Havana

As it is now snowy and cold outside, it's time to enjoy some tropical warmth with some images taken in Havana - that epicentre of all things cool and quirky - in 2006. We start at the Havana Libre Hotel - the old Hilton - a masterpiece of warm climate modernism from the early jet age:

An ice cream parlour (above) and the famous Tropicana cabaret (below):

 

And now some old movie theatres in various states of decay (there are a great many of these in Havana):

 

Next to the Acapulco Theatre, a streamlined garage:

 

Cuban movie posters (above) and a completely derelict shell (below):

 

A pink library (above right) and old fairground rides (gelow):

 

The Teatro America:

Havana graffiti (above) and inter-war signage (below):

 

In Cuba, the dominant religious mix blends Catholicism with Santeria - and, it appears, leaving ornately decorated cakes as votive offerings outside chapels and churches is quite the done thing. Presumably, the bigger the cake, the greater the sin to be forgiven. (Therefore, these two young men must have done something truly ghastly).

A modernist playground in the manner of Lubetkin, except for the colours. 

 

One of the truly great brutalist buildings, the Edificio Experimentale apartment block in Vedado (above) and the Hotel Riviera - representing the Floridan look of Morris Lapidus (below). The Riviera is a tremendous place, intact down to the smallest details: