Mesoamerica 2019 - Fourth Cuba Pictures! Havana, Balconies and Automobiles

Whoa!

Major disruption in the time-space continuum.

We are back in Cuba...Havana to be specific where we are going to look at balconies... yes a freaking bunch of pictures just on balconies...and classic automobiles, which Cuba is unique in having turned into an art form.

So over the last couple of years we have touched on a number of areas of the world that were under the influence of Spain during it's Baroque period (Lecce in Italy, New Orleans in the U.S. and now Havana)

Balconies have been a major architectural element

And wear there are balconies...

...there's laundry!

I LOVE laundry

So colorful

And in Havana

Trees!

Our tour with Wij in Cuba Tours had a number of 'regular tourist activities' in addition to getting us off the beaten path

One of these was the ride around Havana in the classic convertible car

I was skeptical but it turned out to be great fun, relaxing and very romantic

Our pink 1950's Ford convertible

 Our driver who was very sweet and friendly

Our guide LÍvan who I have extolled our praises on

It is rare in Cuba to run into traffic

Wife dreams her dream

Classic cars and weird cars

Mesoamerica 2019 - Third Cuba Pictures! Havana, Sculpture

I am up early. Wife is still sleeping so I am slogging through more posts of Havana pictures. This just goes to show you how incredible the experience in this city was. This post is on sculpture. There has been a lot of public sculpture done over the last 20 years and considering the amount of sculpture we look at I was really impressed.

A lot of the art in the city is the result of an ongoing competition according to LÍvan

Each year the winner's piece is put into the city

He told us who all these people are but of course I have forgotten

 I love the sense of motion

 There was all kinds of debate among the three of us as to what this is supposed to mean

BTW, Cuba ranks right up with Italy as top rank for naked women's breast displays in public art and pop culture

A poet? A singer?

Now the artist on this one really was making a statement

It is supposed to represent the victory of converting the indigenous people to Christianity

I think the two faces speak for themselves

Others

This lady is the symbol of Havana

Again LÍvan told us the story but I have forgotten most but I think it was a noble women whose husband went off and didn't return and she ended up running the city.

 Mercury

 This is dedicated to barbers from all over the world many of whom contributed to it

Statues of revolutionary figures are de rigeur 

Jose Marti

Found in virtually every square in Cuba

(the pigeon is optional)

 Not Jose Marti

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Mesoamerica 2019 - Second Cuba Pictures! Havana Architecture

OMG! Not just Internet...FAST Internet. So here goes the second Havana picture post. This one is dedicated only to architecture. The city is 500 years old and somehow virtually every era this represents is found still intact in the city - from Andalusian inspired colonial, to Spanish Baroque, to 19th century neo-classical, to art deco, to 1930's/40's style and modern socialist inspired, it is all here.

Restoration

Some samples of Restoration that has been accomplished over the last 15 years

Centuries of different styles in one building

The Cathedral took almost 400 years to complete

Limestone is a primary building material and you can see many fossils in the walls

Older buildings with very large floors are being renovated into having two or three floors in the same space

Views from on high

Fortresses

Monumental structures

Miscellaneous

Original water system designed in 16th century