the full name of the capital of cuba is san cristobal de la habana. in 1634 a royal decree conferred upon the city the sounding title: “llave del nuevo mundo y antemural de las indias occidentales,” which signifies: key of the new world and bulwark of the west indies. in emphasis, the coat of arms of the municipality bears a symbolic key and representations of the fortresses of morro, punta and fuerza.
habana is one of the several towns founded by the governor diego velasquez. he placed it upon the south coast, where the town of batabano now stands. it was shortly removed to its present position and rapidly grew to be the chief centre of the island and one of the most important places in the new world. the first century of its history was uneventful, save for the attacks of buccaneers, who twice sacked{250} it during that period. to guard against the danger from this source, la fuerza, the oldest fortification in the city, was erected, near the close of the sixteenth century. shortly afterwards, philip the second of spain ordered the construction of the punta and morro forts, for the protection of the harbor, and at about the same time the official residence of the governor of the island was transferred from santiago de cuba to habana.
in 1650, the population of habana was hardly more than three thousand, but in the following two or three decades it doubled, owing to a large immigration of spaniards from jamaica. during this period, the city rose to be the commercial centre of the spanish-american possessions and the principal rendezvous of the royal fleets that carried on the trade monopoly between spain and america. the walls enclosing the city were commenced in 1671 and finished thirty years later. the city was frequently threatened by english squadrons, and actually captured in 1762. at the close of the seven years’ war habana was restored to spain in exchange for the floridas. the short period of the british occupation, during which the port was thrown open, greatly
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la fuerza, habana.
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stimulated the trade of the city and the general commerce of the island. the modern history of habana dates from this event.
a map of the city at the beginning of the nineteenth century strikingly illustrates its rapid growth. then the residences were almost all intramuras, or within the walls. large estancias and huertas occupied ground which is now intersected by paved streets and covered with substantial buildings. even in the past decade a marked change has taken place, amounting to complete transformation in certain sections. the improvements have in many instances been at the expense of picturesqueness and have entailed the loss of several historic landmarks. but the gain in sanitation and convenience has been great. habana, which under spanish rule had a death rate exceeding thirty to the thousand, now boasts a lower mortality than that of new york.
the first impression made upon the visitor is by the massive character of the architecture. this characteristic is more pronounced than in any other latin-american city. the building material generally used is a conglomerate of marine material, which hardens on exposure to the air. it is hewn into great blocks and so{252} used in construction. walls are usually covered with stucco, or plaster, and colored in a variety of tints. roofs are either flat, or built of the old spanish red tiles. the effect, which is enhanced by the presence almost everywhere of trees and shrubs, is pleasing in the extreme.
in the city proper the houses are mostly two stories in height. a plain front is the fashion nowadays, but in former times the dwellings of the wealthy presented ornate facades and elaborate balconies. large windows,—they are doors in appearance,—heavily grated and closed with lattices, give light and air. large double doorways open upon the central patio. the houses are built close together and on a level with the narrow pavement. the thick walls and the narrow streets tend to mitigate the heat. in former times, when all but the lowest classes went about in carriages, the two-foot sidewalks, which receive the drippings of balconies, met the requirements of the population, but now the inconvenience of walking in habana is severely felt.
people in habana live in the public view to an extent that surprises the stranger from the north. passing along the street one may plainly see the family at meals in the dining{253}room, or resting in the cool of the evening among the plants of the patio. from one flat roof may be witnessed the doings on the neighboring azoteas. from this it might be inferred that the domestic circle of the habanero may be easily invaded. such is not, however, the case. he is hospitable, and a genial host, but the stranger is not admitted to his home as readily as is the case with us.
the people of habana are fond of the outdoor life of the parks and the cafés. in the evening thousands gather about the bandstand in central park, or sit at the tables of the hotels and restaurants upon its edge, eating ice cream or drinking harmless liquids. they are a pleasure-loving people, and this characteristic has earned for habana the name of the “paris of the west.” there is little about the city, however, to remind one of the capital of france. the theatres are numerous and well patronized. the best travelling companies have always found it profitable to include habana in their itinerary.
