1,176,627 international tourists in 2010,<ref name="Havana Tourism"/> a 20% increase from 2005). Old Havana was declared a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]] in 1982.<ref name="UNESCO Havana">{{cite web|title=Old Havana and its Fortification System|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/204|publisher=UNESCO.ORG|website = UNESCO World Heritage Centre}}</ref> The city is noted for its [[History of Havana|history]], culture, architecture and monuments.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url = https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/257242/Havana |encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Britannica |title = Havana|first = James Nelson |last = Goodsell|date = 11 April 2017}}</ref> As typical of Cuba, Havana experiences a [[tropical climate]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=42287&cityname=Havana%2C+La+Habana%2C+Cuba&units=|title=Havana climate summary|publisher=Weatherbase|access-date=23 March 2016|archive-date=20 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220065852/http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=42287&cityname=Havana%2C+La+Habana%2C+Cuba&units=|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== 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]], who was the chief of a local [[Taíno language|Taíno]]-speaking Native American people group about whom nothing else is known. When Habana was adapted into English, the {{angbr|b}} was switched to a {{angbr|v}} 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.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Aleksic |first1=Adam |title=HABAGUANEX |url=https://www.etymologynerd.com/blog/habaguanex |website=The Etymology Nerd}}</ref> Havana is the prevailing name for the city found in English-language dictionaries.

== History ==
{{Main|History of Havana}}
{{For timeline}}
=== 16th century ===
====Beginnings====
Diego Velázquez originally founded Havana in 1514, on the opposite coast, {{convert|69|km|mi|abbr=on}} 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, Cuba|Batabanó]].<ref name=poster>{{in lang|es}} [[commons:File:LaHabanaalSur.jpg|Fundación de La Habana a orillas del Río Onicajinal o Mayabeque]]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://mayabeque.blogia.com/2009/092601-san-cristobal-de-la-habana-en-el-sur-analisis-historico-geografico-de-su-localiz.php |title=San Cristóbal de La Habana en el Sur |publisher=Mayabeque.blogia.com |date=August 19, 2010 |access-date=2013-01-08}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.guije.com/pueblo/habana/historia01/c10/index.htm|title=Una población que cambia su asiento o lugar|lang=es}}</ref>

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 [[Torreón de la Chorrera|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, Havana|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====
{{see also|Piracy in the Caribbean}}
[[File:Jacquesdesores.jpg|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 [[buccaneer]]s, [[pirate]]s, 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).<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2025-03-15 |title=Havana - Colonial, Revolution, Cuba {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Havana/History |access-date=2025-03-23 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

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.<ref name=":1" />

On 20 December 1592, [[King Philip II of Spain]] granted Havana the title of City. Later on, the city would be officially designated as "Key to the New World and Rampart of the West Indies" by the Spanish Crown. In the meantime, efforts to build or improve the defensive infrastructure of the city continued.<ref name=":1"/>

=== 17th century ===
[[File:Panorama of La Habana (Amsterdam, 17th century).jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Havana in 1690, according to the Atlas Van der Hagen. British Library.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://garystockbridge617.getarchive.net/media/atlas-van-der-hagen-kw1049b13-081-panorama-van-havana-a5ef76|title=Nederlands: Dit niet gesigneerde stadspanorama op Havana|website=garystockbridge617.getarchive.net|date=1700 }}</ref>]]
Havana expanded greatly during the 17th century. New buildings were constructed from the most abundant materials of the island, primarily wood, combining various [[Iberian Peninsula|Iberian]] architectural styles as well as borrowing extensively from [[Canary Islands|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 Lazaro, Havana|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, Colombia|Cartagena]] killed a third of the population in Havana.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/fever-timeline-yellow-fever-america|publisher=PBS|title= Yellow Fever in America}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.piratesurgeon.com/pages/surgeon_pages/nw_quarantine6.html|title=New World Quarantine During the Golden Age of Piracy, Page 6}}</ref> In 1674, construction of the city walls started as part of the fortification efforts. It would be completed by 1740.

===18th century===
[[File:Fachada principal de la catedral de la Habana, en La Ilustración Católica.jpg|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]].<ref>Thomas, Hugh: ''Cuba, A pursuit of freedom'', 2nd Edition, p. 1.</ref>

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.<ref>Harbron, John D..''Trafalgar and the Spanish navy'', Lestrange Maritime Press, 2004, {{ISBN|0-87021-695-3}}, pp. 15–17. Havana built nearly 50% more Ships of the Line than any other Spanish dockyard during the 18th century.</ref>

====Seven Years' War====
[[File:British ships in the Seven Years War before Havana.jpg|thumb|The British fleet entering Havana]]
The city was sieged by the British during the [[Siege of Havana]] in the [[Seven Years' War]]. The [[Battle of Havana (1762)|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 [[British Army|Army]], sailed into Cuban waters and made an amphibious landing east of Havana.<ref name="Seven Years War">{{cite book|last = Pocock |first = Tom|title = Battle for Empire: The very first world war 1756–63|chapter = Chapter Six|publisher =Michael O'Mara Books |date = 1998 |isbn = 978-1-85479-390-4}}</ref>

After the siege, the British immediately opened up Havana to trade with their [[British North America|North American]] and [[British West Indies|Caribbean colonies]], causing a rapid transformation of Cuban society. Less than a year after Havana was seized, the [[Treaty of Paris (1763)|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.<ref name="Siege">Thomas, Hugh: Cuba: The Pursuit of Freedom 2nd edition. Chapter One</ref>

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 de Indias|Battle of Cartagena]] in 1741. Construction began on what was to become the [[La Cabaña|Fortress of San Carlos de la Cabaña]], the third biggest Spanish fortification in the New World after [[Castillo San Cristóbal (San Juan)|Castillo San Cristóbal]] and [[Castillo San Felipe del Morro]], both located in [[San Juan, Puerto Rico|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===
[[File:Havana Harbor entrance (cropped, includes original border).jpg|thumb|right|Havana Harbor entrance in 1841 by [[Bibliographisches Institut]] for [[Joseph Meyer (publisher)|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]]".<ref>{{cite book|title=The Exciting Story of Cuba|last=Bracker|first=Hans|year=2015|publisher=[[CreateSpace]]|isbn=9781484809457}}</ref>

In 1837, the first railroad in the country was constructed in Havana, a {{convert|51|km|abbr=on}} stretch between Havana and [[Bejucal]], which was used to transport sugar from the valley of [[Güines]] to the port of Havana.<ref>{{cite book|author=Comisión Oficial para la Conmemoración del Primer Centenario del Ferrocarril en España|title=Cien años de ferrocarril en España, 1|publisher=Comisión|location=Madrid|year=1948}}</ref> With this, Cuba became the seventh country in the world to have a railroad, and the first [[Latin America]]n and [[Spanish-speaking]] country to do so.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cuba’s Railroad Museum Packed with History|date=2013-07-13|publisher=[[Havana Times]]|url=https://havanatimes.org/other-galleries/cubas-railroad-museum-packed-with-history/}}</ref>

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 1200{{nbsp}}mile-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]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Heck|first=Frank H.|year=1976|title=Proud Kentuckian: John C. Breckinridge, 1821–1875|location=Lexington, Kentucky|publisher=The University Press of Kentucky|isbn=0-8131-0217-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.essentialcivilwarcurriculum.com/confederate-diaspora.html|title=Confederate Diaspora|author=Dr. Claire M. Wolnisty}}</ref> Many refugees stayed in Cuba until [[Andrew Johnson]] granted amnesty to former Confederates in 1868.<ref>{{cite book|last=Davis|first=William|title=Breckinridge: Statesman, Soldier, Symbol|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|year=2010|isbn=9780813159973}}</ref>

====Cuban independence====
[[File:Destruction of "Maine", Havana harbor, Cuba, Spanish-American War 1898 LCCN2013646059.jpg|thumb|right|Destruction of USS ''Maine'' in the Havana Harbor]]
The sinking of the [[USS Maine (1890)|USS Maine]] battleship in the [[Havana Harbor]] was the immediate cause of the [[Spanish–American War]].<ref>{{in lang |en}} [http://www.humboldt.edu/~jcb10/spanwar.shtml#anchor433004/ Spanish–American War] {{Webarchive|url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20011117054641/http://www.humboldt.edu/~jcb10/spanwar.shtml#anchor433004/ |date=17 November 2001 }}, Effects of the Press on Spanish-American Relations in 1898</ref> In Cuba, the war was the culmination of its [[Cuban War of Independence|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 ===
[[File:Raising the Cuban flag on the Governor General's Palace at noon on May 20, 1902.gif|thumb|Raising the Cuban flag on the [[Palacio de los Capitanes Generales|Governor General's Palace]] at noon on 20 May 1902]]
[[File:Paseo del Prado in Havana in 1920.jpg|thumb|[[Paseo del Prado, Havana]] in 1909<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-50322553?ocid=socialflow_twitter|title=In pictures: Havana celebrates 500 years of foundation|website=[[BBC News Online]]|date=16 November 2019}}</ref>]]
[[File:Havana - air view (cropped).jpg|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 (1902–1959)|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.<ref name=":13">{{Cite book |title=Historia de Cuba: la lucha de un pueblo por cumplir su destino histórico y su vocación de libertad |last=Masó y Vázquez |first=Calixto |year=1976 |publisher=Ediciones Universal |isbn=978-0-89729-875-9|edition=2nd|location=Miami, Fla.}}</ref>

In July 1940, during [[World War II]], Cuba hosted the [[Havana Conference (1940)|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.<ref name=asce>{{Harvnb|Smith|Llorens|1998}}.</ref> 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.<ref>{{Harvnb|Baklanoff|1998}}.</ref> Between 1933 and 1958, Cuba significantly expanded economic regulations, causing further problems.<ref>{{cite book| last=Thomas |first= Hugh|year= 1998 |title=Cuba or the Pursuit of Freedom |isbn=978-0-306-80827-2| page= 1173|publisher= Da Capo Press}}</ref> 

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 [[Fulgencio Batista|Batista]] until the very end.

Although Cuba had the highest ratio of [[hospital bed]]s 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Cuba Inter-Am. C.H.R.|year=1983|url=https://humanrts.umn.edu/iachr/country-reports/cuba1983-ch13.html}}</ref> [[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.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WBvTDQAAQBAJ|title=Inside Cuba: The History, Culture, and Politics of an Outlaw Nation|first1=John|last1=Miller|first2=Aaron|last2=Kenedi|year=2003|publisher=Da Capo Press|isbn=9781569244845}}</ref>

====Post-revolution====
[[File:Paseo de Martí, szemben jobbra a San Lazaro. Fortepan 89075.jpg|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 [[United States embargo against Cuba|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.<ref>{{cite web |author= Nigel Hunt |url= http://www.cubaheritage.org/articles.asp?lID=1&artID=236 |title= Cuba Nationalization Laws |publisher= cuba heritage .org |access-date= 8 July 2009 |archive-date= 16 September 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100916065256/http://www.cubaheritage.org/articles.asp?lID=1&artID=236 }}</ref>

An economic downturn occurred after the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|collapse of the Soviet Union]] in 1991. The two countries had [[Cuba – Soviet Union relations|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 state]]s 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 [[Hotel rating|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.<ref>{{cite web|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071012210544/http://granma.cu/ESPANOL/2006/diciembre/juev7/elogian-e.html |archive-date = 12 October 2007 |title = Elogian capital humano en restauración de La Habana|work = Digital Granma Internacional|date = 7 December 2006|url = http://www.granma.cu/granmad/ESPANOL/2006/diciembre/juev7/elogian-e.html|language = es}}</ref>

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 [[Instituto de Meteorología de Cuba|Cuban Meteorology Institute]], making this the first F4 or EF4 tornado in Cuba since 1940.

