Judaism in Havana: A Tour of Jewish Cuba

Havana is a city that captures your attention and imagination. Music spills out of cafes. Vintage American cars glide down cobblestone streets. People stroll along the Malecón and enjoy the view of the historic fortresses guarding Havana’s bay. Fishers stand atop the thick wall separating the street from the sea and cast their fishing lines into the water. The sea breeze rolls along the edges of the city, fading as it travels deeper into the old city. You land at Jose Marti International Airport with your heartbeat quickening with excitement. Your private transfer meets you at baggage claim and leads you into the bustling cityscape. The suburbs of the city contain the daily life of Havana locals.

Murals decorate walls along the roadside, celebrating the Cuban spirit. The colors resemble the blue, white, and red of the Cuban flag. Once in vibrant, contemporary neighborhood of Vedado, you pass the University of Havana. The graceful steps lead to a plateau. Stoic columns outline a noble arcade and frame a statue of Alma Mater in the foreground. The university was established in the 18th century under the authorization of Pope Innocent XIII and King Philip V of Spain. The past and the present intertwine in the city, and in the Vedado neighborhood. High-rises tower above colonial era buildings. Classic cars roll down the boulevard of La Rampa. The ice cream parlor of Coppelia turns modern day Havana into a 1950s ice cream social.

The morning in Vedado has a quiet rhythm. People stroll to work. Restaurants and cafes lazily open their doors. Students make their way to class, climbing stairs of the university with measured steps. You find the aroma of coconut and pineapple at breakfast. The fresh fruit reminds you of Cuba’s tropical climate. After breakfast, your guide leads you to meet with the El Patronato Jewish Community Center. A classic American car sits parked outside of the casual building.

A large arch frames the small Star of David imprinted on the center of the façade. El Patronato is home to Cuba’s largest congregation. In 2013, it sponsored athletes for the Maccabiah Games, sending almost 50 athletes to Israel to compete in the Cuban Jewish community. Spend time with the president of the congregation, along with active members of the temple to learn about the daily lives of Cubans, Cuban Jews, and the activities of the center. The community center contains a large library, and a pharmacy authorized to distribute donated medications.

In the synagogue, your guide explains the idea of the Cuban minyan. After the revolution, nearly 90 percent of the Jewish population fled. With so few people left in the country, the Jewish community instituted a new rule, counting the Torah as a qualifying member of minyan to ensure a quorum for prayer. The richness of spirit and continuation of traditions, whether unique or associated with the heritage, are inspiring. Continue to the Centro Hebreo Sefaradi in the afternoon to visit with leaders of the Sephardic community.

Today you travel to the captivating center of Old Havana, framed by forts and castles. The Spanish erected Castillo de los Tres Santos Reyes Magos del Morro between the 16th and 17th centuries. It withstood attaches by French, Dutch, and English privateers throughout the ages, including a 44-day siege in the mid-1700s. Cuba’s connection to Spain casts a stark reminder of the reasons why Jewish families from the old world traveled to the Caribbean; it was an attempt to escape the Inquisition.

The past surrounds you in Old Town with a mixture of renovated colonial architecture and crumbling facades. Your guide leads you on a marvelous introductory tour of the historic buildings showcasing Cuba’s former magnificence. The City Historian’s Office has spent countless hours focused on restoring Calle Mercaderes, the Merchant’s Street. 18th-century grandeur emanates from the museums, shops, and restaurants. A needlecraft cooperative set up their workshop inside one of the buildings providing a large open space.

A small house on Calle Obrapia contains sacred objects relating to Santeria and the secret African fraternity of Abakua. During your exploration of the old city, you come to Acosta Street to find the single kosher butcher in all of Cuba. Fidel Castro wrote a special letter to the owners of the shop, allowing them to continue providing the community of Havana with kosher meat. The only orthodox synagogue in the country ensures the butchery’s upkeep and is presided over by the rabbi, cantor, and treasurer of the temple, which happens to be the same person.

In the suburbs of Havana, you will find the former home of award-winning American writer, Ernest Hemingway. The Cuban government has preserved the house, known as Finca Vigia—Lookout Farm, since 1960. After breakfast, you make your way on a guided tour of the home of Hemingway for nearly 21 years. The library contains approximately 9,000 books spanning the entire home, including the bathroom. The typewriter on which Hemingway wrote award-winning novels such as The Old Man and the Sea, sits atop a stand-up desk. All the windows and doors are open to provide perfect sightlines for visitors throughout the entire home, but to preserve the integrity of the museum, no one is allowed inside.

