www.cubacasas.net •|• The Capital • La Habana

¡Eh, compañeros, aqui estamos!
La ciudad nos espera con sus palacios, tenues como panales de abejas silvestres;
sus calles están secas como los rios cuando no llueve en la montaña,
y sus casas nos miran con los ojos pávidos de las ventanas.
Llegada, Nicolas Guillen

Panorama : el Mar, el Malecon, el Nacional

GO > HAVANA CASA PHONE NUMBERS HERE.

FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE :
UNDERSTAND CUBA in 8 minutes 40 seconds :

Source : BBC Television's
Around the World in 80 Gardens
with host Monty Don

HAVANA'S LARGE OPEN SPACES
The Botanical Gardens (600 hectares, 4,000 species, 140,000 plants), Parque Lenin (645 hectares, amusement park Parque Mariposa, horse and rowboat rentals, lake, restaurants, rodeos), the Zoological Park (500 hectares, 145,000 trees from 75 varieties), Expo Cuba (fairgrounds on 48 hectares, 34 pavillons) and Club de Golf de La Habana (18 holes, BBQ, restaurant, bar, swimming pool) are all together, located 15 km south of the Plaza de la Revolucion : a 15-20cuc taxi ride or take the 174 bus to Vibora and connect to the 88 guagua. — Map & Info Here

THE WHOLE CAP IN A SNAP
Greater Habana 30 km x 35 km — Wide

GAY TOUR GUIDE
English-speaking Cuban University student offers tours "tailored to whatever you wish to see and hear about. This is not an escort service (...) my parents would kill me." — Yunior's page here

1000's of photos on Google's Panoramio — Here

RENTAL CARS • BUS • FLIGHTS • TRAINS
See "Touring Cuba" Menu above or here.

WEATHER
As monitored by Wunderground

CELL PHONES
Rent from Cubacel 9cuc/day Look here

YOGA TEACHERS in CUBA
Listed by the Embassy of India — Here.

E-MAIL
Get yours in most hotels, many Internet cafés — list is too long to publish. Internet debit cards available from Etecsa and usable in other locations on the island.

GO WEST : MOUNTAINS, VALLEYS & CAYOS
Road map to Soroa, Las Terrazas, Cayo Jutias, Cayo Levisa, Cabo San Antonio, Maria La Gorda — Here

GO EAST, TO THE BEACHES
The famous Beaches del Este await where most Habaneros flock in summer— Here in Guanabo

GO ANYWHERE
Island-wide bus skeds (horariodebuses.com/)

Habana from west to east along the coast — Here

BARGAIN HUNTING, CUBAN STYLE
Since December 2007, a "Cuban" website revolico.com shows hundreds of articles for sale, "Craigslist" style. Read the NYT article here.

MAIN AREAS (neighbourhoods & burroughs)
Habana Vieja (Plaza de Armas, Plaza Vieja, Plaza San Francisco), Centro Habana (Barrio Chino, Capitolio, Malecon, Prado), Vedado (Cementerio de Colon, La Rampa, Malecon, Nuevo Vedado, Plaza de la Revolución) and west, beyond the Almendares river : Miramar/Playa (Convention Centre, Marina Hemingway, Atabey, Barlovento, Bélen, Buenavista, Cubanacán, Flores, Kohly, Nautico, Siboney).

OTHER MUNICIPALITIES & BURROUGHS
East of town, across the bay : Regla, Casablanca, Cojímar, Guanabacoa, Habana del Este (Alamar, Antonio Guiteras, Celimar, Ciudad Panamericano, Tarará) ; Further east : Playas del Este (Boca Ciega, El Megano, Guanabo, Santa Maria del Mar, Santa Maria Loma) ; West, across the Almendares river : Marianao (Ciudad Libertad, La Paz, Pogolotti, Zamora) ; South : Parque Lenin (Arroyo Naranjo, Boyeros, Calabazar, El Globo, Fontanar, and José Marti airport in Rancho Boyeros) including the Botanical Gardens (Jardin Botanico Celia Sanchez Manduley), neighbouring Parque Lenin as well as Parque Zoologico and Expo Cuba (Trade Fairgrounds) See our page here.

