When summer temperatures start to sizzle in Havana, in-the-know locals head not to the beach, but to seaside pools built by wealthy Cuban families in the first half of the last century.
Now abandoned and filled with seawater, the pools that survived the 1959 revolution are in the western Havana neighborhood of Miramar that flourished in the 1940s and 1950s with lavish mansions and luxury hotels.
“These swimming pools are a tradition. From generation to generation, we come here,” said Boris Baltrons, 44, accompanied by his daughter, sister and nephew.
Photo: AFP
“These houses belonged to rich people. At the time, everyone had their own little pool,” he said, pointing to traces of Spanish tiles that originally lined the walls.
Known only to locals, the pools are at the end of a rubbish-strewn walk. Swimmers sometimes share the pools with fish, crabs and even small octopuses.
“It’s not a beach like Varadero, but children can have fun here,” said Alberto, a 38-year-old scientist, referring to the seaside resort east of the capital.
He came on foot with his family, before sunset, to take a dip in one of the open-air swimming pools.
Havana’s closest sandy beaches are about a 20-minute drive away, a luxury not everyone can afford on the communist island where fuel shortages are common. Many of Cuba’s swimming pools that require fresh water have fallen into oblivion, including ones built within sports facilities during the first decades of the revolution. These days they are used by skateboarders, graffiti artists, videographers and children playing soccer.
One of Cuba’s most famous pools is the “Giant Pool” — measuring 5,000m2 — inaugurated by Fidel Castro in the 1970s in Alamar, a Soviet-influenced housing complex in Havana.
Today, the island’s lush vegetation has begun to devour parts of this vast slab of blue concrete.
The Philippine Department of Justice yesterday labeled Vice President Sara Duterte the “mastermind” of a plot to assassinate the nation’s president, giving her five days to respond to a subpoena. Duterte is being asked to explain herself in the wake of a blistering weekend press conference where she said she had instructed that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr be killed should an alleged plot to kill her succeed. “The government is taking action to protect our duly elected president,” Philippine Undersecretary of Justice Jesse Andres said at yesterday’s press briefing. “The premeditated plot to assassinate the president as declared by the self-confessed mastermind
Texas’ education board on Friday voted to allow Bible-infused teachings in elementary schools, joining other Republican-led US states that pushed this year to give religion a larger presence in public classrooms. The curriculum adopted by the Texas State Board of Education, which is controlled by elected Republicans, is optional for schools to adopt, but they would receive additional funding if they do so. The materials could appear in classrooms as early as next school year. Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has voiced support for the lesson plans, which were provided by the state’s education agency that oversees the more than
Ireland, the UK and France faced travel chaos on Saturday and one person died as a winter storm battered northwest Europe with strong winds, heavy rain, snow and ice. Hampshire Police in southern England said a man died after a tree fell onto a car on a major road near Winchester early in the day. Police in West Yorkshire said they were probing whether a second death from a traffic incident was linked to the storm. It is understood the road was not icy at the time of the incident. Storm Bert left at least 60,000 properties in Ireland without power, and closed
CONSPIRACIES: Kano suspended polio immunization in 2003 and 2004 following claims that polio vaccine was laced with substances that could render girls infertile Zuwaira Muhammad sat beside her emaciated 10-month-old twins on a clinic bed in northern Nigeria, caring for them as they battled malnutrition and malaria. She would have her babies vaccinated if they regain their strength, but for many in Kano — a hotbed of anti-vaccine sentiment — the choice is not an obvious one. The infants have been admitted to the 75-bed clinic in the Unguwa Uku neighbourhood, one of only two in the city of 4.5 million run by French aid agency Doctors Without Borders (MSF). Kano has the highest malaria burden in Nigeria, but the city has long