Your guide points to a ceramic bowl on a couch-side table. He explains that Pablo Picasso designed the piece and gave it to his friend. You continue to the colorful neighborhood of Jaimanitas to stroll along the artistic wonderland of Fusterlandia. Ceramic mosaics shape the walls. The surreal design resembles the enterprises of Spanish architect Antonin Gaudi. Roofs, doorways, benches, and walls span blocks encompassing more than 80 neighborhoods. Intermittent sculptures decorate the street. Courtyards provide views of ceramic dragons. Inspiration is everywhere, and the arts overtake the island in various ways.

The colors of Fusterlandia remain prevalent in your thoughts today. The bright stories the artist told lifts spirits around Havana and the world. After breakfast, you venture to the Guanabacoa Museum, dedicated to tracking the development of the Guanabacoa neighborhood through the 18th and 19th centuries. Your guide draws parallels to Jewish heritage when you see the exhibits on the Afro-Cuban culture, highlighting the history of slavery and the emergence of the Santeria religion. The mythology and ritual of the various religions intrigue you. After your exploration of the museum, you make your way to the United Hebrew Congregation Cemetery.

The grounds were established in the early 1900s. The layout holds to Jewish tradition with a space outside the gates for visitors to wash their hands upon leaving. The aligned gravestones face directly east. You find various languages inscribing the stones, from Spanish to Yiddish, Russian to English. Many of the birthplaces on the older stones mention cities in Eastern and Central Europe. The grounds are unique due to their location and history. Continue to the small fishing village of Cojimar, where Hemingway set the storyline for The Old Man and the Sea.

Trinidad has an ineffable spirit unlike any other city in Cuba. Afro-Cuban culture remains strong, deeply rooted in the history of the sugarcane plantations located near the city. Colonial buildings glimmer with pastel colors. Horses trot down the cobblestone streets, passing through the shadows cast by former churches. After breakfast, you make your way to the UNESCO heritage site to experience the culture of Trinidad. Red-tiled rooftops slant toward the narrow roads. The Spanish settled the city in the 1514 and built an elaborate sugarcane industry in the valleys opposite the rolling Escambray Mountains.

Enter into the Casa del Alfarero, a pottery workshop sharing the tradition of pottery in the city, which dates back to the 19th century. Partake in a class to learn the secrets of the city and the art form. The knowledge of pottery work has been passed down through the generations. You get your hands involved with wet clay, shaping and guiding the form until it reaches a design you prefer. Locals have modeled the clay to tell stories of their past and the history of the city. After your work gets placed in the kiln to dry, you follow in the footsteps of the locals and visitors to discover the heritage of Trinidad. Begin with a visit to the Museo de Historia Municipal, which exhibits spectacular objects from wealthy families located inside a grandiose edifice in the Plaza Mayor.

A rebellious spirit fills the streets of Santa Clara, inspired by the local university and the large student population. The Che Guevara monument fosters the local ideology of questioning authority. Spend a part of your day visiting the local Jewish Community. In 2007, the 25-member-strong community had gathered enough funds to buy a home and convert it into a synagogue. A Holocaust memorial erected in 2003 lies adjacent to the Jewish cemetery. The museum contains a stone from the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. Stones from the Warsaw Ghetto pave the path leading to the entryway.

Locals like to connect the uprising of the Warsaw Ghetto to the spirit of the Jewish people in Cuba, especially in Santa Clara, where the people are always willing to fight for their beliefs. A menorah with six branches symbolizes the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust. Your guide leads you through the city to the Che Guevara Memorial. A large bronze statue of the revolutionary guards the entrance to the square. A mausoleum contains 38 carved niches dedicated to the guerillas that fought for Bolivian independence. You can hear horses carrying visitors down the main road around the edges of the elegant monument.

In the morning, you remember the words of a song you once learned at the synagogue. “Wherever you go, there’s always someone Jewish.” You can’t help but repeat the lyrics in your head before breakfast. You have not only set foot in Cuba, but followed in the footsteps of Jewish communities that have fled persecution for hundreds of years, from Spain to Russia, and even Germany. Your private transfer greets you at the hotel after breakfast and escorts you to the charming city of Cienfuegos. Red-tiles outline cupolas adorn pearled buildings erected by 19th-century French settlers. The bay sparkles four different shapes of blue. You board your flight and watch Cuba fade away beneath you, enjoying the spectacular final panorama of a country cradling a unique Jewish heritage.