== Administration ==
{{See also|List of mayors of Havana}}

===Governorate (1550 - 1601) ===
The Havana City Council was first created in 1550, during the [[Governorate of Cuba]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-10 |title=UNESCO recognizes the Acts of the Havana City Council {{!}} Arte por Excelencias |url=https://www.arteporexcelencias.com/en/events-500-aniversario/unesco-recognizes-acts-havana-city-council |access-date=2025-03-22 |website=www.arteporexcelencias.com |language=en}}</ref>

In 1557, the Council voted to ban all freed black men from owning taverns, inns, and selling tobacco or wine.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cuban history timeline: 1492 thru 1775 |url=http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/time/timetbl1.html |access-date=2025-03-22 |website=www.historyofcuba.com}}</ref>

=== Captaincy General (1607 - 1898) ===
Under the [[Captaincy General of Cuba]], the Havana City Council existed.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-12-03 |title=Acts of the Havana City council (colonial period 1550-1898) - Memory of the World |url=https://www.unesco.org/en/memory-world/acts-havana-city-council-colonial-period-1550-1898 |access-date=2025-03-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241203232759/https://www.unesco.org/en/memory-world/acts-havana-city-council-colonial-period-1550-1898 |archive-date=3 December 2024 }}</ref>
[[File:Habana - Plaza de Armas y Ayuntamiento 01.jpg|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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Economic History and Economy of Cuba |url=https://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/cuba.htm |access-date=2025-03-23 |website=www.sjsu.edu}}</ref> The Havana City Council was re-inaugrated on July 2, 1901.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |date=1901-07-02 |title=Havana City Council Inaugurated. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1901/07/02/archives/havana-city-council-inaugurated.html |access-date=2025-03-23 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Alfredo Zayas was briefly appointed mayor, followed by the installment of [[Miguel Gener|Miguel Gener y Rincón]], the acting Secretary of Justice of Cuba,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Department |first=United States War |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4_hIAQAAMAAJ |title=Annual Reports of the War Department |date=1901 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |language=en}}</ref> after winning the [[1900 Cuban local elections]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alfredo Zayas |url=https://www.latinamericanstudies.org/zayas-bio.htm |access-date=2025-03-23 |website=www.latinamericanstudies.org}}</ref><ref>Averhoff Purón, Mario. ''Los primeros partidos políticos''. La Habana: Instituto Cubano del Libro, 1971. p. 66</ref><ref name=":3" />

In 1902, pending an investigation by [[Emilio Núñez]], Gener was removed as mayor of Havana by [[Leonard Wood]], after a vote of twenty-three out of twenty-five members of the City Council requested him to do so.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Salt Lake Herald {{!}} 1902-01-09 {{!}} Page 7 {{!}} Mayor of Havana Said to be a Boodler Already |url=https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/details?id=10378420 |access-date=2025-03-23 |website=newspapers.lib.utah.edu |language=en}}</ref>

===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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Toft |first=Nigel |date=2011 |title=Old Havana as an Exemplary Case of World Heritage Protection |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41945926 |journal=International Journal of Cuban Studies |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=32–42 |jstor=41945926 |issn=1756-3461}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rodriguez |first=Andrea |date=18 January 2020 |title=Cuba elige gobernadores ajustándose a nueva Constitución |language=es |url=https://apnews.com/article/2fad9d6d53fa47b1a584e71fc5874506 |access-date=2022-07-26}}</ref> 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. 

[[File:Comité Central PCC.jpg|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 of Cuba|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.{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}

The former province of [[La Habana Province (1976–2010)|La Habana]] (Habana Campo) was separated into [[Artemisa Province|Artemisa]] and [[Mayabeque Province]] in 2010. Mayabeque forms the border on the south and east, and Artemisa on the west.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 17, 2024 |title=Proponen en Pleno del Partido dos nuevas provincias cubanas: Artemisa y Mayabeque (+ Infografía) |url=http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2010/06/07/cuba-tiene-dos-nuevas-provincias-artemisa-y-mayabeque/}}</ref>

== Geography ==
=== Location ===
[[File:La Habana Nasa.jpg|thumb|Satellite view of Havana in October 2005]]
[[File:Paseo del Prado, La Habana.jpg|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.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

There are low hills on which the city lies rise gently from the waters of the straits. 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 [[Castillo de los Tres Reyes del Morro|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)]].{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

=== Climate ===
Havana has a [[tropical climate]] that is tempered by the island's position in the belt of the [[trade wind]]s and by the warm offshore currents.{{clarify|date=December 2021}} 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 {{convert|22|°C|°F|abbr=on}} in January and February to {{convert|28|°C|°F|abbr=on}} in August. The temperature seldom drops below {{convert|10|°C|°F|abbr=on}}. The lowest temperature was {{convert|1|°C|°F|abbr=on}} in Santiago de Las Vegas, Boyeros. The lowest recorded temperature in Cuba was {{convert|0|°C|°F|abbr=on}} 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 {{convert|1200|mm|in|abbr=on}} 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.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Havana {{!}} History, Climate, Population, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Havana |access-date=2023-04-21 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> The most recent tropical cyclone to come near Havana at hurricane strength was [[Hurricane Ian|Ian]] in 2022.

Tornadoes can be somewhat rare in Cuba. Nonetheless, on the evening of 28 January 2019, a very rare strong [[2019 Havana tornado|EF4 tornado struck the eastern side of Havana]]. The tornado caused extensive damage, destroying at least 90 homes, killing four people and injuring 195.<ref>{{cite news |title=Havana tornado: Cuba's capital hit by rare twister |work=BBC News |date=28 January 2019 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-47025852 |access-date=28 January 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.startribune.com/the-latest-resident-havana-looks-like-a-horror-movie/504962142/ |title=The Latest: Havana hit by Category F3 tornado |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190129181446/http://www.startribune.com/the-latest-resident-havana-looks-like-a-horror-movie/504962142/ |archive-date=2019-01-29 |work = StarTribune.com|date = 28 January 2019|agency = Associated Press }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/28/americas/cuba-tornado-dead-scli-intl/index.html|first = Jack |last=Guy|title = Huge tornado in Cuba kills 4 and injures 195 |date = 28 January 2019|work = CNN}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Cappucci |first1=Matthew |title=A deadly tornado plowed through Havana on Sunday night. Here's how it happened. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2019/01/28/deadly-tornado-plowed-through-havana-sunday-night-heres-how-it-happened/?noredirect=on |access-date=29 January 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=28 January 2019}}</ref> By 4 February the death toll had increased to six, with 11 people still in critical condition.<ref>{{cite news |title=Death Toll Rises to Six From Rare Havana Tornado |url=https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/Death-Toll-Rises-Six-Rare-Havana-Tornado?cm_ven=cat6-widget |access-date=5 February 2019 |work=Weather Underground |date=4 February 2019}}</ref>

The table lists temperature averages:

{{Weather box
|location = Havana (1961–1990, extremes 1859–present)
|metric first = Y
|single line = Y
|Jan record high C = 33.0
|Feb record high C = 34.5
|Mar record high C = 35.3
|Apr record high C = 37.0
|May record high C = 37.3
|Jun record high C = 35.4
|Jul record high C = 36.6
|Aug record high C = 37.7
|Sep record high C = 38.2
|Oct record high C = 39.6
|Nov record high C = 34.0
|Dec record high C = 33.2
|year record high C = 39.6
|Jan high C = 25.8
|Feb high C = 26.1
|Mar high C = 27.6
|Apr high C = 28.6
|May high C = 29.8
|Jun high C = 30.5
|Jul high C = 31.3
|Aug high C = 31.6
|Sep high C = 31.0
|Oct high C = 29.2
|Nov high C = 27.7
|Dec high C = 26.5
|year high C = 28.8
|Jan mean C = 22.2
|Feb mean C = 22.4
|Mar mean C = 23.7
|Apr mean C = 24.8
|May mean C = 26.1
|Jun mean C = 27.0
|Jul mean C = 27.6
|Aug mean C = 27.9
|Sep mean C = 27.4
|Oct mean C = 26.1
|Nov mean C = 24.5
|Dec mean C = 23.0
|year mean C = 25.2
|Jan low C = 18.6
|Feb low C = 18.6
|Mar low C = 19.7
|Apr low C = 20.9
|May low C = 22.4
|Jun low C = 23.4
|Jul low C = 23.8
|Aug low C = 24.1
|Sep low C = 23.8
|Oct low C = 23.0
|Nov low C = 21.3
|Dec low C = 19.5
|year low C = 21.6
|Jan record low C = 6.0
|Feb record low C = 11.9
|Mar record low C = 10.0
|Apr record low C = 15.1
|May record low C = 15.4
|Jun record low C = 20.0
|Jul record low C = 19.0
|Aug record low C = 20.0
|Sep record low C = 20.0
|Oct record low C = 18.0
|Nov record low C = 14.0
|Dec record low C = 10.0
|year record low C = 6.0
|Jan rain mm = 64.4
|Feb rain mm = 68.6
|Mar rain mm = 46.2
|Apr rain mm = 53.7
|May rain mm = 98.0
|Jun rain mm = 182.3
|Jul rain mm = 105.6
|Aug rain mm = 99.6
|Sep rain mm = 144.4
|Oct rain mm = 180.5
|Nov rain mm = 88.3
|Dec rain mm = 57.6
|rain colour = green
|Jan humidity = 75
|Feb humidity = 74
|Mar humidity = 73
|Apr humidity = 72
|May humidity = 75
|Jun humidity = 77
|Jul humidity = 78
|Aug humidity = 78
|Sep humidity = 79
|Oct humidity = 80
|Nov humidity = 77
|Dec humidity = 75
|Jan rain days = 5
|Feb rain days = 5
|Mar rain days = 3
|Apr rain days = 3
|May rain days = 6
|Jun rain days = 10
|Jul rain days = 7
|Aug rain days = 9
|Sep rain days = 10
|Oct rain days = 11
|Nov rain days = 6
|Dec rain days = 5
|unit rain days = 1.0 mm
|Jan sun = 217.0
|Feb sun = 203.4
|Mar sun = 272.8
|Apr sun = 273.0
|May sun = 260.4
|Jun sun = 237.0
|Jul sun = 272.8
|Aug sun = 260.4
|Sep sun = 225.0
|Oct sun = 195.3
|Nov sun = 219.0
|Dec sun = 195.3
|year sun =
|Jand sun = 7.0
|Febd sun = 7.2
|Mard sun = 8.8
|Aprd sun = 9.1
|Mayd sun = 8.4
|Jund sun = 7.9
|Juld sun = 8.8
|Augd sun = 8.4
|Sepd sun = 7.5
|Octd sun = 6.3
|Novd sun = 7.3
|Decd sun = 6.3
|yeard sun = 7.8
|Jan uv = 6
|Feb uv = 7
|Mar uv = 9
|Apr uv = 11
|May uv = 12
|Jun uv = 12
|Jul uv = 12
|Aug uv = 12
|Sep uv = 11
|Oct uv = 9
|Nov uv = 7
|Dec uv = 6
|source 1 = [[World Meteorological Organisation]],<ref name= WMO >{{cite web
|url=http://worldweather.wmo.int/131/c00280.htm
|title=World Weather Information Service – Havana
|access-date=26 June 2010
|publisher=Cuban Institute of Meteorology
|date=June 2011
|archive-date=7 January 2019
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107070304/http://worldweather.wmo.int/131/c00280.htm
|url-status=dead
}}</ref> Climate-Charts.com<ref name = "Relative Humidity" >{{cite web
|url = http://www.climate-charts.com/Locations/c/CU78325.php
|title = Casa Blanca, Habana, Cuba: Climate, Global Warming, and Daylight Charts and Data
|access-date = 26 June 2010
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110623233609/http://www.climate-charts.com/Locations/c/CU78325.php
|archive-date = 23 June 2011
}}</ref>
|source 2 = Meteo Climat (record highs and lows),<ref name = meteoclimat>
{{cite web
| url = http://meteo-climat-bzh.dyndns.org/index.php?page=stati&id=2061
| title = Station La Havane
| publisher = Meteo Climat
|language = fr
| access-date = 2 May 2017}}</ref> [[Deutscher Wetterdienst]] (sun)<ref name = DWD>
{{cite web
| url = http://www.dwd.de/DWD/klima/beratung/ak/ak_783250_kt.pdf
| title = Klimatafel von Havanna (La Habana, Obs. Casa Blanca) / Kuba
| work = Baseline climate means (1961–1990) from stations all over the world
| publisher = Deutscher Wetterdienst
| language = de
| access-date = 29 July 2017}}</ref>
|date=August 2010
}}

{|class="wikitable"
|+Average Sea Temperature
|-
!Jan
!Feb
!Mar
!Apr
!May
!Jun
!Jul
!Aug
!Sep
!Oct
!Nov
!Dec
|-
|{{convert|23|°C|°F|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|23|°C|°F|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|24|°C|°F|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|26|°C|°F|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|27|°C|°F|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|28|°C|°F|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|28|°C|°F|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|28|°C|°F|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|28|°C|°F|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|27|°C|°F|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|26|°C|°F|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|24|°C|°F|abbr=on}}
|}

