哈瓦那

Havana

Havana, the capital of the Republic of Cuba, is situated at the northwest coast of Cuba Island. It is the center of Cuban politics, economy, culture and tourism. It has a population of more than 2.2 million. This is a characterful seaport city of lingering charm. Classicality and modernity, things of new land and old land, the white and the black, highbrow art and popular art…are all being together in harmony in this bright dynamic tropical port. The word "Havana" comes from the aboriginal language. Some said it means either "prairie" or "harborage "; but a more popular saying is that it stems from a chieftain's name. The chieftain was a Siboneye, which is an ancient Indian nation, and his name was Habaneros. In 1514, the head of Spanish colonizing army Panfilo de Narvaez built the second city on the former territory of Habaneros in the southwest coast and he named it Havana Town. However, Havana Town was actually a wetland with torrid and humid weather, devastating mosquitoes and terrible diseases. It was not a place for people to dwell at all. Then in 1517, it was moved to the riverside of Ardamensa river in the north coast. Later, people discovered the gulf now called the Gulf of Havana, so they moved to the west shore of that gulf. On Nov 16th 1519, the permanent city site of Havana was established. The Spanish minister followed by generals, soldiers and local aboriginal Indians did the first Catholic mass of Havana under a ceiba standing on the north part of the Weapon Square in the old Havana city. Now there is still a shrine built in 1828 in order to memorize the establishment of the city. Havana, with its characteristics of a seaport city and its advantaged locality of being between the two Americas, soon became strategic beachhead for the Spanish and a trading and shipping transferring station between the "old world" of Europe and the "new world" of America. In 1561, Spanish king Philip second commanded that ships navigating between Spain and American palatinate should be grouped and convoyed and Havana should be their assembly place. The assembly time should be three or four months at least and a year at most. During that time, those sailors, soldiers and tourists all lived on the shore of the port. Therefore, the city and port establishments such as the ship build and repair company, business, church, gambling site, theater, café etc. were all built up on the west shore of the gulf. And later it extended and became a prosperous and big seaport city. While the new land at that time was still at its initial stages of European colonist government.