Tuesday, 02 August 2011 14:13
If you haven't been in Central Park, you haven't been in La Havana. Photo by L.Calvo
Neither similar in size nor significance to New York's famous Central Park, but for us here in Havana, our Central Park is a flagship.
A wooded area, a place for joy and entertainment among the citizens, a historical site and connecting trails, the park has housed the stoic statue of the most universal Cuban, José Martí, since 1905.
Since 1877, the park at some point was without a doubt, the heart of the city. Its primary symbolic image was the Spanish Queen Isabel II (until 1899), where then in 1902 stood the emblematic Statue of Liberty. But, nature's unpredictable ways completely destroyed the statue in 1903, after one of those weather phenomena that hit our island.
In terms of structure, the park has several trails converging in small squares, decorated with beautiful fountains and sculptures, always surrounded by flower beds and stone benches, where you can rest and relax. It's also possible to observe thousands of Cubans and foreigners who visit the park daily. However, yes, the intense vehicular buzz, passionate conversations generated by sports and the many cries from vendors can always be heard.
Adjacent to the park is the Prado Walkway and large buildings such as Havana's Grand Theater, the Inglaterra Hotel the former Asturian Center —which today is the National Fine Arts Museum's Universal Art Building— the commercial Gómez block, and the Payret movie theater. Also, very close and visible is the imposing Capitolio Nacional.
And one last very important recommendation for Cubans and foreigners:In Havana, there are at least two places in the city where if you don't take a photograph, you can't prove you were there: The steps at the Capitolio and the José Martí statue base in our Central Park.
Address: Between the Prado Walkway, Zulueta, Neptuno and San José in Old Havana.
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