=== Municipalities ===
<!--linked section from "Municipalities of Havana" redirect-->
The city is divided into 15 municipalities<ref name=territorios>{{cite web|url=http://www.one.cu/aec2009/datos/01TERRITORIO.pdf |title=Statistical Yearbook of Cuba 2009 |access-date=6 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001220152/http://www.one.cu/aec2009/datos/01TERRITORIO.pdf |archive-date=1 October 2011 }} Population by Province and Municipality</ref> – or ''boroughs'', which are further subdivided into 105 ''[[consejos populares]]'' (wards)<ref>{{cite web|title=Oficial Statistics for Havana|url=http://www.one.cu/publicaciones/provincias_masinf/la%20habana.htm|publisher=Oficina Nacional de Estadisticas de Cuba (ONE)|access-date=27 November 2011|language=Spanish|archive-date=26 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226003540/http://www.one.cu/publicaciones/provincias_masinf/la%20habana.htm}}</ref>
[[File:Cuba May 2014 (14181430042).jpg|thumb|These preserved colorful [[Spanish Colonial architecture|Spanish Colonial]] era buildings are a sight common across Havana.]]
[[File:CU La Habana 9709 028 (17229424611).jpg|thumb|18th-century entrance of the [[Castillo del Príncipe]], photo taken in 1997]]

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

== Demography ==
{{Historical populations
|type =
|footnote =
|1750 | 70,000
|1907|297,159<ref>[https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1900/cuba-1907/04771803ch4.pdf 1907 census]</ref>
|1931 | 728,500
|1943 | 868,426
|1953 | 1,139,579
|1970 | 1,786,522
|1981 | 1,929,432
|2002 | 2,171,671
|2012 | 2,106,146
|2018 | 2,131,480
}}

By the end of 2012 official Census, 19.1% of the population of Cuba lived in Havana.<ref name=Official_census /> According to the census of 2012, the population was 2,106,146.<ref name="Official_census" /> The city has an average [[life expectancy]] of 76.81 years at birth.<ref name=Official_census /> 

Havana agglomeration grew rapidly during the first half of the 20th century reaching 1{{nbsp}}million 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,<ref name="CIA Factbook" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/SeriesDetail.aspx?srid=656&crid=192|title=Millennium Indicators|publisher=Mdgs.un.org|date=23 June 2010|access-date=2010-11-07|archive-date=21 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121152701/http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/SeriesDetail.aspx?srid=656&crid=192|url-status=dead}}</ref> its age structure is similar to a developed country, with Havana having an even higher proportion of elderly than the country as a whole.<ref name=Official_census />

===Ethnic breakdown===
According to the 2012 national census of Havana's population (the Cuban census and similar studies use the term "skin color" instead of "race").<ref name="Official_census" />
* [[White people#Cuba|White]]: 58.4%, (Spanish descent were most common)<ref name="Official_census" /><ref name= immigracion>[http://embacuba.cubaminrex.cu/Default.aspx?tabid=5598 Embassy of Cuba in Beijing – History of Immigration in Cuba] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203174406/http://embacuba.cubaminrex.cu/Default.aspx?tabid=5598 |date=February 3, 2009 }} "The first (immigrants) came from various regions of Spain, mostly peasants from the Canaries and Galicia, which like those from China, were subjected to conditions of living and working conditions similar to those of slaves."</ref>
* ''[[Mestizo]] or [[Mulatto]]'' (mixed race): 26.4%
* [[Afro-Cuban|Black]]: 15.2%
* [[Chinese Cuban|Asian]]: 0.2%<ref name=immigracion/>

As with the other Caribbean nations, there are few [[mestizos]] in Havana (and Cuba as a whole), in contrast to many other countries, because the indigenous [[Taíno]] population was virtually wiped out by Eurasian diseases in the earliest period of the Spanish conquest.<ref>{{Cite book|first = Joseph Patrick|last=Byrne|title= Encyclopedia of Pestilence, Pandemics, and Plagues: A–M|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=kRAInwEACAAJ|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year = 2008|page = 413|isbn = 978-0-313-34102-1}}
</ref>

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)<ref>{{cite news|author=Larry Rohter |title=Cuba's Unwanted Refugees Squatters in Havana's Shantytowns |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=20 October 1997 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/20/world/cuba-s-unwanted-refugees-squatters-in-havana-s-teeming-shantytowns.html |access-date=2013-01-08}}</ref> who mostly hail from the eastern region of [[Oriente Province|Oriente]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.isreview.org/issues/36/farber_ext.shtml |title=Castro's Cuba in Perspective |publisher=Isreview.org |access-date=2010-04-17 |archive-date=2010-07-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100715134448/http://www.isreview.org/issues/36/farber_ext.shtml}}</ref>

The city's significant minority of Chinese, mostly of [[Cantonese people|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.<ref name=immigracion/> Before the revolution the Chinese population counted to over 200,000,<ref>[http://www.cubanet.org/CNews/y01/apr01/27e5.htm Havana's Chinatown] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927004533/http://www.cubanet.org/CNews/y01/apr01/27e5.htm |date=27 September 2007 }} – Cuba's Chinese population before the Revolution</ref> today, Chinese ancestors could count up to 100,000.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/cuba/ |title=Cuba|date=16 February 2022|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|via=CIA.gov}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=June 2020}} Chinese born/ native Chinese (mostly Cantonese as well) are around 400 presently.<ref>[http://www.chinatoday.com.cn/hoy/2004/0409/24.htm In Havana there are now about 400 native Chinese, but their presence is being felt like a{{nbsp}}million] ("En La Habana quedan hoy unos 400 chinos oriundos, pero su presencia se está haciendo sentir como si fueran un millón".)</ref> 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.<ref>{{in lang|es}} [http://www.elnuevoherald.com/2008/10/22/307471/los-rusos-de-cuba-viven-en-el.html Russians in Cuba] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111101222852/http://www.elnuevoherald.com/2008/10/22/307471/los-rusos-de-cuba-viven-en-el.html |date=1 November 2011 }} Los rusos que se quedaron en la isla -unos 3.000 actualmente- son en su mayoría mujeres como Marina o Natalia que se casaron con cubanos que habían ido a la URSS a estudiar, indicó la embajada rusa en La Habana.</ref> Havana also shelters other non-Cuban population of an unknown size. There is a population of several thousand North African teen and pre-teen refugees.<ref>{{cite web
|date=31 March 2006
|url=http://www.moroccotimes.com/Paper/article.asp?idr=2&id=13816
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061125161820/http://www.moroccotimes.com/Paper/article.asp?idr=2&id=13816
|archive-date=2006-11-25
|title=Sahrawi children inhumanely treated in Cuba, former Cuban official
|publisher=MoroccoTimes.com
|access-date=2006-07-09
}}</ref>
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<ref name="britishmuseum">{{cite web |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG181760|title=Frédéric Mialhe|website=[[British Museum]] website}}</ref><ref name="ufdc.ufl">{{cite web|url=https://ufdc.ufl.edu/es/UF00096150/00001|title=EARLY LITHOGRAPHED VIEWS OF HAVANA|website=[[University of Florida]] Digital Collections website}}</ref>
File:El Casero (no caption).jpg|''El Casero'', Havana, in 1855, by B. May and Frédéric Mialhe<ref name="britishmuseum"/><ref name="ufdc.ufl"/>
File:Le Tour du monde-02-p353.jpg|Havana residents in 1860 painted by Joseph Navlet
File:Alumnos, La Habana, Cuba (9419813189).jpg|School students in Havana, 2012
</gallery>

=== Religion ===
[[File:Havana, Cuba (37585010486).jpg|thumb|Colonial [[Church Santo Cristo del Buen Viaje, Havana|Church Santo Cristo del Buen Viaje]], built between 1604 and 1693]]
[[Roman Catholic]]s form the largest religious group in Havana. Havana is one of the three Metropolitan sees on the island (the others being Camagüey and Santiago), with two suffragan bishoprics: Matanzas and Pinar del Río. Its patron saint is San Cristóbal ([[Saint Christopher]]), to whom the cathedral is devoted. it also has a [[minor basilica]], [[Basílica Santuario Nacional de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Cobre]] and two other national shrines, Jesús Nazareno del Rescate and San Lázaro (El Rincón). It received papal visits from three successive supreme pontiffs: [[Pope John Paul II]] (January 1998), [[Pope Benedict XVI]] (March 2012) and [[Pope Francis]] (September 2015).

The Jewish community in Havana has reduced after the Revolution from once having embraced more than 15,000 Jews,{{Citation needed|date=July 2022}} many of whom had fled [[Nazi]] persecution and subsequently left Cuba to Miami or to Israel after Castro took to power in 1959. The city once had five synagogues, but only three remain (one [[Modern Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]], and two [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]]: one Conservative [[Ashkenazi]] and one Conservative [[Sephardic]]), [[Beth Shalom Temple (Havana, Cuba)|Beth Shalom Grand Synagogue]] is one of them and another that is a hybrid of all 3 put together. In February 2007 the [[New York Times]] estimated that there were about 1,500 known Jews living in Havana.<ref>[http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/02/04/travel/04journeys.html?em&ex=1170824400&en=254a263b2686376e&ei=5087%0A 1,500 Jews who live in Cuba; 1,100 reside in Havana, and the remaining 400 are spread among the provinces.] In Cuba, Finding a Tiny Corner of Jewish Life.</ref>

== Economy ==
[[File:Lonja del Comercio de La Habana vista desde la Avenida del Puerto.jpg|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.{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}

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.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Havana/People | title=Havana - People &#124; Britannica }}</ref>

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 S.A.|Habanos]] cigars.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.macalester.edu/courses/geog61/jtahtinen/economy.html |title=The economy of Havana |publisher=Macalester.edu |access-date=2010-04-17 |archive-date=2012-08-05 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120805052129/http://www.macalester.edu/courses/geog61/jtahtinen/economy.html }}</ref> Although the [[harbor]]s 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.{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uiowa.edu/ifdebook/conferences/cuba/TLCP/Volume%201/Facio.pdf |title=Tourism in Cuba during the Special Period |access-date=2010-04-17|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100725185350/http://www.uiowa.edu/ifdebook/conferences/cuba/TLCP/Volume%201/Facio.pdf |archive-date = 25 July 2010}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web|last=AP|title=Lack of Customers Dooms Many Cuban Businesses|url=http://weeklytimes.com/lack-of-customers-dooms-many-cuban-businesses/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228034327/http://weeklytimes.com/lack-of-customers-dooms-many-cuban-businesses/|archive-date=28 December 2013|publisher=Weekly Times|access-date=27 December 2013|date=27 December 2013}}</ref>

=== 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.{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}

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.{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}

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, [[casino]]s, restaurants, and upscale commercial establishments, many reflecting the art deco style.<ref>{{cite web|title=De una casa colonial a una mansión del Vedado |url=http://www.paseosporlahabana.com/cats.asp?cID=83 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041013131209/http://www.paseosporlahabana.com/cats.asp?cID=83 |archive-date=13 October 2004 |access-date=11 July 2011 |language=es }}</ref>

[[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.<ref>{{cite web|title=britannica.com |url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-624418/Vedado |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012165946/https://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-624418/Vedado |archive-date=12 October 2007 |access-date=11 July 2011 }}</ref> The University of Havana is located in Vedado.

=== Tourism ===
[[File:Havana sightseeing bus.jpg|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]].<ref name="Miguel">{{cite conference |last1=Figueras |first1=Miguel Alejandro |title=International Tourism and the Formation of Productive Clusters in the Cuban Economy |url=http://www.world-tourism.org/quality/E/docs/trade/cubacontrib.pdf |conference=[[Latin American Studies Association]], 22nd Congress |access-date=27 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040805035546/http://www.world-tourism.org/quality/E/docs/trade/cubacontrib.pdf |archive-date=2004-08-05 |location=Washington, D.C. |date=September 2001 }}</ref> The influx was due in large part to [[Cuba-United States relations|Cuba's proximity to the United States]], where restrictive [[Prohibition in the United States|prohibition]] on [[alcohol (drug)|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.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://digitalcollections.lib.uh.edu/collections/44558f90v?locale=en | title=Havana, Cuba: The Summer Land of the World // Digital Collections }}</ref>

With the deterioration of [[Cuba – United States relations]] and the imposition of the [[United States embargo against Cuba|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.{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}

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).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wilkinson |first=Stephen |date=2008 |title=Cuba's Tourism 'Boom': A Curse or a Blessing? |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20455086 |journal=Third World Quarterly |volume=29 |issue=5 |pages=979–993 |doi=10.1080/01436590802106189 |jstor=20455086 |issn=0143-6597|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

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 [[orthopaedics|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.<ref>[http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-3085--6-6--.html A Novel Tourism Concept] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100128054658/http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-3085--6-6--.html |date=28 January 2010 }} Caribbean News Net</ref><ref>{{cite news|url = https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3284995.stm |title = Cuba sells its medical expertise|work = BBC News|first = Tom |last = Fawthrop|date = 21 November 2003}}</ref>
Havana attracts over a{{nbsp}}million tourists annually,<ref name="Havana Tourism"/> the Official Census for Havana reports that in 2010 the city was visited by 1,176,627 international tourists,<ref name="Havana Tourism"/> a 20% increase from 2005.