the most interesting portion of habana is that which formerly lay within the walls. the houses here have for the most part been converted to business purposes, but a few persons{254} still cling to their old homes. the old wall, of which very little remains, followed the line of what is now montserrat avenue. the seaward end of it commenced at the puerta de la punta and ended at the narrowest part of the harbor, just east of the arsenal. this refers to the interior section of the wall, which was continued completely round the shore from the points mentioned.
to-day the neighborhood of central park is the heart of the city. formerly, social and official life of the capital revolved about the plaza de armas, which is close to the waterfront. the old-time palace of the governors, now the residence of the presidents, is a long, low building, occupying the entire west face of the square. the oldest church of the city was torn down to make room for the palace, which was erected in 1834, during the administration of tacon.
on the opposite side of the plaza stands el templete, a little edifice venerated by all good citizens of habana. it marks the site of the mass which was celebrated in connection with the founding of the city. the building has the appearance of a chapel and perhaps was at first intended to serve the purpose of one. its
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obispo street, habana.
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sole contents are three historical paintings by escobar. el templete is opened only on the 16th day of november, which is the anniversary of the city’s birth. on that day all habana walks solemnly down to the little building and gazes upon the pictures, one of which depicts the event that the temple is designed to commemorate.
“each and every street south of the plaza de armas is interesting, in itself as it is now, and for details of its previous history. here, at oficios 94, lived the bishop of the diocese, d. pedro agustin morel de santa cruz, who used to take his daily promenade up obispo, and thereby gave that avenue its name (bishop street); it has since been rechristened pi y margall, for a cuban patriot, but nobody heeds the change. on the corner of mercaderes and obrapia (pious act street) is the house (its handsome high entrance with coat of arms above it, its stairways, its corridors, its quiet patio, retaining in decay the aristocratic bearing of better days), income from which the owner, d. martin calvo de arrieta, willed, in 1679, to be divided into dowries for five orphan girls yearly; the city is executor and in this capacity still launches five brides per annum{256} so dowered by don martin. lamparilla is the ‘little lamp street’ (in commemoration of a light a devotee of all souls’ kept burning in the corner of this and habana in years when there was no public illumination). here, too, on the corner of mercaderes and amagura, is ‘the corner of the green cross.’ the cross is there, and it is green; no painter, furbishing up the house it marks, would venture to give it any other color, though why it should be green nobody knows. it was one of the stations when, before religious processions were prohibited in the streets, good catholics used to travel the via crucis along amargua (bitterness) street from cristo plaza at its head to san francisco convent at the other end. in the house walls along the way one can distinguish yet where other stations were. damas is ladies street, because of the number of pretty women who at one time made its balconies attractive. inquisidor was so called because a commissary of the inquisition once resided in a house facing upon it, which now the spanish legation owns and occupies. refugio (refuge) got its name because once general rocafort was caught in a storm and found refuge in the house of a widow named mendez,{257} who lived there. here, and in other districts throughout town, not only the streets had names—empedrado, because it was the first paved; tejadillo (little tile), because a house upon it was the first to have a tiled roof; blanco (target), because the artillery school practised there when it was well outside the walled city,—but many corners and crossings had their own particular titles. the corner of habana and empedrado was called ‘the corner of the little lamp,’ because in a tobacco shop there shone steadily the only street light of the district. the corner of compostela and jesus maria was ‘snake corner,’ because of the picture of a serpent painted on a house wall there. sol and aguacate was ‘sun corner,’ for a similar reason, and the facade decoration there probably named the whole of sol (sun) street. the block on amargura between compostela and villegas was known as the ‘square of pious women,’ because two very religious ladies lived near, and because, too, of the particular station of the cross located on amargura at this point.”[3]
just off the plaza de armas is la fuerza, that quaint fortress constructed by the order{258} of de soto in 1538. this, which is probably the oldest building of any kind in the city, attracts the greatest amount of attention from visitors. for a long period the fort was the official residence of the governors of the island, who embellished its interior with handsome furniture, statuary and paintings. as the city grew and more formidable works usurped the protective office which la fuerza had so capably filled in earlier days, the building was utilized as barracks, storehouse and even jail. the moat was filled in and a high wall raised in its place. during the american occupation the fortress was restored to something like its original form by the replacement of the moat and drawbridge and the restoration of the bastions. at present the building is used as a depository for the national archives.
an excellent view of the harbor may be had from the tower of la fuerza. the bell in this old tower bears the date 1706. formerly it sounded the hours throughout the day and night, and was used to give the alarm in time of danger. the guns of the fort have repelled more than one attack, and so highly was the importance of la fuerza held in the infant period of the colony, that a royal decree
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the cathedral, habana.
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required all war vessels entering the harbor to salute the fortification. la fuerza failed, however, to stop the french pirate de sores, who captured and partially destroyed it, before firing and sacking the city.
the cathedral, a short stone’s throw from la fuerza, is not the largest, nor the most beautiful, nor even the oldest church in habana, but it has a special interest for the tourist because the bones of christopher columbus reposed there until the spaniards evacuated cuba, when they carried the relic with them and deposited it in the cathedral of seville.
the cathedral was erected close to the waterfront, in what was then the centre of the city. originally a jesuit convent, the building was remodelled and devoted to its present purpose in 1789.
in an official map of habana published in 1800, there are thirty-two notations referring to the most important points and buildings of the city. of these references, seventeen apply to religious institutions. whilst far from maintaining the same proportion, the ecclesiastical structures are very numerous. the oldest of these is the convent of san francisco, which stands upon the waterfront, adjoining the plaza{260} of the same name. the dominican convent, near by, is almost as aged; both were completed before the close of the sixteenth century. the latter has for some years past been occupied by business offices and storerooms. these are but a few of the most interesting among at least a score of churches and convents within the limits of the walled portion of the city.
the fortifications of habana have perhaps been more extensively described than any other buildings of the city. they are not, however, very remarkable, nor, with a few exceptions, are there historic incidents of unusual interest associated with them. la punta is, of course, the most prominent object on the malecon and constantly within the view of the guest at the miramar hotel. with the exception of the heroic defence against the attack of the british, morro castle can not boast of any romantic episode in its history. atares castle, at the extreme southern end of the city, was the scene of the confinement and death of colonel crittenden and his companions. it has a chamber of horrors, containing an assortment of instruments of torture, from which visitors derive novel entertainment.{261}
the two busiest, and perhaps best known, streets of habana are o’reilly and obispo, running from the sea wall, through the plaza de armas, to central park, where they meet the prado at right angles. the two streets in question might be compared to the shopping section of broadway, and the prado to fifth avenue. this splendid boulevard was shorn of much of its glory by the cyclone which a few years ago wrecked the magnificent laurels that lined its central promenade. the finest residences of habana are upon the prado, but boarding houses, and even business establishments, are beginning to invade the street. it is still a fashionable promenade and drive, although it no longer has the exclusive attraction that it once enjoyed.
habana is famous for its parks, chief of which is the parque central. the surrounding blocks are occupied by hotels, clubs, cafés, theatres, and restaurants. when, on a concert night, the lights of these are added to the electric illumination of the park, the scene is a striking one.
the installation of a good electric car system has made suburban life popular, and a large proportion of the population of habana now{262} enjoy breathing space and elbow room such as the former inhabitants never dreamed of. the newest and most attractive of the residence suburbs is vedado by the sea. here are handsome homes facing broad avenues and standing in gardens of beautiful plants and flowers. the greater number of resident americans live out at vedado.
the modern streets beyond the old walls are laid out on liberal lines and with regularity. habana, which used to be one of the most filthy cities on the earth, can now boast with justice of being among the cleanest centres in the americas. it has a good water supply and is efficiently policed. one of the effects of this improvement has been to attract american tourists in constantly increasing numbers, until habana has taken a prominent place among our winter resorts.
