“A people that loves freedom will in the end be free.”
— Simón Bolívar.
We post here Lachlan Hurse’s beautiful photographic essay about Havana, “Walking the Streets of Vedado.” … Editor.
Walking the streets of Vedado
A late afternoon walk gave me a chance to refresh memories of previous visits to Cuba.
I headed down Avenida de los Presidentes, photographing the statue of Simon Bolivar, and buildings that are part of the Casa de las Americas, a wonderful cultural centre where Sue and I played with Ariel Diaz in 1996.
From there I walked along the Malecón towards the city seeing locals fishing, being serenaded, enjoying the evening breeze.
The traffic on the Malecón was light, there are a lot of electric vehicles here, scooters, ‘triciclos’ (electric tricycles with a cabin on the back for transporting people and goods) and the occasional vintage car.
I walked past the Hotel Nacional and up La Rampa, where I saw a plaque I hadn’t seen before, dedicated to the formation of Los Van Van, one of Cuba’s leading dance bands.
I passed by the headquarters of AHS (Asociación Hermanos Saiz) a cultural organisation to which our trovador friends belong and made my way back to the place where Sue and I are staying.
Lachlan Hurse, 26 September 2026
Here we have a wonderful set of photographs of an afternoon in Havana’s streets. They bring back rich memories of my own visits and some bits of Havana I have not seen before. Thank you so much.