=== Poverty and slums ===
{| border="1" style="float:right;" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0"
|+
|-
!colspan=9| Housing Units and Population of Havana Slums<ref name=Censo_vivienda>INV, Instituto Nacional de la Vivienda (2001a) Boletín Estadístico Anual. 2001. INV, Havana.</ref><ref name=Problemas_socioambientales />
|-
! style="background:#efefef;"|Housing type
! style="background:#efefef;"|Year
! style="background:#efefef;"|Units
! style="background:#efefef;"|Population
! style="background:#efefef;"|% of Total Pop.
|-
| '''''cuartería<sup>(a)</sup>''''' || 2001 || 60,754 || 206,564 || 9.4
|-
| '''[[slum]]s''' || 2001 || 21,552 || 72,986 || 3.3
|-
| '''[[Refugee shelter|shelters]]''' || 1997 || 2,758 || 9,178 || 0.4
|-
|colspan=5|<small><sup>'''(a)'''</sup>A '''''cuartería''''' (or '''''ciudadela''''', '''''solar''''') is a large inner-city old mansion or hotel or<br /> boarding house subdivided into rooms, sometimes with over 60 families.<ref name=cuarteria_def>{{cite book|author1=Dick Cluster|author2=Rafael Hernández|title=The History of Havana|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6-yxUyss_ycC&pg=PA145|year=2006|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-1-4039-7107-4|page=145}}</ref></small>
|}
The years after the [[Soviet Union]] collapsed in 1991, the city, and Cuba in general have suffered decades of economic deterioration, including [[Special Period]] of the 1990s.<ref>{{cite news|title=Cuba - Overview|url=http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/cuba/index.html|newspaper=New York Times|access-date=1 December 2011|first=Victoria|last=Burnett}}</ref> The national government does not have an official definition of poverty.<ref name=Cub_eco>Angela, Ferriol Maruaga; et al.: ''Cuba crisis, ajuste y situación social (1990–1996)'', La Habana, Cuba : Editorial de Ciencias Sociales, 1998, Champter 1</ref> 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.<ref name=Cub_eco />

The generic term "[[slum]]" is seldom used in Cuba, substandard housing is described: housing type, housing conditions, building materials, and settlement type. The National Housing Institute considers units in ''solares'' (a large inner-city mansion or older hotel or boarding house subdivided into rooms, sometimes with over 60 families)<ref name=cuarteria_def /> and [[shanty towns]] to be the "precarious housing stock" and tracks their number. Most slum units are concentrated in the inner-city municipalities of [[Old Havana]] and [[Centro Habana]], as well as such neighborhoods as ''Atarés'' in [[Regla]].<ref name=Problemas_socioambientales>González Rego, R. 1999. "Una Primera Aproximación al Análisis Espacial de los Problemas Socioambientales en los Barrios y Focos Insalubres de Ciudad de La Habana". Facultad de Filosofía e Historia. Departamento de Sociología, Universidad de La Habana. 250 p.</ref> 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.<ref name=Problemas_socioambientales />

Over 9% of Havana's population live in ''cuartería'' (''solares, ciudadela''), 3.3% in [[shanty towns]], and 0.3% in refugee shelters.<ref name=Censo_vivienda /><ref name=Problemas_socioambientales /> This does not include an estimate of the number of people living in housing in "fair" or "poor" condition because in many cases these units do not necessarily constitute slum housing but rather are basically sound dwellings needing repairs. According to ''Instituto Nacional de Vivienda'' (National Housing Institute) official figures, in 2001, 64% of Havana's 586,768 units were considered in "good" condition, up from 50% in 1990. Some 20% were in "fair" condition and 16% in "poor" condition.<ref name=Problemas_socioambientales /> Partial or total building collapses are not uncommon, although the number had been cut in half by the end of the 1990s as the worst units disappeared and others were repaired. Buildings in Old Havana and Centro Habana are especially exposed to the elements: high humidity, the corrosive effects of salt spray from proximity to the coast, and occasional flooding. Most areas of the city, especially the highly populated districts, are in [[urban decay]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=24 March 2007|title=Havana's former grandeur decays and crumbles|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-havana-idUSN2034616720070324|access-date=2020-07-17}}</ref>

== Transport ==
=== Airports ===
{{Unreferenced section|date=January 2022}}

Havana is served by [[José Martí International Airport]]. The Airport lies about {{convert|11|km|mi|0|sp=us}} 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 America|North]], [[Central America|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 ===
[[File:Inside train station Havana.jpg|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 Railway Station, Havana|Central Rail Station]], La Coubre Rail Station, [[Casablanca, Havana|Casablanca Station]], and Estación de Tulipán.

In 2004 the annual passenger volume was some 11{{nbsp}}million,<ref name=Censo_transporte>{{cite web|url=http://www.one.cu/aec2009/datos/13TRANSPORTE.pdf |title=Statistical Yearbook of Cuba 2009 |access-date=5 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110822200546/http://www.one.cu/aec2009/datos/13TRANSPORTE.pdf |archive-date=22 August 2011 }} National Statistics Census of Cuba – Transportation p. 6</ref> 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 {{convert|836|km|mi|sp=us}} 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 [[Rapid Transit|Metro system]] in Havana similar to [[Moscow Metro|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.<ref name=Hav_metro>[http://www.cubanet.org/sindical/news/y07/03290701.html Havana Metro] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119181627/http://www.cubanet.org/sindical/news/y07/03290701.html |date=19 January 2012 }} Hace unos años parecía que la capital cubana tendría metro, cuando en la década de 1980 los estudios de geología y finanzas realizados por especialistas cubanos y soviéticos iban muy adelantados.</ref> The Cuban press showed the construction project and the course route, linking municipalities and neighborhoods in the capital.<ref name=Hav_metro/> In the late 1980s the project had already begun, each mile (1.6{{nbsp}}km) of track was worth a million dollars at the time, but with the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|fall of the Soviet Union]] in 1991 the project was later dropped.<ref name=Hav_metro/>

=== Interurban ===
An interurban line,{{efn|This term describe the equivalent to a tram.}} known as the [[Hershey Electric Railway]], built in 1917 runs from Casablanca (across the harbor from Old Havana) to Hershey and on to [[Matanzas]].<ref>{{cite book|author1=Conner Gorry|author2=David Stanley|title=Cuba|url=https://archive.org/details/cuba00gorr|url-access=registration|year=2004|publisher=Lonely Planet|isbn=978-1-74059-120-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/cuba00gorr/page/142 142]}}</ref>

=== Tramway ===
[[File:Havana tram surf.jpg|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,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tramz.com/cu/hb/hb.html|title=The Tramways of Cuba|access-date=2 February 2020|archive-date=21 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200121091121/http://www.tramz.com/cu/hb/hb.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tramz.com/cu/hb/hbb.html|title=The Tramways of Cuba|access-date=2 February 2020|archive-date=22 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200122140446/http://www.tramz.com/cu/hb/hbb.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}

=== 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 (Cuba)|Carretera Central]] and [[Via Blanca (Cuba)|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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Transporte publico en La Habana|url=http://transporte-publico-en-la-habana.mundoviajero.net/|publisher=Mundo Viajero|access-date=9 December 2011|language=es}}</ref>
Motorways ([[Controlled-access highway|autopistas]]) include:
* A1 – Autopista Nacional, from Havana to [[Santa Clara, Cuba|Santa Clara]] and [[Sancti Spiritus, Cuba|Sancti Spiritus]], with additional short sections near [[Santiago de Cuba|Santiago]] and [[Guantanamo]]
* A4 – Autopista Este-Oeste, from Havana to [[Pinar del Río]]
* [[Via Blanca (Cuba)|Via Blanca]], to [[Matanzas]] and [[Varadero]]
* Havana ring road ({{langx|es|Primer anillo|links=no}}), which starts at a {{ill|Havana tunnel|lt=tunnel|es|Túnel de La Habana|vertical-align=sup}} 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, Cuba|Mariel]]

== Education ==
{{Further|Education in Cuba}}
{{Recentism|date=December 2021}}
[[File:Facultad de Matemáticas y Ciencias de la Computación.JPG|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 [[Polytechnic José Antonio Echeverría|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.<ref>{{in lang|es}} [http://www.bohemia.cubasi.cu/2006/04/28/cultura/ballet-formacion-humanista.html La Escuela Nacional de Ballet] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090623000202/http://www.bohemia.cubasi.cu/2006/04/28/cultura/ballet-formacion-humanista.html |date=23 June 2009 }} – La Escuela desarrolla una experiencia única en el mundo, enmarcada en la Batalla de Ideas.</ref>

== Landmarks and historical centers ==
[[File:James Gay Sawkins - Vista de la Plaza de San Francisco.jpg|thumb|View of the [[Plaza de San Francisco de Asís|Plaza de San Francisco]] of Havana in 1841 by [[James G. Sawkins]]]]
* '''[[Old Havana|Habana Vieja]]''': contains the core of the original city of Havana. It was declared a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]].
* '''[[Plaza Vieja, Havana|Plaza Vieja]]''': a plaza in Old Havana, it was the site of executions, processions, bullfights, and ''[[Festival|fiestas]]''.
* '''[[La Cabaña|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.
* '''[[Castillo de los Tres Reyes Magos del Morro|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.
* '''[[San Salvador de la Punta Fortress|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 (66{{nbsp}}ft) marble statue of Christ (1958) blesses the city from the east hillside of the bay, much like the famous [[Christ the Redeemer (statue)|Cristo Redentor]] in Rio de Janeiro.
* '''[[Great Theatre of Havana|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.
* '''[[Malecón, Havana|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.
* '''[[Museum of the Revolution (Cuba)|Museo de la Revolución]]''': located in the former [[Presidential Palace]], with the yacht [[Granma (yacht)|Granma]] on display behind the museum.
* '''[[Colon Cemetery, Havana|Necrópolis Cristóbal Colón]]''': a cemetery and open-air museum,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.carilat.de/stories/cubas_necropolis.htm |title=Havana's magnificent necropolis tells a story of wealth and freedom |publisher=Carilat.de |access-date=2010-04-17| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090801201611/http://www.carilat.de/stories/cubas_necropolis.htm | archive-date = August 1, 2009| url-status=live}}</ref> 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 1{{nbsp}}million tombs. Some gravestones are decorated with sculpture by Ramos Blancos, among others.

