Havana

Havana

Havana

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Havana, Spanish La Habana, city, capital, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. It also constitutes one of Cuba’s 15 provinces: Ciudad de la Habana (City of Havana).

The city is located on La Habana (Havana) Bay on the island’s north coast. It is the largest city in the Caribbean region and has one of the great treasuries of historic colonial preserves in the Western Hemisphere. Prior to 1959, when Fidel Castro came to power, it was a mecca for tourists from the United States, who were drawn by the city’s many attractions, which included climate and nightlife in addition to history. During the following years, however, despite its continued importance as the island’s major economic hub, Havana lost much of its lustre, because Castro’s socialist government redirected the country’s resources primarily toward the improvement of conditions in rural Cuba. Havana thus deteriorated, even though rehabilitation projects began in the 1980s. The city’s Old Havana (La Habana Vieja) district and its fortifications were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1982. Area city (province), 281 square miles (728 square km). Pop. (2012) city (province), 2,106,146; (2020 est.) city (province), 2,132,183.