When in Havana
Havana is an essential stop-off for anyone visiting Latin America and should be a substantial point on any travellers' itinerary. Visitors claim that there's nowhere else in the world like it, with Havana combining a truly idiosyncratic blend of aged Spanish colonialism and socialist anti-consumerism, combined with the kind of spirit you just cannot keep down in a city famed for its rum and cigars.
A colourful city, Havana is packed full of musicians, artists and a surprising number of tourists, although few of course from the US. With a concerted effort to avoid the more consumerist elements of tourism, Havana can be a refreshing experience, although there are of course still a plethora of nightclubs, fine restaurants and hotels for those wanting to combine their history lesson with a little hedonism.
After its settlement Havana became prosperous in the 16th century, when its location made it an ideal stop-off for treasure bound for Spain from Mexico and Peru. With an ever dramatic past, the British seized Havana in 1762, holding it for 11 months before they decided to swap it for Florida. Allowed to trade freely, Havana grew strongly in the 18th and 19th century, establishing itself as a dominant city in Latin America.
Fortunately the city was largely untouched by the War of Independence, preserving it as one of the best examples of Spanish influence in the Americas. America's adoption of prohibition in the early 20th century saw Havana blossom into a party destination for the newly displaced jet set, with rum, cigars and salsa music in abundance.
This all changed on New Year's Eve 1959, when Castro led his rebels into the city and began the socialist revolution. Castro set out to replace the hedonistic tourism industry with a more sensible work ethic, pledging a new renaissance of medicine, literature and art, as well as outlawing racial segregation.
With the successes of Castro's socialist utopia described as "mixed" by many, Havana has not retained the austere spirit that many once envisioned. Described as "unabashedly lively", the city is cosmopolitan and, with many of the original socialist laws relaxed, is emerging as a real world capital.
Its favourable position makes Cuba a welcoming destination all year round. Of course it is occasionally rocked by the hurricane season and visitors should expect rain from May to October, although the weather is still hot. December to April is peak tourist season, with Easter and Christmas especially busy and advance booking essential. New Year's Eve in Havana is an event to behold, as, coinciding with Castro's march on the city, the streets are packed with celebrations.
Visitors hail Havana as an "amazingly safe" city, enabled largely by a heavy police presence, which some tourists may find unnecessarily alarming at first. However, it is still a large city and visitors should of course be aware of pickpockets on public transport, as well as young men on bikes that will try and snatch bags and cameras.
Havana is an especially popular destination for sole female travellers, again partly attributable to the police presence. The local culture is best described as "chivalric local machismo", which means women tend to escape physical harassment, but some may find that the "attention" lavished upon them still borders on harassment.
Havana is by no means established as a queer destination, but visitors report that it is more tolerant than many other Latin American countries. The city is certainly moving in the right direction, although some may claim with frustratingly slow progress. For some reason there is less tolerance towards lesbians, which many put down to wounded pride among the "chivalrously macho" locals.
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Introduction