== Culture ==
=== Symbols ===
{{Main|Coat of arms of Havana}}
[[File:Coat of arms of La Habana.svg|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 [[Castillo de la Real Fuerza|Fuerza Castle]], the [[Morro Castle (Havana)|Morro Castle]] and the [[San Salvador de la Punta Fortress|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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.opushabana.cu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=260&Itemid=43|title=El escudo de la villa de La Habana|first=Alicia Melis|last=Cappa |website=www.opushabana.cu|date=30 November 1999 }}</ref>
=== Architecture ===
[[File:Plaza del Vapor, Calle Galiano, Havana.jpg|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, Havana|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, Havana|Plaza del Vapor]] was demolished in 1959 by the new, revolutionary government.{{efn|The Plaza del Vapor met a similar fate in 1959 as the Paris food market [[Les Halles]] would meet in 1971. Les Halles, unable to compete in the new market economy and in need of massive repairs, the colorful ambiance once associated with the bustling area of merchant stalls, diappeared altogether when Les Halles was dismantled; the wholesale market was relocated to the suburb of [[Marché d'Intérêt National de Rungis|Rungis]]. Two of the glass and cast iron market pavilions were dismantled and re-erected elsewhere; one in the Paris suburb of [[Nogent-sur-Marne]], the other in [[Yokohama]], Japan.<ref name="auto">Parimage, "Les Halles, The New Heart of Paris". Mairie de Paris and SemPariSeine, July 2012.</ref> At the beginning of the 1959 Revolution Fidel Castro ordered to stop all construction in Cuba, and to have the Plaza del Vapor demolished; the ''Ministry of Public Health'' declared the Plaza del Vapor unhealthy and its vendors were resettled on the grounds of Calle Amistad between Calles Estrella and Monte where the demolished Mars and Belona dance academy had operated for years. The ''National Institute of Savings and Housing'' (INAV) replaced Batista's National Lottery, which had been abolished by the Revolutionary government, and a new lottery to raise money for new construction, and directed by Pastorita Núñez who projected that a new, modern building, not unlike those that were proposed by [[Josep Lluís Sert]] a year earlier in his [[Havana Plan Piloto]] of 1955–1958 would now be built in the empty lot.<ref name="fracasados">{{cite web|url=http://carlosbua.com/los-proyectos-inconclusos-o-fracasados-de-fidel-castro/|title=Los proyectos inconclusos o fracasados de Fidel Castro|access-date=2020-01-18}}</ref>}}{{efn|(INAV) is a state agency created with the objective of building houses for all Cubans who lacked them a lottery,<ref name="fracasados"/>}} Numerous building collapses throughout the city have resulted in injuries and deaths due to a lack of maintenance.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-17935769|title=Cuba's crumbling buildings mean Havana housing shortage|last=Rainsford|first=Sarah|date=17 May 2012|newspaper=BBC News|access-date=2017-02-24|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=112640|title=Old Havana Building Collapse Kills Four - Havana Times.org|website=www.havanatimes.org|date=16 July 2015|language=en|access-date=2017-02-24}}</ref>

==== Spanish ====
[[File:Parte lateral del Castillo de la Real Fuerza.jpg|thumb|[[Castillo de la Real Fuerza|Castle of la Real Fuerza]], 1577]]
Riches were brought from the Spanish into and through Havana as it was a key [[transshipment]] point between the [[New World]] and [[Old World]]. As a result, Havana was the most heavily fortified city in the Americas. Most examples of early architecture can be seen in military fortifications such as [[La Cabaña|La Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabana]] (1558–1577) designed by [[Battista Antonelli]] and the [[Morro Castle (Havana)|Castillo del Morro]] (1589–1630). This sits at the entrance of [[Havana Harbor|Havana Bay]] and provides an insight into the supremacy and wealth at that time.

Old Havana was also protected by a defensive wall begun in 1674 but had already overgrown its boundaries when it was completed in 1767, becoming the new neighborhood of [[Centro Habana]]. The influence from different styles and cultures can be seen in Havana's Spanish architecture, with a diverse range of [[Mudéjar art|Mudéjar architecture]], [[Spanish architecture|Spanish]], [[Architecture of Italy|Italian]], [[Ancient Greek architecture|Greek]] and [[Roman architecture|Roman]]. The [[San Carlos and San Ambrosio Seminary]] (18th century) is a good example of early Spanish influenced architecture. [[Cathedral of Havana|The Havana cathedral]] (1748–1777) dominating the Plaza de la Catedral (1749) is the best example of Cuban Baroque. Surrounding it are the former palaces of the Count de Casa-Bayona (1720–1746) Marquis de Arcos (1746) and the Marquis de Aguas Claras (1751–1775).

The [[Iglesia del Espíritu Santo, Havana|Iglesia del Espíritu Santo]] was devoted in 1638. The Espíritu Santo contains some notable paintings including a seated, post-crucifixion Christ on the right wall, and catacombs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sacred-destinations.com/cuba/havana-iglesia-del-espiritu-santo|title=Sacred Destinations_havana-iglesia-del-espiritu-santo|access-date=2018-10-29}}</ref> It is considered one of the oldest temples in Havana and it is said that its main interest lies essentially in the simplicity of the beautiful stone construction.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} The church was rebuilt and expanded in 1648 and given the rank of a parish. During the Spanish era it had exceptional importance, since by a [[Papal Bull]] of 1772 and a Royal Certificate of 1773, of [[Charles III of Spain]], it was declared "Única Iglesia inmune en esta ciudad, construida en 1855." ("the only immune church in this city, built-in 1855."), which meant that any persecuted individual could find Amparo (sanctuary) in it against the action of the authorities or of justice. A metal plaque at the foot of the bell tower attests to this fact.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} The Iglesia del Espíritu Santo's greatest interest from an architectural point of view lies in the simplicity of the coral stone construction and the lack of lavish decoration.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web |url= http://www.spc.int/DigitalLibrary/Doc/FAME/Reports/Anon_52_Coral_Building_Material.pdf|title=Coral as a Building_Material|access-date=2019-12-30}}</ref>{{efn|Many buildings in Havana are constructed out of coral stone including the [[Colegio Nacional de Arquitectos de Cuba]], [[Paseo del Prado, Havana|the promenade of El Prado]], and the [[San Carlos and San Ambrosio Seminary]]. Some of the exterior walls along Calle N on the ground floor of the podium of the [[FOCSA Building]] are covered with 12"x12" coral tiles.}} Other elements of great importance are the funerary crypts that were discovered in 1953. The crypt is from times before the [[Colon Cemetery, Havana|Colón Cemetery]] (1876) in El Vedado was built.

[[File:San Francisco de Paula - Havanna 001.jpg|thumb|left|Iglesia y hospital San Francisco de Paula]]
The [[La Alameda de Paula, Havana|Alameda de Paula]] was the first promenade in Cuba, designed and constructed in 1776 by Antonio Fernández Trevejo, following the instructions of the [[Laureano de Torres y Ayala]], it was created on the site of the old Rincón refuse dump. It was an embankment with two rows of poplar trees and some benches, it became one of Havana's most important social and cultural spaces, it was the model of the [[Paseo del Prado, Havana|Paseo del Prado]] designed in 1925. It was given the name Alameda de Paula because of its proximity to the old Hospital and Iglesia of San Francisco de Paula. Between 1803 and 1805 the pavement was tiled, a fountain and stone benches, lampposts and the marble column were added, it qualified as a pleasant entertainment for the residents of the [[History of Havana|Villa de San Cristóbal]], lacking recreational sites at that time. In 1841, the stairs that gave access to the promenade were widened and several lampposts were added. In the year 2000, the Havana promenade was restored and extended until it reached the Iglesia de San Francisco de Paula.<ref name=vieja>{{cite web|url=https://norfipc.com/cuba/la-iglesia-san-francisco-paula-habana-vieja.php|title=La Iglesia de San Francisco de Paula|access-date=2019-01-06}}</ref>

Towards the end of the 17th century, the first stone of what would be the hospital for women and the [[Iglesia de San Francisco de Paula, Havana|church of San Francisco de Paula]] was placed, the buildings were expanded in 1731 with the support and donations from the City Council and orders of the different General Captains in command of the island. In 1776, it was the most important hospital in Havana, there were several generations of famous doctors that trained here.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.habanaradio.cu/articulos/antigua-iglesia-de-san-francisco-de-paula/|title=Antigua Iglesia de San Francisco de Paula|access-date=2019-01-03}}</ref> The [[Presbyter]] of the [[Havana Cathedral|Cathedral of Havana]], don Nicolás Estévez Borges, in 1664 ordered the construction of a Hospital for Women and an adjoining church devoted to [[Francis of Paola|Saint Francis of Paola]] who was one of the founders of the Roman Catholic Order of the [[Minim (religious order)|Minims]].{{Efn|The San Francisco de Paula Hospital for women began its functions in 1672, welcoming, in crowded conditions most of the time, black and white mentally ill patients. The gloomy aspect of the construction and the screams of the sick women made this place a well-known place in the area, but not for the reasons why hospitals like to be known, but as a gloomy reference. In the great 19th century Creole novel, Cecilia Valdés by Cirilo Villaverde, the church-hospital is evoked several times because, supposedly, Cecilia's mother was confined there when she lost the use of her mental faculties after the troubles and vicissitudes of her love affair with Don Cándido Gamboa.}} Both buildings were completely destroyed by a hurricane in 1730 and were rebuilt and enlarged in 1745 in the Baroque style seen today.<ref name=vieja/>

==== Neoclassical ====
[[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassism]] was introduced into the city in the 1840s, at the time including Gas public lighting in 1848 and the railroad in 1837. In the second half of the 18th century, sugar and coffee production increased rapidly, which became essential in the development of Havana's most prominent architectural style. Many wealthy ''Habaneros'' took their inspiration from the French; this can be seen within the interiors of upper-class houses such as the ''Aldama Palace'' built in 1844. This is considered the most important neoclassical residential building in Cuba and typifies the design of many houses of this period with portales of neoclassical columns facing open spaces or courtyards.

In 1925 [[Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier]], the head of urban planning in Paris moved to Havana for five years to collaborate with architects and landscape designers. In the master planning of the city his aim was to create a harmonic balance between the classical built form and the tropical landscape. He embraced and connected the city's road networks while accentuating prominent landmarks. His influence has left a huge mark on Havana although many of his ideas were cut short by the [[Great Depression|Great Depression in 1929]]. During the first decades of the 20th century Havana expanded more rapidly than at any time during its history. Great wealth prompted architectural styles to be influenced from abroad. The peak of Neoclassicism came with the construction of the [[Vedado|Vedado district]] (begun in 1859). This area features a number of set back well-proportioned buildings in the Neoclassical style.

[[File:Palacio-de-Villalba Condes-de-Casa-More Fotografia-Mestre-Petit, Havana, Cuba.jpg|thumb|left|Palacio de Villalba, photo of 1898]]

Built in 1875, in the Reparto de las Las Murallas, (wide strip of land that remained after the city walls were demolished in 1863), it was the work of the architect Eugenio Rayneri y Sorrentino.{{efn|Eugenio Rayneri y Sorrentino was the father of [[Eugenio Rayneri Piedra]] the architect of [[El Capitolio]].}} Around 1880 the mansion was owned by the Count of Casa Moré. The "La Flor de José Murias" tobacco factory was installed in the building. Later, through the exploitation of rents, it became a tenement house. In 1951 some of its spaces were dedicated to housing. On its upper floor, the Spanish Center and the Israeli Center of Cuba had their headquarters.

The palace of the Marquesa de Villalba and the [[Plaza del Vapor, Havana|Mercado de Tacón]] were designed by the Eugenio Rayneri y Sorrentino at almost the same time, 1875 and 1876, respectively, each in a style that accommodated the particular typology (residential and commercial) thus conceiving each work with the formal element accommodating different aesthetic requirements.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/groups/fotosdelahabana/permalink/933297227433960/|title=El palacio de la marquesa de Villalba|website=Facebook|access-date=2021-12-01}}</ref> The property is, after the [[Palacio de Aldama|Aldama Palace]], the strongest example of Cuban Neoclassicism. The palace of the Marquesa de Villalba is in the neoclassical style, perhaps only comparable in Havana – according to Alina Castellanos – to the Aldama Palace. But while the latter limits the decoration to the natural slenderness of the colonnade, in the most classical way of the Greek Parthenon, the former uses Roman and Renaissance elaborations, hence, the arcade has been projected on pillars, the building was crowned with a considerable cornice. The neoclassical decoration can also be seen in the window covers, which take alternate forms of a triangular or semicircular pediment, and glass over the door, similar to the [[Plaza del Vapor, Havana|Plaza del Vapor]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://habanacultural.ohc.cu/?p=12093|title=Andar por la Plazuela de las Ursulinas|access-date=2021-12-01}}</ref>
{{Break}}

The [[Palacio de Aldama]] is a neoclassical mansion located diagonally opposite to the old [[Plaza del Vapor, Havana|Plaza del Vapor]] (Parque del Curita), and in front of the old [[Campo de Marte, Havana|Campo de Marte]]; present day Parque de la Fraternidad, in Havana, Cuba. Built in 1840 by the Dominican architect and engineer Manuel José Carrera, its main facade of columns spans one block on Calle Amistad between Calles Reina and Estrella.

[[File:Royal Palm Hotel (Havana), entrance.jpg|thumb|left|Royal Palm Hotel (Havana), entrance, c. 1930]]

The Royal Palm Hotel is located on the corner of San Rafael and Industria. It was inaugurated as "Edificio Luis. E. del Valle", in honor of the sugar magnate who owned the building. It was soon sold to Canadian Wilbur E. Todgham, however, who turned it into the famed Royal Palm Hotel.<ref name="Royal">{{cite web|url=https://www.cibercuba.com/noticias/2020-01-15-u199370-e199370-s27315-royal-palm-corazon-habana-hotel-famoso-edificio|title=Royal Palm, en el corazón de La Habana, de hotel famoso a edificio multifamiliar|date=15 January 2020 |access-date=2022-01-06}}</ref> The commercial function of the ground floor has been preserved to date, taking advantage of its excellent location on Boulevard de San Rafael. Taking into account the architectural values of this building and its socio-cultural importance within the urban landscape in which it is located, the building received a major restoration in 2000, with the support of the Provincial Council of Seville, Spain.<ref name="Royal"/>

==== Art deco ====
[[File:Edificio Bacardí, La Habana, Cuba.jpg|thumb|left|Bacardí Building]]
The [[Bacardi Building (Havana)|Bacardi Building]] (''Edificio Bacardí'') is Havana landmark designed by the architects Esteban Rodríguez-Castells and Rafael Fernández Ruenes and completed in 1930.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/list/7-iconic-buildings-in-havana|title=7 Iconic Buildings in Havana, Cuba &#124; Britannica|website=www.britannica.com}}</ref> It is located on the corner of Calles Monserrate and San Juan de Dios on a 1,320{{nbsp}}sq meter lot in Las Murallas, [[Old Havana]]. The building is in the [[art deco]] style that was popular internationally in the early decades of the 20th century. The Bacardi Building was designed to be the headquarters for the [[Bacardi]] Rum Company; it was nationalized by the Castro government in the early 1960s. In 2001, the building was restored by an Italian construction firm. The interior retains the original decorations in marble and granite. It is regarded as one of the finest [[Art Deco]] buildings in Latin America.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.encaribe.org/es/article/edificio-bacardi/561|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171229235847/http://encaribe.org/es/article/edificio-bacardi/561|archive-date=29 December 2017|title=Edificio Bacardí|website=www.encaribe.org|access-date=2018-09-01}}</ref>

[[File:López Serrano Building, El Vedado, Havana.jpg|thumb|left|López Serrano Building]]
Designed by the architect Ricardo Mira in 1929, who in 1941 designed La Moderna Poesia bookstore on Obispo Street for the same owner, the [[López Serrano Building]] was the tallest residential building in Cuba until the construction of the [[FOCSA Building]] in 1956. The construction of the building was promoted by José Antonio López Serrano, a publisher who ran La Moderna Poesía.<ref name=paseosporlahabana>{{cite web|url=http://www.paseosporlahabana.com/edificio-lopez-serrano-vedado-la-habana-cuba/|title=Paseos por La Habana (Spanish)|access-date=2018-09-17|archive-date=2018-09-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180917182008/http://www.paseosporlahabana.com/edificio-lopez-serrano-vedado-la-habana-cuba/}}</ref>

==== Modernism ====
Known by buildings of high-quality, [[modernist architecture]] transformed much of the city. Examples are the Havana [[Hilton Hotel]] of (1958), the [[Radiocentro CMQ Building]] of 1955 by [[Martín Domínguez Esteban]] architect of the [[FOCSA Building]] in 1956, and the [[Edificio del Seguro Médico, Havana]] by [[Antonio Quintana Simonetti]].{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

[[File:Hotel Habana Libre.jpg|thumb|left|Hotel Habana Libre is located in the most central corner of Vedado.]]

Hotel [[Tryp Habana Libre]] is one of the larger hotels in [[Cuba]], situated in [[Vedado]], Havana. The hotel has 572 rooms<ref>[http://www.meliacuba.com/cuba-hotels/hotel-tryp-habanalibre Tryp Habana Libre] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201122756/http://www.meliacuba.com/cuba-hotels/hotel-tryp-habanalibre |date=2016-12-01 }} Retrieved 21 December 2018.</ref> in a 25-floor tower at Calle 23 ("La Rampa") and Calle L. Opened in 1958 as the Habana Hilton, the hotel famously served as the residence of [[Fidel Castro]] and other revolutionaries throughout 1959, after their capture of Havana. The Habana Hilton was constructed at a cost of $24{{nbsp}}million, under the personal auspices of President [[Fulgencio Batista]]. It was built as an investment by the Caja de Retiro y Asistencia Social de los Trabajadores Gastronomicos,<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20170224211412/https://www.emporis.com/companies/168351/caja-de-retiro-y-asistencia-social-de-los-trabajadores-gastronomicos-havana-cuba Caja de Retiro y Asistencia Social de los Trabajadores Gastronomicos]}} Emporis. Retrieved 21 December 2018.</ref> the pension plan of the Cuban catering workers' union, with additional financing from the Banco de Fomento Agricola e Industrial de Cuba (BANFAIC). It was operated by the American [[Hilton Hotels & Resorts|Hilton Hotels International]] group and was designed by the well-known Los Angeles architect [[Welton Becket]], who had previously designed the [[Beverly Hilton]] for the chain. Becket designed the 27-story Habana Hilton in collaboration with Havana-based architects Lin Arroyo,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://havanajournal.com/culture/entry/havana-architect-lin-arroyo-dead-at-90/|title=Havana architect Lin Arroyo dead at 90|work=Havana Journal|publisher=Cuban Architecture|date=7 October 2008|access-date=21 December 2018|archive-date=19 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160419035041/http://havanajournal.com/culture/entry/havana-architect-lin-arroyo-dead-at-90/}}</ref> and Gabriela Menéndez.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://people.duke.edu/~ar79/wired/assignment6/home.html|title=At the Crossroads of Modernity:Visualizing the Habana Libre Hotel |access-date=2013-09-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131227102541/http://people.duke.edu/~ar79/wired/assignment6/home.html |archive-date=2013-12-27 }}</ref> Arroyo was the Minister of Public Works under Batista.<ref>{{cite web|author=Patrick McGrew|title=A California Architect Visits Cuba|url=http://www.kcet.org/arts/artbound/counties/los-angeles/a-california-architect-visits-cuba.html|date=7 August 2012|access-date=21 December 2018}}</ref> The hotel was constructed by the [[Frederick Snare Corporation]].<ref>[http://www.hotelhabanalibre.com/en/architects,-builders.html Hotel Habana Libre, Architecture & Builders] Retrieved 21 December 2018.</ref>

The [[Radiocentro CMQ Building]] complex is a former radio and television production facility and office building at the intersection of Calle L and [[La Rampa]] in [[El Vedado]], Cuba. It was modeled after [[Raymond Hood]]'s 1933 [[Rockefeller Center]] in New York City.<ref name=RadioCentro>{{cite web|url=https://paris1972-versailles2003.com/2011/04/22/habana-hilton-or-libre-and-yara-or-radiocentro/|title=Habana Hilton or Libre, and Yara or RadioCentro|access-date=2018-12-07|archive-date=2016-06-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617144911/https://paris1972-versailles2003.com/2011/04/22/habana-hilton-or-libre-and-yara-or-radiocentro/}}</ref> With 1,650 seats, the theater first opened on 23 December 1947, under the name Teatro Warner Radiocentro, it was owned by brothers Goar and [[Abel Mestre]]. Today the building serves as the headquarters of the [[Cuban Institute of Radio and Television]] (ICRT). For the construction of this building, the Havana building authorities granted a permit in 1947 amending the ordinances that were then in effect in [[El Vedado]] prohibiting the construction of buildings of more than three storeys. This statute was modified six years later to expand the construction of up to four floors because many planners and owners claimed the need to authorize them to build taller buildings in the area.<ref name="Muñoz Hernández_1">{{cite journal |last= Muñoz Hernández |first=R. |year= 2011 |title= Edificios altos del movimiento moderno |journal= Arquitectura y Urbanismo |volume=XXXII|number=1 |pages= 88–89 }}</ref>

[[File:Martín Domínguez Esteban FOCSA.jpg|thumb|left|Aerial view of the FOCSA building from the west, with the floating corridors, ca. 1958]]

The [[FOCSA Building]] is a residential block in the Vedado neighborhood of Havana, Cuba. It was named after the contracting company ''Fomento de Obras y Construcciones, Sociedad Anónima'', and the architects were Ernesto Gómez Sampera (1921–2004), Mercedes Diaz (his wife), and [[Martín Domínguez Esteban]] (1897–1970), who was the architect of the [[Radiocentro CMQ Building]]. The structural engineer was Luis Sáenz Duplace, of the firm Sáenz, Cancio & Martín, and professor of engineering at the [[University of Havana]]. The civil engineers were Bartolome Bestard and Manuel Padron. Gustavo Becquer and Fernando H. Meneses were the mechanical and electrical engineers, respectively.<ref name=Fox>Fox, Arthur. "Concrete Apartment House 39 Stories High." Engineering News Record 7/1955:34-37. Print.</ref><ref name=Cuevas /> It is located on a site bordered by Calles 17 and M and Calles 19 and N in the [[Vedado]].<ref name=Cuevas>Juan de las Cuevas Toraya, published in 2001.[http://arquitectura-cuba.blogspot.com/2009/10/edificio-focsa-1956.html arquitecturacuba.blogspot.com] – visited 2/2010</ref>
<ref name=Fox/> The [[FOCSA Building|Edificio Focsa]] (1956) represents Havana's economic dominance at the time. This 35-story complex was conceived and based on Corbusian ideas of a self-contained city within a city. It contained 400 apartments, garages, a school, a supermarket, and a restaurant on the top floor. This was the tallest high-strength concrete structure in the world at the time (using no steel frame).

[[File:Edificio del Seguro Médico. Havana, Cuba.jpg|thumb|right|[[Antonio Quintana Simonetti]] [[Edificio del Seguro Médico, Havana]], 1958]]

The [[Edificio del Seguro Médico]] is a commercial building in El [[Vedado]], Havana.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ivostani.ch/8947093/la-habana |title=La Habana |website=Ivo Stani Fotografie |date=2016 |access-date=2022-02-10}}</ref> Built between 1955 and 1958, it was designed as a mixed use building for apartments and offices for the headquarters of the National Medical Insurance Company by [[Antonio Quintana Simonetti]].

==== Cityscape ====
{{Recentism|date=December 2021}}
[[File:Havana Districts Map (2022).svg|thumb|right|upright=1.5 |Havana Districts Map]]
Contemporary Havana can essentially be described as three cities in one: [[Old Havana]], [[Vedado]], and the newer suburban districts.<ref name=":2" /> Old Havana, with its narrow streets and overhanging balconies, is the traditional center of part of Havana's commerce, industry, and entertainment, as well as being a residential area.

To the west a newer section, centered on the uptown area known as [[Vedado]], has become the rival of Old Havana for commercial activity and nightlife. The [[National Capitol Building (Havana)|''Capitolio Nacional'']] building marks the beginning of Centro Habana, a working-class neighborhood that lies between Vedado and Old Havana.<ref>[http://www.paseosporlahabana.com/cats.asp?cID=32 Centro Habana] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070519110017/http://www.paseosporlahabana.com/cats.asp?cID=32 |date=19 May 2007 }} – Centro Habana guia turistica, Cuba</ref> Barrio Chino and the [[Real Fabrica de Tabacos Partagás]], one of Cuba's oldest cigar factories is located in the area.<ref>{{cite web|author=CubaJunky.com |url=http://www.cuba-junky.com/havana/havana-casas-particular-viejaycentro.html |title=Centro Habana |publisher=Cuba-junky.com |date= |access-date=2010-04-17}}</ref>

A third Havana is that of the more affluent residential and industrial districts that spread out mostly to the west. Among these is [[Marianao]], one of the newer parts of the city, dating mainly from the 1920s. Some of the suburban exclusivity was lost after the revolution, many of the suburban homes having been nationalized by the Cuban government to serve as schools, hospitals, and government offices. Several private country clubs were converted to public recreational centers. [[Miramar, Havana|Miramar]], located west of Vedado along the coast, remains Havana's exclusive area; mansions, foreign embassies, diplomatic residences, upscale shops, and facilities for wealthy foreigners are common in the area.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cactuslanguage.com/en/book/course.php?course_id=1045 |title=Havana Miramar School |publisher=Cactuslanguage.com |access-date=2010-04-17 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100208194543/http://www.cactuslanguage.com/en/book/course.php?course_id=1045 |archive-date=2010-02-08 }}</ref> The [[International School of Havana]] is located in the Miramar neighborhood.

