A Visit to Fusterlandia in Havana, Cuba

As you may know, I spent a week in Cuba a few weeks ago with my parents.  We decided to go since it was on my Dad’s bucket list and I’ve wanted to go ever since it opened up.  I think my biggest fear was that Cuba would change and become something similar to Cancun before I went.  Luckily the charm that I expected was still there!  Also, there weren’t that many cranes going up, so I think it will be a while before there is a lot of new development.

I’ve broken my trip into several posts since there is so much that I want to share.  I have a couple of posts on Havana, 1 on Trinidad, and then maybe a final post of general advice and things I wish I’d known before going.  The final post might be rolled into the Havana travel guide, but we will see.

Let’s dive in!

After spending the first day, exploring the neighborhood by our Air B&B, we decided to be more productive on our second day.  I think everyone thinks of old classic cars when they think of Cuba and they are everywhere!  We had dreams of riding around town in one, but didn’t make any arrangements ahead of time.

Thankfully, the lady who made us breakfast everyday made a few calls and found us a great tour guide, Diego!  Diego drove a beautifully maintained 1950’s Cadillac.  We actually had so much fun with Diego that we rode around with him 2 more times before we left.  Our only request was to get off the beaten path a little bit since we were going to explore Old Havana another day.

Boy, did he deliver.  After a drive around town to help us get the lay of the land, we started the morning with a visit to Fusterlandia.  Fusterlandia is the brain child of Cuban artist Jose Fuster.  Fuster has basically taken over his entire neighborhood and created murals of mosaic tiles.  It is like Gaudi took over a neighborhood in the Caribbean!  A visit to Fusterlandia wasn’t on our radar before the trip, but it was one of our favorite things from Havana.

The center piece of the neighborhood is Fuster’s house, Taller-Estudio Jose Fuster, where Fuster also has a studio with pieces for sale.  You can wander all through the house and see the amazing murals Fuster has created.   Fuster started this neighborhood art exhibit, but creating murals in his house in the 1970s and the exhibit has slowly started to take over the neighborhood.

Fidel and Che arriving on to start the Revolution

One of the centerpiece murals in Fuster’s house

My mom and me

Everywhere you look, there are beautiful murals!  I think we were all in awe of how he transformed what was previously a very poor neighborhood into an amazing work of art!

After our visit to Fusterlandia, we drove up to Plaza of the Revolucion, which is where Fidel used to address the Cuban people.  The Jose Marti memorial is in the center of the square.  It is one of the tallest buildings in Cuba.  We didn’t go up, but everyone said it has a great view from the top.

Pretty good for a first day in Havana!  If you ever find yourself in Havana, take a few hours for a visit to Fusterlandia.  It is less than a $20 cab ride from the center of town and many cabs (especially the private ones) will wait while you explore or come back for you for a small fee.  It is free to walk around and you can purchase pieces of art if you like.

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Linking up with Sincerely Jenna Marie, More Pieces of Me, Fizz and Frosting, Pink Sole, Elegantly Fashionable, Oh To Be A Muse, The Fashion Canvas, Walking in Memphis in High Heels, I do deClaire, Two Peas in a Blog, Cute and Little, Elegantly Dressed & Stylish, J Petite, Sandy a la mode

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