The crumbling of Cuba's historic homes is a stark reminder of the economic crisis gripping the island nation. As the economy collapses under the weight of a US-imposed fuel blockade and a housing deficit of over 900,000 units, the delicate balance of Cuba's architectural heritage hangs in the balance. The ornate stone balconies of the decaying colonial townhouses, once symbols of pre-revolutionary Cuba, now threaten to collapse at any moment, leaving residents perched precariously on the edge.
Marnie Estevez's story is a microcosm of this crisis. She and her family were left stranded on the third floor of a neo-classical tenement in the densely populated Centro Habana district after a storm brought down the stone staircase. The fire service had to employ a crane to rescue her 97-year-old grandmother, a harrowing reminder of the vulnerability of these aging structures. Seven years later, her mother and grandmother are still living in a hostel, while Estevez's family has been forced to move into a tiny two-roomed apartment on the first floor.
The situation is not unique to Estevez. In Habana Vieja, the historic city center, nine families who decamped from a collapsed building three years ago are still living in a boxing gym. The gym provides a stark contrast to the families' former homes, with cardboard walls and sheets held up by wires and sticks for privacy. Electrical wires snake across the floor to each family's cardboard home, but there is no running water and the heat under the zinc roof is stifling. The thud of fists walloping punching bags reverberates through the gym from morning until evening, a stark reminder of the lack of a normal life for these families.
The ravages of time, lack of maintenance, and overcrowding are evident across Havana's colonial buildings. Habana Vieja, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is home to around 900 listed buildings, some dating back to the early years of Spanish rule in the 16th century. However, the facades of these structures are peeling and decaying, with blue skies visible through the facades, making the structures look like theater props. Between 2000 and 2013, a total of 3,856 buildings collapsed, nearly one a day, according to the Office of the City Historian.
By 2020, around 37 percent of the country's residential buildings were deemed unsafe. The economic crisis and the US-imposed fuel blockade have exacerbated the situation, leaving the authorities with limited resources to address the housing deficit. Dayana Garcia, a mother raising three children in the boxing gym, bitterly accuses Cuba's communist authorities of abandoning them to their fate, highlighting the absence of government support in the face of this crisis.
The crumbling of Cuba's historic homes is a powerful symbol of the repeated crises that have rocked the island nation. The peeling pastel-colored facades of these colonial buildings mirror the fortunes of the nearly seven-decade-old revolution, reflecting both the island's resilience and its vulnerability. The situation raises deeper questions about the role of government in preserving cultural heritage and the impact of economic crises on vulnerable communities.
