Many Can Found, But Only a Few Can Preserve

IN THE CONSERVATION OF HAVANA, EACH PRESERVED STONE, EACH RESTORED BUILDING IS MADE AVAILABLE TO THE COMMUNITY

“N o development project which shrugs off culture can flourish. Therefore, in the case of Cuba, and particularly of Havana and its Historical Center and the network of heritage cities, what really impresses us is the accumulated wealth of memory heritage, and also of stones and traditions that are, I believe, one of the most important elements for Cuba in the field of tourism. I mean that human movement going in all directions that does not only choose circumstantial havens, lovely sands, places of nature to see and preserve, but also a direct talk with the people and with their creations, and in this case, with a beautiful city like Havana.”* .

Named City Historian of Havana back in 1969, Eusebio Leal is tasked with one of the greatest feats performed for the sake of recovering the old part of town and turn it into what he himself calls a “valley of interesting ruins”. The restoration process that got underway in 1967 with a palace, followed with the Spanish colonial fortresses, plazas, temples and a few houses, has redeemed the Cuban capital from decades of forgetfulness and neglect. Clinging to the premise that “Old Havana for its Inhabitants,” today the city develops responsible tourism as a source of gaining resources for heritage conservation and as a way to improve the quality of life of its inhabitants.

Since the 1980s, Fidel Castro foresaw “Old Havana as new Varadero”, in the sense that it would become a travel destination of interest and a possible economic support of great importance for the country. This was possible thanks to the design of a tourism project that stands up for identity, which has prevented the preserved heritage from being transformed into “a crown in the middle of a sea of hardships.” For this purpose, the support of the community –where the key players livehas been of paramount importance. Each preserved stone, each restored building must be made available to the local community.

A recurrent expression in Dr. Leal's speech is “seventy times seven”. Seventy times seven teach, rescue, conserve, restore and, if necessary, do it all over again until consciousness about the existing value sets in in Old Havana. The Historical Center has been reborn as the heart of the city, a pulsating oasis of culture, heritage, wisdom and, above all, the beauty that is as important to life as bread, paraphrasing the historian's words. Tourism in this area is not the classic predatory avalanche. “Havana is a state of mind” that enamors and shows will and perseverance turned into national passions.

At the end of his keynote speech at the 5th South American Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference held in Havana in 2017, Mr. Eusebio Leal put across a final message to the attendees which we now echo:

“There is nothing impossible here. Therefore, Havana, which is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, has it all. It is shrouded by a light veil that when it gets torn apart, shows all the beauty, with all its lordship, with all its attractions and with all its charms. Welcome, then, to Havana when we're just a couple of years away from its 500th anniversary.”

Conducted with the support of the Office of the Historian of the City and with the use of excerpts from texts published on the website www.eusebioleal.cu

*Excerpt taken from the Historian of Havana's speech in the 5th South American Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference, held at the Meliá Cohiba Hotel in May 2017.

“If tourism as a project is taken on as a task of the nation, if it’s faced by the people and people take part in this project, it is very hard that the signs of national identity could fade out.”