DISTANCES in the capital region
Aeropuerto José Martí, 15 km (15cuc fare to centre)
Alamar, 15 (BBC Video on Vivero Organopónico, above)
Artemisa, 60 Road map
Cojimar, 10 — Our section here
Las Terrazas, 40 Road map — Our page here
Mariel, 45 Road map
Playa Baracoa, 27 — Our section here
Playas del Este, Guanabo, 25 — Our page here
San Antonio de Los Baños, 35
Santa Maria del Rosario, 19
Soroa, 65 Road map — Our page here
Surgidero de Batabanó, 56 (ferry to Isla de la Juventud, Isle of Youth, Isle of Pines - Nueva Gerona) Road map — Our page here

Traveling in dreams : They spend evenings and weekends imagining they are in “la Yuma” (abroad). A must-read : Irina Echarry's blog entry on HavanaTimes.org here © Caridad

Casa painted by rap singers and squatters (since moved out) in Vedado in late 90's © sogestour

Now an annual event, the parade in support of gay rights (International Day Against Homophobia) on the streets of La Habana in May. The organizer of the event is Mariela Castro, niece of Fidel, daughter of Raul and Sierra Maestra heroine Vilma Espin. Link to video excerpt. Homophobia Is the Problem, Not Gays — Link to Cuban Blog

On July 11 2010, at the Yara Ciné (where games were broadcast on the movie screen), these Habaneros celebrate the winners of the World Cup de Futbol wearing colours of La Furia Roja, España ! © Marcelino Vazquez Hernandez, AIN •]• One million music and peace aficionados gathered in Plaza de la Revolucion for the Paz sin Fronteras concert on September 21 2009 : Silvio Rodríguez and Los Van Van, PortoRican merengue star Olga Tañon, Spanish crooner Miguel Bosé, New York latin-funk group Yerba Buena and hip-hop trio Orishas among others. Video excerpt on click.

::::::::: WHAT'S ON ::: WHERE ::: WHEN :::::::::

::: Performances of the month > Canalcubano

::: Cultural events in the capital > La Jiribilla

::: Music shows this week > Egrem Link

::: Theatre plays & stage > Creart (Site in rebuild)

::: Stage & other shows > Cniae Link

::: Movies Popular & Repertory > Cubacine Link

::: Conventions & exhibitions > cuba.cu Link

::: Night Clubs 95 Havana Spots > CubadeNoche

::: Cines & Casas de Cultura > SanCristobal List

::: Old Havana What's On > OpusHabana.cu

Paris of the Western Hemisphere © Univ of Miami

A view from the balcony of the Museo de la Revolucion © bitboy, flickr •|• Watching over the hardware : a Hawker Sea Fury FAR-542 from 1961 piloted by Enrique Carreras Rojas during the Bay of Pigs counter attack — at Museo de la Revolucion © bitboy, flickr

The capital's regional map Click to enlarge ••• Large green spaces include the Botanical Gardens (Jardin Botanico), neighbouring Parque Lenin as well as Parque Zoologico and Expo Cuba (Trade Fairgrounds) some 15 km south of town center. See Parque Lenin page here.

Castrobama by New York artist Padraig Tarrant at the 10th Havana Biennal, April 2009 •|• Linda cocotaxista © sogestour

The Nacional : was built and run by Meyer Lansky and the US mafia, supported by Hollywood and yet-to-be President Richard Nixon; today, it's Havana's landmark hotel © sogestour •|• El Malecon : the long and winding seaside boulevard runs from the port in Habana Vieja all along Centro and Vedado and ends at the Almendares river where a tunnel crosses to Miramar and Playa burroughs (with the embassies and the Convention Centre) © Maxime Felder, wikimedia commons

Painters' Prado Saturday where artists exhibit and sell their art and where impromptu tango is danced : join in !© sogestour •|• Los angeles over Habana are watching over Parque Central from atop the Gran Teatro © sogestour

Calle J (pronounced "hota") in Vedado © sogestour •|• Guardian angel on the roof of the Nacional Theater; dome of the Capitolio in background © sogestour

Comments and discoveries

BURBS & BARRIOS
Campo Florido,
El Rincón,
Punta Brava,
San Francisco de Paula (Museo Hemingway),
San Miguel de Padron,
Santa Maria del Rosario,
Santiago de Las Vegas.

LONG DISTANCES
Bayamo, 754
Camaguey, 544
Ciego de Avila, 439
Cienfuegos, 244
Guantanamo, 946
Holguin, 749
Las Tunas, 673
Matanzas, 102
Pinar del Rio, 172
Sancti Spiritus, 364
Santa Clara, 278
Santiago, 887
Trinidad, 335
Vinales, 205
Varadero, 140

Havana Radio Live

The Revolucion is a work of infinite love

DON'T GET LOST, MILEAGE MAY VARY
One must distinguish between the capital city (in the province of Ciudad La Habana) and the province of La Habana (which excludes the capital, on a territory extending 60 km south to the Golfo de Batabanó). Batteries not included.

