Flooded streets with sewage water, piles of uncollected garbage, and a strong stench characterize the daily life of the Jesús María neighborhood in Old Havana, according to recent videos shared on social media by local residents.
This is highlighted by recordings published on Facebook by the DiSa page, which is dedicated to documenting everyday reality in Cuba, revealing the advanced sanitary deterioration in one of the most densely populated and impoverished areas of Old Havana.
The images show large heaps of garbage on the public streets, alongside stagnant sewage that occupies entire sections of the road.
In one of the videos, recorded in a residential corner, a mountain of domestic waste and debris is observed accumulated next to houses in a visibly deteriorated state.
The author of the material warns about the danger of fires, noting that trash has been set on fire at the same location in the past, a common practice due to the prolonged absence of waste collection.
The second video documents puddles of sewage mixed with garbage, forcing pedestrians and motorcyclists to navigate through waste and contaminated liquids.
The voice accompanying the images identifies the source of the discharges as overflowing pits, a sign of the collapse of the sewage system in the area.
Neighbors and users who responded to the posts describe the situation as a permanent risk to public health and question the inaction of the authorities.
In the comments, residents and Cubans abroad agree that similar scenes are recurring in numerous neighborhoods of the capital, with no sustained response from community services.
The combination of uncollected trash, exposed sewage, and dilapidated buildings creates a conducive environment for the spread of diseases, in a context marked by recurring outbreaks of vector-borne viruses and a lack of basic resources for hygiene.
Far from being an isolated incident, the garbage crisis and unsanitary conditions in Havana have become a structural feature of the public services collapse that affects other cities and towns across the country.
Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz has acknowledged that the Government "does not see results" despite the stated efforts, while garbage collection trucks remain out of service and the responsibility shifts, without means or resources, onto an exhausted population.
The deterioration also occurs amidst recurring outbreaks of dengue and chikungunya, diseases associated with the proliferation of illegal dumping sites and stagnant water.
The image of an abandoned capital, compared by the Cubans themselves to the “City of Trash” in Cairo, encapsulates a deeper failure: in Cuba, waste does not create livelihood or recycling, but rather illness, misery, and despair, under a State unable to even ensure the minimum conditions for health.
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