Page 96 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Cuba

94  HA V ANA AREA B Y AREA

w Museo Nacional r Iglesia del
de Bellas Artes Sagrado Corazón
See pp96–9. Avenida Simón Bolívar (Reina) 463.
Map 3 B3. Tel 7862 4979.
Open 7:30am–6pm Mon–Sat,
e Barrio Chino 8am–noon & 3–5pm Sun. 5 8am
& 9am daily. & 8
Map 3 C3.
With its impressive bell tower,
The Chinese quarter of Havana, 77 m (253 ft) high, the Church
the Barrio Chino, which now of the Sacred Heart can be seen
occupies a small area defined from various parts of the city.
by Calles San Nicolás, Dragones, It was designed in the early
Zanja and Rayo, developed in The austere interior of Iglesia de 1900s by the Jesuit priest Luis
the 19th century. In its heyday, la Caridad Gorgoza and consecrated in
in the early 1900s, there was a 1923, and is a rare example of
cultural association performing which has a pagoda roof. the Neo-Gothic style in Cuba.
plays and operas, and a casino. Another, much more impressive Dominating the façade is a
The colourful streets were full Ming and Ching-style portico figure of Christ resting on three
of vendors of fritters and other was erected in 1998 at the columns decorated with a
Asian specialities, and people corner of Calle Dragones and capital depicting the parable
came to buy the best fruit and Calle Amistad. It is almost of the prodigal son. The interior
freshest fish in the city. 19 m (62 ft) wide and was has elaborate stained-glass
Today, all the Chinese donated to Cuba by the windows narrating the life of
shops are concentrated in the Chinese government. Christ and a wealth of stucco-
so-called Cuchillo de Zanja The Barrio Chino is also home work and pointed arches.
area (the intersection of Zanja to the Iglesia de la Caridad, A Byzantine-style Sacred Heart
and Rayo), a mixture of the dedicated to Cuba’s patron saint with sculptures of saints and
oriental and the tropical; the (see p225). The church also has a prophets is on the high altar.
architecture, however, is not popular statue, a Virgin with
particularly characteristic, Asian features, brought here
except for the quarter gate, in the mid-1950s.
The Chinese Community in Havana
The first Chinese arrived in Cuba in the mid-1800s to work in
the sugar industry, and they were treated like slaves. The first
to gain their freedom began to cultivate small plots of land
in Havana. In one of these, near the present-day Calle Salud,
they grew Cuba’s first mangoes, which were an immediate,
spectacular success. Chinese restaurants began to appear in
the area after the second wave of Chinese immigrants arrived
from California (1869–75), armed with their American savings.
Without losing any of their cultural traditions, the Chinese
community has become assimilated into Cuban society,
accepting and sharing the island’s lot. A black granite column
at the corner of Calle Linea and Calle L remembers the
Chinese who fought for Cuban independence. Entrance to the Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón,
with its statue of Christ

t Avenida Carlos III
(Avenida Salvador Allende) Map 3 B3.
Laid out in 1850 during
redevelopment under the
supervision of Captain Miguel
de Tacón, this boulevard (official
name Avenida Salvador Allende)
was designed to allow troops
and military vehicles to go from
the Castillo del Príncipe – built
on the Aróstegui hill in the late
Entrance gate to Barrio Chino, the Chinese quarter in Havana 1700s – to their parade ground
in the present-day Parque de la
For hotels and restaurants in this area see pp256–7 and p271

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