Vivid Sculptures in Havana

There are a great amount of attractive statues in Havana. Some of them are emblematic and classic such as the Christ at the entrance of Havana’s bay or the statue of José Martí at the Revolution Square.

   It can be very interesting to walk through the capital looking for vivid monuments of famous people of the past.

   Some examples of them are everywhere, coming from different places and times. For example, let us mention a few but representative number of them.

   Very closed to the Havanan Malecón (wall) it can be seen a statue of José Martí, Cuban National Hero, wearing his classical frock coat and holding his son in his arms.

   In the Avenida del Puerto (harbor avenue) near the trade zone of the bay, closed to the Paula Church, there stands very elegantly Agustín Lara, the renown Mexican composer.

   This statue was donated to Cuba by the people and the government of Veracruz in November of 2000 and makes us remember his romantic songs.

   The visitor may also see statues of gods such as a marble Neptune that points out with his trident the way to Havana at the entrance of the bay.

   However, less known people’s statues can also be found. That is the case of the one erected to Pierre Le Moyne O´Iberville, famous military man of New France, actually Canada, who was Fleet Admiral of King Louis XIV and died in Havana in 1706.

   This statue was donated by Québec authorities and was placed by the Office of Havana Historian’s workers in November 14th, 1999.

   More unknown is, perhaps, the Japanese Hasehura Rokuemon Tsunenaga, hero of Sendai province in Japan, and whose monument perpetuates him as the first Japanese person who came into Cuba in 1614 in a park of this capital. Having a Japanese-Spanish explanation, and wearing a kimono, this man seems to suggest the 11 850 kilometers that separates both cities.

   Another remarkable statue is the one erected to Francisco de Albear y Lara at the park with the same name immediately after his death in October 24th, 1887. This place is located in the surrounding areas of the famous restaurant El Floridita.

   Don Francisco was the designer of the Havana’s aqueduct, master piece that is still functioning.

   The fountain of this sculpture complex perpetuates the never-ending efforts of this man for providing Havana with a water system.

   During the last years, sculptor Jorge Villa has been a protagonist within the city. Some of his sculptures have been raised in different places of this city: John Lennon quietly sitting in a bench at a park of 16 St., in Vedado; Ernest Hemingway leaning on the bar of El Floridita; devout Teresa of Calcutta seating at a bench of the San Francisco de Asis´ basilica; or the “Caballero de Paris” walking as a perennial passer-by of Old Havana.

   Meanwhile, some other immobile and nameless figures of beautiful undressed women keep their non-stop observation of Havana’s days, always animated by the flow and noise of either nationals or foreigners.

   Statues are a real Cuban feast that pays homage to those famous persons who were fond of Havana.