The Cuban photojournalist Enrique de la Osa published a photographic and documentary testimony this Saturday in which denounces the neglect and deterioration of the heritage sculptures by the sculptor Florencio Gelabert (1904-1995) located outside the Hotel Riviera in Havana, designated as a National Monument.
De la Osa portrayed the condition of the sculptural pieces —among them the emblematic "The Nymph and the Little Horse"— and even encountered a beggar who mentioned sleeping underneath one of the sculptures, in the area where a fountain once existed.
"Sadly, all these outdoor artworks are in very poor condition. The hotel —destroyed and increasingly in ruins— remains in total abandonment," wrote the photojournalist, who added that a bronze sculpture by Gelabert is covered with a sheet, apparently to prevent its deterioration.
The Hotel Riviera was built in 1957, promoted by the American entrepreneur of Jewish origin Meyer Lansky, designed by the Russian-American architect Igor B. Polevitzky with influences from the Miami Modern style, and featured contributions from top Cuban visual artists: Cundo Bermúdez, Florencio Gelabert, Rolando López Dirube, Hipólito Hidalgo de Caviedes, and Enzo Gallo, the photojournalist reports.
Gelabert was commissioned several pieces for the hotel: the sculptural group with a fountain in the exterior garden, a piece in the old interior courtyard — now disappeared — the work "Ritmo" in the central lobby, and the most well-known, "The Nymph and the Little Horse."
De la Osa, whose family had direct connections with the sculptor—his father was a friend of the artist and his mother was a student of his at the San Alejandro Academy—regrets that Gelabert "today lies in oblivion like many other artists from the island."
The report recalls that in the past, Florencio Gelabert Jr. —a sculptor based in the United States for nearly 40 years— led a restoration project for his father's sculptures, which were in critical condition, and that Elvira de la Osa, the sister of the photojournalist, headed the execution team. According to De la Osa, "the arrangements were an odyssey, with an abundance of bureaucracy. We had to talk to a thousand people."
In the context of those efforts, the photojournalist recalls discussing the matter with the then Minister of Tourism, now Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz, who acknowledged, even from his high position, the absurd bureaucratic complexity: “Look, that's a complicated issue, the Riviera is National Heritage and it's a mess […]”. Despite that restoration, time and neglect have dangerously degraded the works once again.
The deterioration of the Riviera is not an isolated case. The pool diving board at the hotel collapsed in March 2024 without any visible construction crews, despite the announcement in 2018 of an investment of 35 million euros for its comprehensive rehabilitation with Iberostar as the manager. The establishment has been closed for years under the pretext of repairs with no visible progress.
This pattern of abandonment is evident throughout the capital. By the end of 2025, Havana recorded 185,348 buildings in poor condition, with 46,158 requiring major repairs and around 1,000 buildings collapsing each year. The deterioration of public art has also been reported in Holguín, Santiago de Cuba, and other cities on the Island.
De la Osa concludes his complaint with a question that encapsulates the indignation of many Cubans: “Is it necessary to allow the destruction of a hotel like the Riviera, which holds such history? […] In the end, it is the HERITAGE OF THE NATION AND OF CUBANS.” He ends with a statement that leaves no room for doubt about the responsibilities: “It is criminal that negligence and ignorance are stronger than will.”
Related videos:
Filed under: