14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 30 November 2023 — A flap of concrete and steel makes it difficult to exit through the door of the tenement located at 512 San Lázaro Street between Lealtad and Perseverancia, in Centro Habana. This Wednesday what everyone had been fearing for years happened: part of the upper balcony collapsed, leaving a trail of rubble and increasing the fear in which several families in the apartment building live. On a block where just remaining standing is an every day challenge for the buildings, residents know that the scene could be repeated in the surrounding homes.
The apathy, the salt air and the lack of resources of its residents have made this avenue, which connects Old Havana with the very steps of the University of Havana, an example of the already insurmountable architecture of the Cuban capital. Oblivious to the ongoing restoration of the historic center and somewhat far from the more modern neighborhood of El Vedado, the buildings on this artery that runs parallel to the sea are, clearly, unrecoverable.
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