In the 1980s many parts of [[Old Havana]], including the Plaza de Armas, became part of a projected 35-year{{nbsp}}multimillion-dollar restoration project, for Cubans to appreciate their past and boost tourism. In the past ten years{{which|date=May 2022}}, with the assistance of foreign aid and under the support of local city historian Eusebio Leal Spengler, large parts of Habana Vieja have been renovated. The city is moving forward with their renovations, with most of the major plazas (Plaza Vieja, Plaza de la Catedral, Plaza de San Francisco and Plaza de Armas) and major tourist streets (Obispo and Mercaderes) near completion.
=== Visual arts ===

{{See also|Watson and the Shark}}
[[File:1920 Centro Asturiano1.jpg|thumb|left|[[Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana|Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes]], photo of 1927]]
The [[Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana]] is a Fine Arts museum that exhibits Cuban and international art. The museum houses one of the largest collections of paintings and sculpture from Latin America and is the largest in the Caribbean region.<ref>{{cite web|title=Historia del Museo Nacional|url=http://www.museonacional.cult.cu/historia.php|work=Museonacional.cult.cu|access-date=11 July 2011|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718163303/http://www.museonacional.cult.cu/historia.php|archive-date=18 July 2011}}</ref> Under the ''Cuban Ministry of Culture'', it occupies two locations in the vicinity of Havana's ''Paseo del Prado'', these are the ''Palace of Fine Arts'', devoted to Cuban art and the ''Palace of the [[Asturias|Asturian]] Center'', dedicated to universal art.<ref>{{cite web|title=Centro Asturiano|url=http://www.museonacional.cult.cu/asturiano/historia.php?&id=2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080212132521/http://www.museonacional.cult.cu/asturiano/historia.php?&id=2|archive-date=2008-02-12|work=MuseoNacional.cult.cu|access-date=11 July 2011}}</ref> Its artistic heritage is made up of over 45,000 pieces.<ref name="Mario_Muñoz">{{cite web|title=(ES) El Alma de la nación no se vende |url=http://www.lajiribilla.cubaweb.cu/2001/n12_julio/334_12.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010822182815/http://www.lajiribilla.cubaweb.cu/2001/n12_julio/334_12.html |archive-date=22 August 2001 |work=Cubaweb.cu |access-date=11 July 2011 }}</ref> Since 1995 the capital hosts the headquarters of the [[The Ludwig Foundation of Cuba|Ludwig Foundation of Cuba]] in Vedado, founded by the German collectors Peter and Irene Ludwig, it is a non-governmental and non-profit organization for the dissemination and protection of Cuban art.
Notable artists associated with the city include [[Federico Beltrán Masses]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.beltranmasses.com/biografia-beltran-masses/ |title=Biografiá |language=Spanish |access-date=9 January 2017 |archive-date=13 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513073202/http://www.beltranmasses.com/biografia-beltran-masses/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stairsainty.com/artist/federico-beltran-masses/ |title=Federico Beltran Masses |access-date=10 January 2017|quote=...the only child of Luis Beltran Fernandez Estepona, a former Spanish army officer stationed in Cuba, and Dona Mercedes Masses Olives, the daughter of a doctor from Lleida, Catalonia, who himself had married the daughter of a wealthy Spanish Cuban-landowner.}}</ref> [[Víctor Manuel García Valdés]],<ref>Cernuda Art: Victor Manuel Garcia; http://www.cernudaarte.com/artists/victor-manuel-garcia/. Retrieved 12 September 2015</ref><ref name = AEX>Art Experts: Victor Manuel Garcia (1897–1969); http://www.artexpertswebsite.com/pages/artists/manuel.php {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180128132636/https://www.artexpertswebsite.com/pages/artists/manuel.php |date=28 January 2018 }}. Retrieved 12 August 2015</ref> and [[Wifredo Lam]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://www.lahabana.com/guide/centro-de-arte-contemporaneo-wifredo-lam/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018234530/http://www.lahabana.com/guide/centro-de-arte-contemporaneo-wifredo-lam/|archive-date=18 October 2015|title=Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wifredo Lam|date=11 December 2013|website=Havana City Guide|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref><ref name="afar.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.afar.com/places/centro-de-arte-contemporaneo-wifredo-lam-la-habana|title=Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wifredo Lam|date=22 March 2017|website=www.afar.com|access-date=2019-12-12|archive-date=2019-12-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212215647/https://www.afar.com/places/centro-de-arte-contemporaneo-wifredo-lam-la-habana|url-status=dead}}</ref>
=== Performing arts ===
[[File:Ballet Nacional de Cuba.jpg|thumb|left|Ballet Nacional de Cuba performing at the Gran Teatro de La Habana]]
Facing Havana's Central Park is the [[baroque architecture|baroque]] [[Gran Teatro de La Habana]], a prominent theater built in 1837.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://hashtaginfluence.com/places/grand-theater |title=170 Aniversario Gran Teatro |work=#Influence |date=7 January 2019 |access-date=2019-01-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190108051006/https://hashtaginfluence.com/places/grand-theater |archive-date=2019-01-08 }}</ref> It is now home of the [[Cuban National Ballet|National Ballet of Cuba]] and the [[International Ballet Festival of Havana]], one of the oldest in the New World. The façade of the building is adorned with a stone and marble statue. There are also sculptural pieces by [[Giuseppe Moretti]],<ref>{{in lang|es}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20071020113649/http://www.radiohc.cu/espanol/turismo/kaleidoscopio/granteatro1.htm Radio Havana-Cuba]- Existen también piezas escultóricas en las cuatro cúpulas del techo realizadas por Giuseppe Moretti.</ref> representing allegories depicting benevolence, education, music and theater. The principal theater is the [[Federico García Lorca|García Lorca]] Auditorium, with seats for 1,500 and balconies. Glories of its rich history; the Italian [[tenor]] [[Enrico Caruso]] sang, the Russian ballerina [[Anna Pavlova]] danced, and the French [[Sarah Bernhardt]] acted.

[[Alicia Alonso]] was a Cuban ''[[prima ballerina assoluta]]'' and choreographer whose company became the [[Cuban National Ballet|Ballet Nacional de Cuba]] in 1955.<ref>Mary Clarke and [[David Vaughan (dance archivist)|David Vaughan]] (eds) 1977. ''The encyclopedia of dance & ballet''. Pitmans, London. p. 16.<!--ISSN/ISBN needed--></ref> Alonso was born "on the outskirts" of Havana in 1920<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2019/10/17/fallece-alicia-alonso-la-prima-ballerina-assoluta-del-ballet-nacional-de-cuba/|title=Alicia Alonso, Prima Ballerina Assoluta of the National Ballet of Cuba dies|date=17 October 2019|website=CUBADEBATE|access-date=17 October 2019}}</ref> She is best known for her portrayals of [[Giselle]] and [[Carmen Suite (ballet)|the ballet version of ''Carmen'']].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alicia-Alonso|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100429041909/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/16956/Alicia-Alonso|title=Alicia Alonso &#124; Cuban dancer &#124; Britannica|archive-date=29 April 2010|website=www.britannica.com}}</ref>

=== Radio and television ===
==== CMQ ====
{{Main|CMQ (Cuba)}}

[[File:Radiocentro CMQ logo1950. Havana, Cuba.png|left|thumb|80px]]

[[File:Radiocentro CMQ Building. Havana, Cuba.jpg|right|thumb|Radiocentro CMQ Building, Havana]]

CMQ was a Cuban radio and television station located in Havana, [[Cuba]], reaching an audience in the 1940s and 1950s, attracting viewers and listeners with a program that ranged from music and news dissemination. It later expanded into radio and television networks. As a radio network it was a heated competitor of the [[RHC-Cadena Azul]] network.
The company was founded on March 12, 1933, by Miguel Gabriel and Ángel Cambó. Ten years later, on August 1, 1943, half of it was acquired by the business group of [[Goar Mestre]]. In the beginning, it transmitted only in the capital expanding later to the rest of the country.

Pre-revolutionary Cuba was an early adopter of new technology, including TV. Cuba was the first Latin American country to have television. In December 1946 station CM-21P conducted an experimental multi-point live broadcast.

Regular commercial broadcasting began in October 1950 with Gaspar Pumarejo's [[Unión Radio TV]]. This was followed by Goar Mestre Espinosa's '''CMQ-TV''' on channel 6 on 18 December 1950. CMQ officially launched on 11 March 1951, and would become an [[NBC]] affiliate. By 1954, CMQ-TV had expanded into a seven station network. With the CMQ network, Cuba the second country in the world, only after the United States, to have a national TV network.<ref name=et>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CFXgj7a55agC&dq=cmq-tv&pg=PA636|title=Encyclopedia of Television |first1=Horace|last1=Newcomb|first2=Museum of Broadcast|last2=Communications|date=2 March 2004|publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn|isbn=978-1-57958-394-1 |via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://cuba1952-1959.blogspot.com/2009_02_01_archive.html|title=Cuba Baseball & TV- 1955 World Series |first=R.|last=Aranda|date=17 February 2009}}</ref>

At the beginning of the 1950s with the transmission of the novel ''El Derecho de Nacer'', by Felix B. Caignet, displaced the competing station, RHC Cadena Azul. It is with this leadership that the second Cuban television channel, CMQ TV, Channel 6 is born. It was initially located on Calle Monte, on the corner of Paseo del Prado. On 12 March 1948, the radio studio was moved to the [[Radiocentro CMQ Building|Radiocentro building]] in La Rampa and Calle L in [[El Vedado]].{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

=== Festivals ===

{{further|Festivals in Havana}}

==== Film Festival ====

{{Main|Havana Film Festival}}

The Havana Film Festival is a Cuban festival that focuses on the promotion of Latin American filmmakers. It is also known in Spanish as ''Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de La Habana,'' and in English as International Festival of New Latin American Cinema of Havana.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Havana_Film_Festival/ Havana Film Festival] at the [[Internet Movie Database]].</ref> It takes place every year during December in the city of [[La Havana|Havana]], Cuba.

The inaugural International Festival of New Latin American Cinema was held on 3 December 1979, and more than 600 film directors of Latin America responded to the first call made by the [[Cuban Institute of the Cinematographic Art and Industry]] (ICAIC). Its founders the included President of ICAIC, Alfredo Guevara, and the filmmakers [[Julio García Espinosa]] and [[Pastor Vega]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://habanafilmfestival.com/los-fundadores/ |title=Fundadores | website=Habana Film Festival |access-date=19 January 2021}}</ref>

As expressed in its founding convocation, the festival aimed to "promote the regular meeting of Latin American filmmakers who with their work enrich the artistic culture of our countries (…); ensure the joint presentation of fiction films, documentaries, cartoons and current events (…), and contribute to the international diffusion and circulation of the main and most significant productions of our cinematographies".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://habanafilmfestival.com/historia/ |title=Fundadores | website=Habana Film Festival |access-date=19 January 2021}}</ref>

In 2013 the Havana Film Festival announced that it was reappointing Iván Giroud as its president. Giroud had previously served as president from 1994 to 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cinematropical.com/cinema-tropical/ivan-giroud-reappointed-director-of-the-havana-film-fest |title=Iván Giroud Reappointed Director of the Havana Film Fest |date=18 May 2013 |website=Cinema Tropical |access-date=2021-01-19}}</ref>

