Q&A : ‘It Would Take
Several Lifetimes to
Save Havana’
Interview with Eusebio
Leal
HAVANA, (IPS) -
Eusebio Leal has been
involved in the
restoration of the
historic centre of the
Cuban capital since
1967, when he began
renovating the Palacio
de los Capitanes
Generales, now the City
Museum. And while Old
Havana is still his
priority, he is
concerned about the rest
of the city, too.
As Havana City
Historian, four decades
later Leal is still
leading the development
project, one of the most
dynamic on this
Caribbean island not
only because of its
visible impact on the
city’s architectural and
cultural heritage but
also because of its
contribution to the
steady improvement of
the living conditions of
the roughly 67,000
people who live in the
area.
Just last year, the
project in Havana’s
historic centre was
awarded the Queen Sofía
(of Spain) Prize for
Conservation and
Restoration by the
Spanish Agency for
International
Cooperation (AECI), and
Leal was presented the
United Nations Human
Settlements Programme
(UN-HABITAT) Scroll of
Honour for his
"painstaking dedication
to the restoration and
conservation" of Old
Havana.
While Old Havana, a
United Nations
Educational, Scientific
and Cultural
Organisation (UNESCO)
World Heritage Site
since 1982, remains the
priority, the Historian
is increasingly turning
his gaze towards the
other Havana which grew
up outside the ancient
walls, and which is
crying out for urgent
intervention.
It would take several
lifetimes to save it,
Leal acknowledged to IPS
correspondents Patricia
Grogg and Dalia Acosta
in an email interview.
IPS: You have directed
restoration work in the
historic centre of
Havana for a number of
decades. How much
progress has been made?
Is there still much to
be done?
EUSEBIO LEAL: A large
sector of the historic
centre has been
restored: four out of
the five main squares
and the network of
streets that connect
them have in effect been
renovated.
Now one can take a long
walk in an area which
has been pedestrianised,
to enhance people’s
appreciation of the
sights and facilitate
their movement, without
the dangers and
pollution caused by
cars.
But much still remains
to be done. I have
always said that we
would need several more
lifetimes to get ahead
with the work, and that
it would never be
finished. Once Old
Havana is restored,
there is the whole of
Havana, the great city,
which is already in need
of restoration.
IPS: Housing is a
serious problem in the
capital. What plans are
in hand for housing the
population of the
historic centre?
EL: This is the greatest
problem in Old Havana
and there isn’t an easy
solution. There are
several programmes,
ranging from emergency
action to building new
housing, both inside and
outside the historic
centre.
Old palaces, which
decades ago were
converted into crowded "ciudadelas"
(tenements), are also
being restored, and are
being reborn as
apartment buildings.
But there are many needy
families. About half the
22,000 families in Old
Havana live in
ciudadelas. When a
tenement building is
reconditioned and
converted into a block
containing spacious
apartments, the number
of dwellings is cut by
at least half. So we
need to build new
housing for about 5,000
households.
We're also building
housing for the elderly,
where specialised care
is provided to people in
the privacy of their
comfortable apartments.
Home improvements are
also carried out in the
vicinity of a strategic
building that is being
restored, as an offshoot
of the main investment.
But the main vision that
motivates us is of a
vibrant, living
historical centre, that
is, one where housing
has a fundamental role
and, of course, all the
services associated with
a community. That’s why
we have restored
schools, health centres
and specialised clinics,
and are working
intensively with local
families.
IPS: We’re talking about
a renovation project
with wide social
effects. What are the
main lines of work in
this field?
EL: The restoration of
the historic centre is
an integrated project
which includes the
rehabilitation not only
of its physical heritage
in terms of buildings
and public spaces, but
also from the social and
economic points of view.
Participation by local
residents in restoring
their cultural heritage,
in understanding its
value, in enjoying what
has been restored and
the many social and
cultural amenities
available, is
fundamental. The
programme has generated
close to 12,000 jobs,
nearly half of which
have been taken up by
residents of Old Havana
or of nearby
municipalities.
At the former Belén
convent an unprecedented
social and humanitarian
project is being carried
out: the needs of
thousands of older
adults, children from
the community, and
disabled people are
being cared for, and the
project reaches out to
the homes of those whose
limitations prevent them
from taking part in the
great number of
activities that take
place there every day.
In 2006 alone we helped
over 100,000 older
adults.
IPS: Does your office
have a diagnosis of the
real conditions in
Havana? Will there be
time to save the city we
know today?
EL: It’s true that there
are big differences
between the restored
area of Old Havana and
other parts of the city.
It’s also true that
there are extremely
valuable areas in the
wider city which need
urgent, immediate action
to safeguard them.
Havana is a symbol of
New Urbanism, which
promotes the values of
traditional cities as
opposed to new
developments in isolated
suburbs.
It’s a humane, friendly
city, the genuine
product of several
centuries of cultural
adaptation, which has
survived natural
disasters and those
brought on by lack of
maintenance and
overcrowding. The city
is still there,
deteriorated but in
essence preserved as the
most complex cultural
product bequeathed to us
by the generations
before us.
At present we’re
displaying images of the
deterioration and decay
in different
neighbourhoods, with the
goal of raising
awareness and getting
willing people to join
together to recover this
beautiful city we have
inherited. I’m sure
we’ll be capable of
restoring it to a great
extent, as we commit our
efforts and creativity
to the task.
IPS: By about 2030,
cities in developing
countries may house 80
percent of the global
urban population. Are
Latin American and
Caribbean cities ready
for so much growth?
EL: Generally, they’re
not prepared for it.
Many cities in the
region are surrounded by
huge slums with no
infrastructure, no
access to drinking
water, and serious
transport problems.
There is a return to
traditional city centres.
When cities find
themselves unable to
spread further, there’s
the latent danger of an
irresponsible, unplanned
return to the historic
centre. If there is no
control over real estate
or land markets, these
areas may experience
terrible fates.
Already in some Latin
American cities the
historic centres have
been lost forever during
development surges in
the 1960s and 1970s.
Even when the cultural
dimension of historic
centres is understood,
speculation can displace
the resident population,
and the problems of
marginalisation, to
other areas of the city.
You get lovely historic
centres, beautifully
restored, but empty of
content and traditions,
because the society
living there has
changed, or, even worse,
the restored luxury
houses have become
second homes for their
buyers.
Restorers have to take
on a great challenge:
the commitment to
maintain buildings,
public spaces and the
multi-functional, pluri-social
essence that should
characterise a historic
centre that is restored
responsibly.
An integrated,
multidisciplinary vision
is essential, as is the
participation of local
residents in making
major decisions.
IPS: Have you thought
what Havana might be
like, under a political
system similar to that
of the rest of Latin
America and the
Caribbean? Or what it
will be like, when your
generation has passed
and others are in charge
of the country?
EL: Laws can be changed,
and even the most sacred
vows can be forgotten.
But when a human
community takes upon
itself, as part of
itself and its own
culture, such a
formidable task, it’s
very difficult to lay
aside. Peoples and
nations who let such a
valuable heritage go to
waste do not deserve to
exist.
I have confidence and
every hope that the
social and cultural
legacy of our time will
prevail.
IPS: What springs to
mind whenever you are
awarded yet another
international prize?
EL: I think it is worth
repeating the words of
José Martí, which other
Cubans, with far more
merit, have made their
own: "All the glories of
the world fit in a grain
of maize." |
