A video published on Facebook by the page La Hora de Cuba shows the current state of the Camilo Cienfuegos Children's Park in Camagüey, commonly known as the Japanese Park: without electricity, the train turned into scrap, the pool with stagnant water, broken carousel horses, and flamingos replaced by goats.
The recording, featuring the Camagüey influencer Nara Yack takes a tour of the facilities that for decades served as the main children's recreation area in the province, which today appears as a ghost park.
"Today in the Japanese park to show you what remains of it. The first thing we come across is this train; this is the one that used to circle the city. There’s no electricity, so I won’t be able to use any rides, it’s in ruins," the content creator is heard saying as she walks through some dilapidated facilities.
The park, inaugurated in July 1976 by Fidel Castro, was for years a landmark of childhood in Camagüey. In its heyday, it featured attractions such as airplanes, coffee cups, and a carousel, along with other mechanical rides that delighted generations of children from the province.
What the video shows contrasts sharply with that past. The pool is filled with green, stagnant water, the amusement rides are rusted or outright destroyed, and where decorative flamingos once stood, goats now graze, in an image that encapsulates the level of neglect to which the space has fallen.
The deterioration of the Japanese Park is not an isolated case in Camagüey. The city's zoo has also been reported this month for the extreme malnutrition of its lions, while other public spaces such as the Lake of Dreams and the Vista Hermosa park also face serious maintenance issues.
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