The floating promenade of Paula, in Havana Bay, is showing significant deterioration and is losing pieces of its structure due to a lack of maintenance, images shared on social media revealed this Sunday.
"The floating dock will soon be a wreck. First the planks, then the railings, also the foam pieces that keep it afloat," reported this Sunday on Facebook the user Reyma Luz Cuetú Reyes, who called for the intervention of the responsible officials.
The alert also mentioned the reappearance of garbage deposits in front of the dock. According to Cuetú, individuals he refers to as "divers" sift through the waste and leave debris scattered in public spaces.
The author questioned whether this type of deterioration can be attributed to the U.S. embargo and stated that there is an internal responsibility on the part of the authorities. "Public officials who read this, someone will read it, I suppose, do something," she wrote.
The comments on the complaint reflected the dissatisfaction of users who find the situation untenable and question the lack of responses.
Some also recalled that the accumulation of trash in the bay led to the suspension of the Regla ferry service in June 2024.
The author also recalled the historian Eusebio Leal (1942-2020), who led the recovery of the Historic Center of Havana for nearly four decades, with a phrase that other Cubans had echoed weeks earlier.
"Eusebio Leal is greatly missed in Havana. Sometimes I think there are two Cubas: one that I occasionally see in the news, and this other one, the real one, the one that hurts," he wrote.
Cuetú concluded his statement with a mix of demand and hope. "I am optimistic, despite everything, but it's hard to hold onto hope amid the chaos," he said.
The floating promenade of Paula was inaugurated in November 2015 by the Office of the Historian of the City as part of the celebrations for the 495th anniversary of Havana.
The work was left unfinished since its opening, as the canopies, sculptures, and benches envisioned in the original design were never installed, while an architect publicly acknowledged the poor quality of the materials used.
The deterioration is not recent either. In 2019, holes that caused visitors to fall had already been reported. In 2024, issues of dirt and widespread deterioration were documented, and last April, a user showcased the condition of the electrical installation on TikTok following the theft of the lamp wiring.
The abandonment of the dock occurs amid a waste management crisis affecting the entire capital. Havana generates between 24,000 and 30,000 cubic meters of solid waste daily, but only 41% of its fleet of collection trucks is operational due to a lack of fuel and mechanical deterioration. The city has about 10,000 containers when it actually needs between 20,000 and 30,000.
On Thursday, the deputy director of the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana, Perla Rosales, acknowledged that a street in Old Havana was once again filled with waste just two hours after being cleaned, while calling for increased oversight to address the issue.
Related videos:
Filed under: