Long thread coming up. 1. #HavanaDiary Day 46 of 120+ Great to see Hotel Riviera being refurbished by Spanish Hotel chain Iberostar, who are great supporters of investment in Cuba. They have resisted US pressure not to. 😎👍🇨🇺👏 
2. #HavanaDiary The Hotel was owned by Meyer Lansky of the US Mafia. Batista even put him in charge of promoting tourism! Nationalised by the Revolution in 1959. Lansky’s family have the cheek to want it back! NOT. A. CHANCE. 😎🇨🇺
3. #HavanaDiary This was the Ministry of Finance building in Okd Havana where Che worked. Now scheduled to be converted into a Hotel. New hotels are springing up everywhere at the moment. 😎🇨🇺
4. #HavanaDiary Belfast people get everywhere! Bumped into these two who had taken the Che motorbike tour & were extremely lucky to have Che’s son Ernesto with them! A lovely couple & we had a great yarn. 😎👍🇨🇺
5. #HavanaDiary Humidity off the scale in my Barrio. Plus pic of a classic Piaggio still going strong. 😎🇨🇺
6. #HavanaDiary Yesterday, I had business in Regla, by the port on the other side of Havana Bay. An area seldom visited by tourists.An area known for working class militancy from the early 20th century. Also an area where Irish settled in 19th Century. 🇨🇺
7. #HavanaDiary #Regla There is a hill in Regla that was originally called “Loma de Fortin” where workers used to hold demonstrations. On the day of Lenin’s funeral,27th Jan,1924,tens of thousands assembled there to pay tribute.
8. #HavanaDiary #Regla Inspired by this, the Socialist Mayor of Regla Antonio Bosch renamed the hill “Colina Lenin”& planted an Olive tree to commemorate Lenin. It was the 1st monument outside of the USSR to Lenin. Pic of present day Olive tree.
9. #HavanaDiary #Regla The Colina Lenin became a Rally point for workers against the dictatorships of the 1930s. Often cut down by police & fascists, an Olive tree was always replaced by workers. After the 1959 revolution a bronze sculpture of Lenin was added in 1984.
10. #HavanaDiary #Regla #ColinaLenin Today the site is a national monument of Cuba. Also great views back across the bay to Havana. 😎🇨🇺 Off the usual tourist trail & worth a visit. 👍
11. #HavanaDiary Nearby to Regla is the area of Guanabacoa. Again, off the tourist trail. A working class area & also a centre of Afro-Cuban religion. Dominated by the Spanish Colonial Church of the “Asunción”. Originally built in 1576 but current structure from 1721. 😎🇨🇺
12. #HavanaDiary #Guanabacoa There are very few Catholics here. The Afro-Cuban religion of “Santeria” dominates. Photos from display in Guanabacoa These first 4 are “Santeria”.
13. #HavanaDiary #Guanabacoa Four more of Santeria including the beautiful Spanish Colonial tile floor. 😎😂
14. #HavanaDiary #Guanabacoa It is the only place that displays items the secret Afro-Cuban cult of “Abakua”, originating from the early African slaves brought to Cuba. 😎🇨🇺
15. #HavanaDiary Back in Old Havana, the northern end of Calle Aguilar has become a very pleasant alley of bars & snack bars. 😎🇨🇺
16. #HavanaDiary I’m a huge fan of Jeeps & this little gem was spotted near the Palacio Artisanos. 😎🇨🇺😍
