With more Cubans being allowed to start up restaurants, hotels and shops, the beautiful colonial quarter is getting a much-needed injection of new blood
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Though being immaculately restored by the government, the colonial streets and squares of Old Havana until recently lacked a certain buzz. But thanks to a recent law that allows more Cubans to run their own businesses, and hot properties in the historic quarter now available to rent from the state, a new wave of self-employed Cubans are opening cafes, shops, restaurants and stylish rental apartments. These openings have accelerated recently, and Old Havana, a Unesco world heritage site, is now lively and resurgent.
“I’m very happy to see the renaissance of Old Havana,” says Lea Díaz Ramírez, whose new deluxe rental apartment, Suite Havana, sits just off handsome Calle Mercaderes. “But, above all, I’m happy to see so many intelligent entrepreneurs realising their dreams. This is only the beginning.”