CASAS WE SUGGEST IN THE FOUR MAIN HABANA AREAS
Dance like nobody's watching. Love like you've never been hurt. Sing like nobody's listening... Mark Twain

Click above for Habana Centro section.

ERNESTO GARCIA (7) 861-2753
CARY y NILO (7) 862-7109
VICKY (7) 863-8923
MARITZA DE LA UZ (7) 878-7109
MERCEDES FERRER (7) 863-8122
ANA COLONIAL (7) 870-7181
BOTELLO (7) 867-9987
BLANCA MARGARITA (7) 866-7113
LUNASS (7) 879-0019
IHOVANNA y GERARDO (7) 863-6005
VILLA ENANO ROJO (7) 863-5081

SRA. YOYI ALVAREZ (7) 863-5533
ISBEL URRA ECHEGOYE (7) 863-4656
SOFIA y TATA (7) 866-9564
ROSA VILLAMIL ALLENDE (7) 873-6746
IVETTE RENT (7) 862-9869
JORGE LEON DELATTOZ (7) 870-7723
PILAR y MARCELINO (7) 863-7011
ZEILA (7) 862-5492
MARIA ELENA (7) 863-0119
CASA MARTA (7) 878-5038
MARIA DUARTE VARONA (7) 861-0471

Click above for Habana Miramar/Playa section.

MERCY (7) 203-6735
CECILIA RUIZ (7) 209-1137
GUSTAVO GARCIA (7) 207-3646
DINORA PARRA CABRERA (7) 209-5853

VICTOR (7) 207-3159
MARIA MARTHA (7) 202-7046
ELDA CRUZ MOREJON (7) 203-7052
CARMEN CRESPO (7) 209-0155
ESTUDIO ALINA (7) 208-1485

TO BOOK BY PHONE
• From Canada and the USA :
011 53 followed by 7 (for La Habana) and phone number.

• From Europe, Great Britain, Scandinavia and Mexico :
00 53 followed by 7 (for La Habana) and phone number.

Click above for Habana Vedado section.

ANGELA MUNIZ RUBIO (7) 879-6851
MERCEDES GONZALEZ (7) 832-5846
MIRTHA DIAZ DOMINGUEZ (7) 878-2837
MADELEINE SILVA (7) 832-5164
PRISCA y RAUL (7) 831-2783
DR PEDRO GIL GONZALEZ (7) 832-3775
MYRIAM GOMES (7) 832-7811
CARLOS y NEYDA PEÑA (7) 833-5992

CASA MARIBEL (7) 870-1772
VILLA BABI (7) 830-2094
ELVIRA GOMEZ (7) 830-4682
CASA CARMEN SUAREZ (7) 870-0664
CASA GOICOCHEA (7) 878-5161
GLADYS y RENÉ (7) 833-4348
ELENA TARAJANO (7) 832-0495
LOS FAROLES (7) 833-4348

Click above for Habana Vieja section.

EVORA RODRIGUEZ (7) 861-7932
CHEZ NOUS (7) 862-6287
DANIEL CARRASCO (7) 866-2106
EUGENIO y FABIO (7) 862-9877
CASA RICCI (7) 863-0382
MARITZA y RAMON (7) 862-3303
JOSÉ ENRIQUÉ (7) 867-1497
PABLO RODRIGUEZ (7) 861-2111
LOS BALCONES (7) 867-5551
MIGDALIA CARABALLÉ (7) 861-7352
OLGA LOPEZ HERNANDEZ (7) 867-4561
MARTHA e ISRAEL (7) 862-0948

CALLE CUBA (MIRIAM) (7) 862-7144
JUAN y MARGARITA LOPEZ (7) 867-9592
NOEMI MORENO (7) 862-3809
BARBARA y JUAN (7) 867-3163
L'AUBERGE DE RAQUEL (7) 867-5026
MERY BORRERO CAMEJO (7) 867-9412
ELIBERTO BARRIOS SUAREZ (7) 863-3782
LOURDES A. CAL (7) 867-9329
GUDELIA, PERLA y MAITO (7) 861-7819
MARGOT y AMALIA URRUTIA (7) 861-7824
CASA PICAYO (7) 863-5650
JUANITA y ERNESTO (7) 861-5164
BORBOLLA XIOMARA (7) 862-1763
RESIDENCIA SANTA CLARA (7) 861-3335

244 km / 151 miles

10 km / 6 mi.

25 km / 15 mi.

102 km / 63 mi.

65 km / 40 mi.

335 km / 208 mi.

140 km / 87 mi.

Updated 16.07.2010

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