Visiting Hemingway's Cuba
View from Hemingway's room in the Hotel Ambos Mundos, in the background the Old Fort of Havana can be seen
The Cuban Capital, which would have been newly constructed when Hemingway first arrived in Cuba. It is based off the U.S. Capital though it has slightly larger dimensions. Currently it is not the seat of any part of the Cuban Government
The Hotel Nacional, opened in 1930 and was home to a regulated Casino, it has housed dozens of celebrities when they came to visit Cuba. During prohibition the hotel was frequented by American gangsters and the FBI agents on their tail.
The Mig 21, an Eastern Bloc fighter jet, which would have been used by the Cuban Airfare during the Cuban Missile Crisis
A truck in the Museum of the Revolution that Fidel Castro used in an attack on Batista during the Cuban Revolution. Dozens of men were stuffed into this truck in the surprise attack
A fortification in Cojimar, Cuba where The Old Man and the Sea takes place. As Santiago went out fishing for the Marlin he would have seen this fortification as he headed out to sea.
The Floridita bar, a historic restaurant and cocktail lounge was often visited by Ernest Hemingway. The Havana bar is famous for its tropical daiquiri's and was so favored by the author that it dedicates a bronze statue to the Nobel winner and keeps many of his favorite drinks on the menu.
Sloppy Joe's Restaurant, found fame as a popular tourist establishment for Americans during prohibition. Beyond regular tourists, Sloppy Joe's became a hotspot for celebrities earning it the moniker of "most famous bar in the world" by the LA Times
The Finca Vigia was Ernest Hemingway's home between the years 1939 to 1960. In 1960 the Cuban government seized this property and many others during the heightening tensions with the US government following the Cuban Revolution. After this, the home was converted to a museum dedicated to the author's stay in Cuba.
Hemingway's home, Finca Vigia, is the current resting place of his fishing and recreational boat - Pilar. Currently housed over the old tennis courts, the 38 foot boat is a testament to the author's love of the sea
The historic Hotel Sevilla in downtown Havana in the past was tied closely to mafia activity, with ownership in 1939 being under mobster Amleto Battisti. The famous mob hangout became a staple in popular culture, being refrenced in works such as Our Man in Havana and The Godfather 2
The Hotel Ambos was the initial "home" of Ernest Hemingway in Cuba from 1932-1939. The author resided in a top floor suite where he enjoyed views of old Havana harbor. The layout of this residency is preserved, as the room now functions as small museum to his time in Cuba, complete with his original typewriter and other personal affects.
The Havana Cathedral, also known as the Catedral de San Christobal, was built in 1777 and between 1796 and 1898 it held the remains of Christopher Columbus. The asymmetrical towers are a result of limited space in the dense Old Havana District, and in some parts marine fossils can be seen in the stone bricks, as ancient coral was used in it's construction.
The Christ of Havana is a statue in Havana, Cuba was erected in 1958 by Cuban sculptor Jilma Mader. In 1953, Fulgencio Batista, the president of Cuba, hosted a design competition, and Madera won, then spent several years creating the statue in Italy. Pope Pius XII blessed the statue before it was transported to La Cabaña Hill in Cuba and inaugurated by Batista in 1958—15 days before Fidel Castro overthrew Batista.
Havana’s vintage cars and Coco taxis help distinguish the city and help it appeal to tourists. The city’s streets are largely filled with iconic 1950s vehicles because of a 1962 trade embargo between the United States and Cuba (Grant). Since new automobiles are not being regularly imported into the country, Cubans are left to rely on vehicles purchased before the embargo was implemented.
The Coco taxi originated in the early 1990s as a way for the city to invest in its tourism again after the fall of the Soviet Union. The three-wheeled motorcycle was created primarily to transport tourists, and it is one of the most recent transportation creations in Havana.
