Source: Photos taken by WTL© in La Habana / Havana, Cuba (March, 2010).
Comments: Havana (Ciudad de La Habana) is the capital of Cuba, and it is one of the most important cities in both Latin America and the world due to its history, politics, economy, and influential humanists. It once was one of the grandest cities isn the world, but its infrastructure has decayed significantly over the past 50 years. Thanks to some funds supplied by UNESCO, certain historical sites, buildings, and monuments are being restored. The population in 2010 is roughly 2,400,000.
Havana was founded by Spanish conquistador Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar in 1515. (See the information on Hernán Cortés for the relationship between these two conquistadors.) In 1592, the king of Spain, Felipe II, gave La Habana the official title of city; conquistadors and colonists immediately began fortifying the settlement including three fortresses in order to protect the city from European pirates; in 1553, the Cuban governor's residence was moved from Santiago de Cuba to Havana; and in 1634 Havana was officially designated by Spain as the "key to the New World and the Gulf of Mexico." In 1902, Havana became the capital of an independent Cuba--independent, that is, from both Spain and the United States.