== Health ==
{{Further|Healthcare in Cuba}}
{{Recentism|date=December 2021}}

All Cuban residents have free access to health care in hospitals,<ref name="Harvard">[http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/review/review_summer_02/txt677cuba.html Harvard Public Health Review/Summer 2002] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120530063729/http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/review/review_summer_02/txt677cuba.html |date=30 May 2012 }} The Cuban Paradox</ref> local polyclinics, and neighborhood family doctors who serve on average 170 families each,<ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4583668.stm Medical know-how boosts Cuba's wealth] BBC online.</ref> which is one of the highest doctor-to-patient ratio in the world.<ref>[http://hdr.undp.org/statistics/data/indicators.cfm?x=58&y=2&z=1 Commitment to health: resources, access and services] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060718084329/http://hdr.undp.org/statistics/data/indicators.cfm?x=58&y=2&z=1 |date=18 July 2006 }} United Nations Human Development report</ref> Nonetheless, the health system has suffered from shortages of supplies, equipment and medications caused by ending of the [[Soviet Union]] subsidies in the early 1990s and the [[United States embargo against Cuba|US embargo]].<ref name="US embargo">The effects of the U.S. embargo on medicines in Cuba have been studied in numerous reports.<br />
• '''R Garfield and S Santana'''. Columbia University, School of Nursing, New York; [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1380757/ "The impact of the economic crisis and the US embargo on health in Cuba"] "this embargo has raised the cost of medical supplies and food Rationing, universal access to primary health services" <br />
• '''American Association for World Health'''; [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=8150565&dopt=Abstract Online]. American Association for World Health Report. March 1997. Accessed ''6 October 2006''. Supplementary source : [http://www.apha.org/wfpha/cuba.htm American Public Health Association website]   {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060813155121/http://www.apha.org/wfpha/cuba.htm |date=13 August 2006 }} "After a year-long investigation, the American Association for World Health has determined that the U.S. embargo of Cuba has dramatically harmed the health and nutrition of large numbers of ordinary Cuban citizens." <br />
• '''Felipe Eduardo Sixto'''; [http://lanic.utexas.edu/project/asce/pdfs/volume12/sixto.pdf An evaluation of Four decades of Cuban Healthcare]   {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100619225952/http://lanic.utexas.edu/project/asce/pdfs/volume12/sixto.pdf |date=19 June 2010 }}.<br />
"The lack of supplies accompanied by a deterioration of basic infrastructure (potable water and sanitation) resulted in a setback of many of the previous accomplishments. The strengthening of the U.S. embargo contributed to these problems." <br />
• '''Pan American Health organization'''; Health Situation Analysis and Trends Summary [http://www.paho.org/english/sha/prflcub.htm Regional Core Health Data System – Country Profile: CUBA]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016080815/http://www1.paho.org/english/sha/prflcub.htm |date=16 October 2015 }}
"The two determining factors underlying the crisis are well known. One is the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the socialist bloc, and the other is the economic embargo the Government of the United States." <br />
• '''Harvard Public Health'''; [http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/review/review_summer_02/txt677cuba.html Review/Summer 2002 : The Cuban Paradox] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120530063729/http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/review/review_summer_02/txt677cuba.html |date=30 May 2012 }} "Because its access to traditional sources of financing is seriously hindered by the sanctions, which until recently included all food and medicine, Cuba has received little foreign and humanitarian aid to maintain the vitality of its national programs"<br />
• '''''[[The Lancet]]'' medical journal'''; [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=8942780 Role of USA in shortage of food and medicine]. "The resultant lack of food and medicines to Cuba contributed to the worst epidemic of neurological disease this century."</ref> Nevertheless, Havana's [[infant mortality rate]] in 2009 was 4.9 per 1,000 live births,<ref name=Official_census /> 5.12 in the country as a whole, which is lower than many [[Developed country|developed nations]],<ref name=United_Nations>[http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Excel-Data/mortality.htm United Nations World Population Prospects: 2011 revision] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130603014657/http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Excel-Data/mortality.htm |date=June 3, 2013 }} – 2011 revision</ref><ref name=Cia>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/download/download-2009/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150328230723/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/download/download-2009/index.html|title=CIA World Factbook 2009|archive-date=28 March 2015}}</ref> and the lowest in the [[Developing country|developing world]].<ref name= United_Nations /><ref name=Cia /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.publico.es/agencias/efe/39756/cuba-tiene-la-menor-mortalidad-infantil-del-mundo-en-desarrollo-segun-unicef |title=Cuba tiene la menor mortalidad infantil del mundo en desarrollo, según UNICEF |work=Público.es |date=22 January 2008 |publisher=Publico.es |access-date=2013-01-08}}</ref> Administration of the health care system for the nation is centered largely in Havana. Hospitals in Havana are run by the national government, and citizens are assigned hospitals and clinics to which they may go for attention.{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}

== Sports ==
[[File:Latinoamericano02.JPG|thumb|[[Estadio Latinoamericano]]]]
Many Cubans are avid sports fans who particularly favor baseball. Havana's team in the [[Cuban National Series]] is [[Industriales]], one of the most successful teams in the tournament. In the past, it has also been represented by [[Habana (Cuban League)|Habana]] (in the pre-revolutionary [[Cuban League]]) as well as [[Metropolitanos]] and La Habana in the National Series.

The city has several large sports stadiums, the largest one being the [[Estadio Latinoamericano]], where Industriales play. Admission to sporting events is generally free, and impromptu games are played in neighborhoods throughout the city. Social clubs at the beaches provide facilities for water sports and include restaurants and dance halls.
* Havana was host to the [[1991 Pan American Games|11th Pan American Games in 1991]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Havana '91 Quadro de Medalhas|url=http://www.quadrodemedalhas.com/jogos-pan-Americanos/jogos-pan-Americanos-1991-havana.htm|work=Panamerican Games '91|publisher=quadrodemedalhas.com|language=pt|access-date=2011-11-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303183434/http://www.quadrodemedalhas.com/jogos-pan-americanos/jogos-pan-americanos-1991-havana.htm|archive-date=2016-03-03}}</ref> Stadiums and facilities for this were built in the relatively unpopulated eastern suburbs.
* Havana was host to the 1992 [[IAAF World Cup]] in Athletics.<ref>{{cite web|title=IAAF WORLD CUP IN ATHLETICS|url=http://www.gbrathletics.com/ic/wp.htm|publisher=gbrathletics.com|access-date=13 November 2011}}</ref>
* Havana was an applicant to host the [[2008 Summer Olympics]] and [[2012 Summer Olympics]],<ref>{{cite news|title=Olympic bids: The rivals|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/3068323.stm|publisher=BBC.co.uk|access-date=13 November 2011|date=15 July 2003}}</ref> but was not shortlisted.
* Havana hosted the [[Centrobasket]] on three occasions, namely in 1969, 1989 and 1999.

== Notable people ==
{{main|Category:People from Havana}}

==Sister cities==
{{Further|List of twin towns and sister cities in Cuba#Havana}}

== See also ==
{{Portal|Cuba|Cities}}
* [[History of Havana]]
* [[Old Havana]]
* [[Giuseppe Gaggini]]
* [[List of cities in the Caribbean]]
* [[Havana Plan Piloto]]
* [[Watson and the Shark]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

== Bibliography ==
{{refbegin|26em}}
* Eddie Lennon, Julie Napier and Farida Haqiqi. ''Wonderful Havana'' (1st ed.). Cool World Books, updated February 2013.
* King, Charles Spencer (2009) ''Havana My Kind of Town''. US: [[CreateSpace]]. {{ISBN|978-1-4404-3269-9}}.
* Alicia García Santana. ''Havana: History and Architecture of a Romantic City''. Monacelli, October 2000. {{ISBN|978-1-58093-052-9}}.
* Angela, Ferriol Maruaga; ''et al.'': ''Cuba crisis, ajuste y situación social (1990–1996)'', Editorial de Ciencias Sociales, 1998. {{ISBN|978-959-06-0348-8}}.
* ''The Rough Guide to Cuba'' (3rd ed.). [[Rough Guides]], May 2005. {{ISBN|978-1-84353-409-9}}.
* Barclay, Juliet (1993). ''Havana: Portrait of a City''. London: Cassell. {{ISBN|978-1-84403-127-6}} (2003 paperback edition). A comprehensive account of the history of Havana from the early 16th century to the end of the 19th century.
* Carpentier, Alejo. ''La ciudad de las columnas'' (The city of columns). A historical review of the city from one of the major authors in the iberoamerican literature, a native of this city.
* Cluster, Dick, & Rafael Hernández, ''History of Havana.'' New York: Palgrave-MacMillan, 2006. {{ISBN|978-1-4039-7107-4}}. A social history of the city from 1519 to the present, co-authored by a Cuban writer and editor resident in Havana and an American novelist and writer of popular history.
* Eguren, Gustavo. ''La fidelísima Habana'' (The very faithful Havana). A fundamental illustrated book for those who wants to know the history of La Habana, includes chronicles, articles from natives and non-natives, archives documents, and more.
* United Railways of Havana. ''Cuba: A Winter Paradise''. 1908–1909, 1912–1913, 1914–1915 and 1915–1916 editions. New York, 1908, 1912, 1914 and 1915. Maps, photos and descriptions of suburban and interurban electric lines.
* "Electric Traction in Cuba". ''Tramway & Railway World'' (London), 1 April 1909, pp.&nbsp;243–44. Map, photos and description of Havana Central Railroad.
* "The Havana Central Railroad". ''Electrical World'' (New York), 15 April 1909, pp.&nbsp;911–12. Text, 4 photos.
* "Three-Car Storage Battery Train". ''[[Electric Railway Journal]]'' (New York), 28 September 1912, p.&nbsp;501. Photo and description of Cuban battery cars.
* Berta Alfonso Gallol. ''Los Transportes Habaneros. Estudios Históricos''. La Habana, 1991. The definitive survey (but no pictures or maps).
* James A. Michener and John Kings. ''Six Days in Havana''. University of Texas Press; first edition (1989). {{ISBN|978-0-292-77629-6}}. Interviews with close to 200 Cubans of widely assorted backgrounds and positions, and concerns how the country has progressed after 90 years of independence from Spain and under the 30-year leadership of Castro.
* One more interesting note about that edition of ''The New York Times'': On page 5, there is a short blurb mentioning, "The plan for holding a Pan-American exhibition at Buffalo has been shelved for the present owing to the unsettled condition of the public mind consequent upon the Spanish-Cuban complications." President [[William McKinley]] was assassinated at the Pan-American Exhibition when it was finally held in 1901.
* Cathryn Griffith, ''Havana Revisited: An Architectural Heritage''. W. W. Norton 2010. {{ISBN|978-0-393-73284-9}}
* Guadalupe Garcia, ''Beyond the Walled City: Colonial Exclusion in Havana''. 2015, Berkeley: University of California Press. {{ISBN|978-0-520-28604-7}} ([https://web.archive.org/web/20171022224033/https://cubacounterpoints.com/archives/5327 review]).
* {{Cite book |last=Baklanoff |first=Eric N. |year=1998 |chapter=Cuba on the Eve of the Socialist Transition: A Reassessment of the Backwardness-Stagnation Thesis |chapter-url=http://www.ascecuba.org/c/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/v08-31baklanoff.pdf |title=Cuba in Transition, Volume&nbsp;8 |url=http://www.ascecuba.org/publications/annual-proceedings/cuba-in-transition-volume-08/ |location=Silver Spring,&nbsp;MD |publisher=ASCE |pages=260–272 |isbn=978-0-9649082-7-7 |access-date=25 March 2013 |archive-date=6 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406061627/https://www.ascecuba.org/publications/annual-proceedings/cuba-in-transition-volume-08/ }}
* {{Cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Kirby |last2=Llorens |first2=Hugo |year=1998 |chapter=Renaissance and Decay: A Comparison of Socioeconomic Indicators in Pre-Castro and Current-Day Cuba |chapter-url=http://www.ascecuba.org/c/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/v08-30smith.pdf |title=Cuba in Transition, Volume&nbsp;8 |url=http://www.ascecuba.org/publications/annual-proceedings/cuba-in-transition-volume-08/ |location=Silver Spring, MD |publisher=ASCE |pages=247–259 |isbn=978-0-9649082-7-7 |access-date=25 March 2013 |archive-date=6 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406061627/https://www.ascecuba.org/publications/annual-proceedings/cuba-in-transition-volume-08/ }}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Sister project links|voy=Havana}}
* {{YouTube|jOUTPSnJ_fA|Alameda de Paula, old havana, the first promenade that had the capital of Cuba}}
* [https://aap.cornell.edu/news-events/mart-n-dom-nguez-esteban Martín Domínguez Esteban]
* [https://elpais.com/elpais/2018/01/05/eps/1515153311_985252.html La sombra del arquitecto Martín Domínguez Esteban]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=su_VxdXN-wE Exploring Havana: The tallest building in Cuba, El Focsa.]
* [https://www.nyc10009.com/focsa-havana FOCSA] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212180552/https://www.nyc10009.com/focsa-havana |date=12 December 2021 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071219014124/http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article-9355074/Alicia-Alonso Alicia Alonso entry], Concise Encyclopædia Britannica; accessed 5 May 2014.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050306163804/http://www.abt.org/education/archive/ballets/carmen_alonso.html Profile], ABT Original Carmen premiere, abt.org; accessed 5 May 2014.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051026100328/http://www.abt.org/education/archive/ballets/theme_and_variations.html ABT Original Theme and Variations], abt.org; accessed 5 May 2014.
* Video: [http://danceinteractive.jacobspillow.org/dance/alicia-alonso-erik-bruhn Archive footage], Alonso and [[Erik Bruhn]] performing "Pas de Deux" from ''Giselle'', Act II (1955) at Jacob's Pillow
* Video: [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p035smnl ''Witness: The First Lady of Cuban Ballet''], interview broadcast on 28 October 2015, from [[BBC World Service]]

{{Wikisource|1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Havana}}
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