Download The Unbribable Witness of History article (Full Format PDF) 

There is no doubt that after the Cuban revolution, the educated youth who remained in the country, and those who traveled from throughout the world to be part of it, experienced a rare joy. Just pay attention to architect, planner and historian Miguel Coyula, a Cuban, whose well-to-do leftist leaning family remained in Cuba after the revolution and architect Roberto Gottardi, who at 20 years old moved to Cuba from Italy to participate in the people's triumph. More telling than what they say is how they say it. Conversing with each other about the building of the drama school at the Institute de Superior de Arte soon after the revolution, the excitement and idealism of the period is obvious by their words, their gestures and most of all, their eyes. Gottardi, in his 20s, was a starry-eyed architect of one of the jewels of the revolution. Che and Fidel, who conceived of the idea of building an art institute on the premises of the extravagant Havana Country Club, where even President Batista was rejected because of his dark skin, were both under 30. The gun-toting revolutionaries who spent dangerous years living a spartan existence while hiding in the mountains made this decision over a round of golf.

Gottardi and two other architects, a Cuban named Ricardo Porro and another Italian named Vittorio Garatti were commissioned to design the various houses of creativity of the Institute de Superior de Arte Institute. During the euphoric post-revolution days, the young men had full creative control. As the designs took shape in the form of partially built buildings, the Institute opened in 1965. The days were full of excitement with stone masons working in the midst of dancers, actors and sculptors, and the architects putting their best thinking toward figuring out how to implement their designs with a shortage of materials. The thrilling days of activity soon came to an abrupt end when Castro became enamored with the Soviets, and the Institute's buildings were considered too bourgeois -- not revolutionary enough. Further construction was abandoned. Instead, a pre-fab Russian style block building was built . In 1966, Porro left Cuba to live in Paris. After being accused of espionage in 1974 and spending a brief time in jail, Garatti returned to Italy. Gottardi stayed in Cuba, where he went on to do other projects and teach architecture at the University of Havana. One of his students was Miguel Coyula.

Years later, the two men run into each other at the Art Institute. Miguel recognizes Gottardi's car, seeks him out, and asks him to speak with our historic preservation group. Today, it is recognized by the same government that stopped their construction so many years before that the buildings by the three no longer young and idealistic architects deserve to be completed. At 82 years old, Gottardi is back working on the premises of the Art Institute, but he is no longer the same man he was in his twenties and Cuba is no longer the same country it was in the 60s. As with the expression "no one steps in the same river twice," Gottardi must confront the work of his youth and move it forward in a way that respects his own evolution and that of Cuba.

But has Cuba evolved?

With a head full of ideals and too young to realize that ideals are impossible to fully achieve, people in their 20s think they can change the world. Few get that opportunity and even fewer should. Cuba shows that a revolution which attempts to provide equally for everyone's needs can stagnate terribly without permitting the evolution that allows them to pursue their wants.

The Castro regime has provided a great deal for the people of Cuba, many of them illiterate and poor before the revolution. A free education through PhD for those who qualify, government support for the arts and sports, and a well functioning medical system for all, are the major accomplishments.
With a focus on prevention, infant mortality is lower than the United States and life expectancy is longer. Perhaps people should be satisfied with these great successes particularly in comparison with other Latin American countries where about 70% of the population live in abject poverty. Being complacent, not wanting more and better with each year does not seem to be human nature. Cubans want a better life, and are willing to work hard for it, but the machine thwarts them at every turn. A law that turns naturally law-abiding people into law breakers is a bad law. This is proven over and over in Cuba.

One example is cars. People who have a legitimate way to afford to buy a new car are allowed to buy one. These include people who have worked overseas, famous artists and sports figures, and those who work in tourism and earn CUCs through tips. CUCs are Cuban Convertible Pesos, and are worth 24X more than Cuban Pesos. Because CUCs are worth so much more than Cuban Pesos, many a cab driver is also a medical doctor.
For those who receive money "under the table" or via the black market, which includes the vast majority of people in some way or another, they cannot legally buy a new car since they should not have the means to do so. The work around: the original car owner "sells" the car but keeps its title. If something happens to the car, the title holder takes care of it for the unauthorized owner throughout the life of the car, which is a hassle for both parties.

Another example is housing. If at the time of the revolution, you were given a home with one bedroom, but over the past fifty years your family has increased to include four generations living in the same space, you might need, at a minimum, a three bedroom. However, it is against the law for housing to be bought or sold in Cuba. It can only be swapped for something not too far out of range of what you already have, like a two bedroom. Why? Because profiting from property that was given for free is illegal and so it is not possible to legally swap with the owner of a three bedroom even if the cash is available to pay for the additional value. Property swaps with an additional cash payment occur all the time, but should it be discovered, both parties are required to move back to their original homes without the money being returned to the purchaser. It's a risky business.

The informal economy impacts every aspect of life no matter how significant or trivial. "Black Market" is too ominous a term for buying a kilo of fresh fish from a fisherman, who clandestinely delivers it to your door. The black market is the way that people get things done when the machine prevents logical transactions from occurring. But there are some circumstances in which the unintended consequences of 50 year old policies cannot be remedied through work-arounds. The saddest is the decaying of the housing stock -- a mixture of colonial mansions, now owner-occupied tenements, and a 19th century architectural treasure trove of Art Deco, Neo-classical, and California style bungalows.

With a solution for providing housing ownership that could have been conceived only by central government bureaucrats drinking too many mohitos and Cuba Libres, or to be kinder and probably more accurate, the good intentions of naive 20-somethings running a new country, the mansions and large villas of the wealthy who fled to Miami were subdivided into units and given free and clear to the people. Although the units within the buildings are privately owned, the government has maintained ownership of the building itself. The result is nicely kept homes within crumbling structures. With the majority of the once glorious housing stock over 75 years old, the milieu of Havana is both charming and shameful, alluring and sad.

Revolution happens within months or a few years; evolution happens over decades and centuries. Revolution requires great impatience while evolution requires greater patience. The patience of the Cuban people may be paying off. As the leaders of the revolution have become octogenarians, ideas of others are taking hold. A great success story is happening in Old Havana where private investors and the public Office of the City Historian have come together to restore the decaying colonial buildings to the stunningly beautiful edifices of their glory days. It's a success story on multiple levels: architectural, cultural, historical, social, and financial, and one that I-Sustain considers to be a global best practice that could be adapted to many old cities with deteriorated historical buildings.

Several steps have led to this success including the classification of Old Havana as a national monument by the Culture Ministry in 1978; UNESCO placing Old Havana on its World Heritage List in 1982, and a UN financial contribution to create an institute to teach local residents building and restoration skills.

However, the most significant steps were policy changes that provided the Office of the City Historian with the ability to raise financing through international joint ventures in order to bring in hard currency after the fall of the Soviet Union. The joint venture partners provide hard currency for the restoration; Cuba provides the buildings and the labor. The profits are generated from restaurants and hotels; 60% which go to further restoration projects, and 40% which pays for programs that improve the lives of the 70,000 + mostly poor residents of the historical district. This is, of course, the profits that remain after the joint venture partners make their money.