Streets of Centro Havana are convoluted. You may find people ripping apart broken trucks in the middle of the traffic. Workers demolish decrepit buildings above sidewalks while unprotected pedestrians stroll by.

A new friend is always nearby hustling black-market Cuban cigars. Raw meat is dangled from window sills; baking in the sun as flies feast on the spoiling flesh.

No two street looks the same and all of them are constantly changing; 1950’s era American cars growl through narrowed roads.

Economic conditions for the Cuban people are challenging. Although there are government hand outs, such as free eduction and healthcare, many citizens live in poverty. Because of the trade embargo with the United States, Cuba’s technology is over half a century behind most of the world. Parks are lit at night by cellphones tapping into limited wifi. The sedated data speed keep Cuban millennials gathered around public routers till the early morning hours.

El Malecón

The famous esplanade wraps around the Havana Harbor. Couples patronize the rocky edge to either make out or duke it out in a lover’s spat. On weekends, locals bring retro boom-boxes and dance all night to familiar American hip-hop music. The city is filled with once Mafia owned casino hotels. They are reminders to the debauchery of long times past.