CubaPLUS Magazine

Perhaps one of the most visited places in Cuba is Havana’s Malecón, surrounded by the dreams of local residents and the spectacle of the sea with its sunrises and sunsets.

It is a recurring setting in literature, film, and in the worldview of the people who live in this archipelago, a place marked by both problems and hopes. It is also one of the most photographed locations for visitors, both Cuban and foreign, and even for those who live nearby.

The Havana Malecón consists of a wide six lane avenue and a very long reinforced concrete wall that stretches along the entire northern coastline of the Cuban capital for eight kilometers. Long before construction began in its current form, the first stones were laid in 1819 in the section known as Avenida del Puerto. This development responded to the expansion beyond the old city walls and the need to make better use of space.

The coast was once a reef filled area where residents of Havana bathed in the sea and fishermen anchored their boats. Homes and taverns stood between the water and the wall, a place where people would gather to enjoy the sunset.

By the end of the nineteenth century Cuba remained the last Spanish colony in the Americas, although American products had already begun to dominate Havana. The city demanded changes to its infrastructure, especially sanitation improvements, which helped drive the continued development of the Malecón.

By 1870 Havana had expanded as far as Belascoaín Street. At the beginning of the twentieth century the roadway had reached Infanta Street, and by 1901 the stretch from Paseo del Prado to Crespo Street was extended.
The final section was completed in 1958 by the Ministry of Public Works. The project pushed northward, reclaiming land from the sea in order to create the majestic avenue that exists today.

To accomplish this, large amounts of concrete had to be poured and many blocks anchored in place to fill the spaces taken from the sea god Neptune, using materials from the demolition of nearby structures and ensuring a solid foundation on which the avenue could run. The road ultimately ends at the mouth of the Almendares River.

Important monuments rise along its route, including those dedicated to Generalissimo Máximo Gómez and Major General Antonio Maceo, both key heroes of Cuban independence. Several important avenues of the capital meet the Malecón as well, including 23rd Street, Presidents Avenue and Paseo Avenue.

Other representative buildings and monuments also line its path, such as the Castillo de la Real Fuerza of Havana, the Castillo de San Salvador de la Punta, the Torreón de San Lázaro, the entrance to the Havana Tunnel, and the Hotel Nacional de Cuba.

Also located along this stretch are the United States Embassy, the Torreón de la Chorrera, and the building at Malecón 17 known as Las Cariátides, formerly the Unión Club, designed and built in 1924 by the renowned architectural firm Govantes and Cabarrocas and later converted into a cultural center in 1998.

With its long and wide seawall facing the ocean, the Havana Malecón is the most visited meeting place in the capital. Beyond serving as a strategic structure designed to hold back the sea, it has become both a local gathering space and a major tourist attraction.

Throughout its history many notable voices from different fields have spoken and written about it. Yet beyond opinions, arguments, and the passing of time, the Malecón remains a place of tourism, dreams, romance, and all the hopes that can embrace both Cubans and those who visit this country filled with contradictions and beauty.