Around the Plazuela de Albear

The Plazuela de Albear must be among the busiest places in Old Havana.

Day after day, many people, nationals and tourists, pass through it, entering or leaving the very busy Obispo Boulevard. Also, those who move around the equally populous Monserrate Street and its surroundings, and those who work or stay in the area for different reasons.

Plazuela de Albear, in Old Havana. Behind, one of the buildings of the Museum of Fine Arts. Photo: Otmaro Rodríguez.

With the legendary El Floridita bar and restaurant on one of its corners, this small square — also known as Albear Park — pays homage to Francisco de Albear y Lara, a military engineer to whom the Cuban capital owes works such as the famous aqueduct, still in use, named after him and considered one of the seven wonders of Cuban engineering.

The park was built on the existing square on Monserrate Street and was inaugurated in 1895, just eight years after Albear’s death. The place was crowned with the well-known monument to the engineer, a work by the sculptor José de Villalta y Saavedra.

Plazuela de Albear, in Old Havana. Photo: Otmaro Rodríguez.

The sculptural complex was modeled in white Carrara marble and has a fountain with several jets. In its center stands the figure of Albear, in full uniform, leaning over his notebook with a pen in his hand, next to a female figure offering him a laurel wreath; it represents the city, as explained on the Habana Radio website.

The park, for its part, was conceived as a small space with trees, lights, and benches, and although today it does not look exactly the same as the original — nor do its surroundings — it has been the object of cleaning and restoration work over the years, which has made it possible to preserve it in the framework of Havana’s historic center.

Debris falling from a building on Monte Street in Havana, as a result of the ravages of Hurricane Rafael. Photo: Otmaro Rodríguez.

In addition to its own values, the Plazuela de Albear adds those of its privileged surroundings. In addition to the aforementioned Obispo and Monserrate streets, and the bicentennial El Floridita bar, in its surroundings there are other emblematic sites in Havana, such as the Parque Central, the Gran Hotel Manzana Kempinski — in what was once the Manzana de Gómez — and one of the headquarters of the Museum of Fine Arts.

Our photojournalist Otmaro Rodríguez visited this centrally located place a few days ago, bringing us closer with his images to the present of an iconic square in the Cuban capital. A space that remembers an illustrious figure of Cuban engineering and that for more than a century has been part of the daily life of Havana residents.