Filmmaker Jorge Dalton on the deterioration of the Malecón in Havana: "Another snapshot of horror"

The Cuban-Salvadoran filmmaker Jorge Dalton shared on Facebook a series of photographs of the Malecón in Havana, accompanied by a devastating text: "Another portrait of horror."

Dalton describes the iconic coastal avenue as a ghostly place: "Even on that splendid avenue, it's hard to even see a car pass by; everything is so deserted that it feels like an abandoned racetrack."

The images show severe deterioration: stone blocks dislodged from the coastal wall, exposed terracotta bricks where the cladding has fallen away, domes and pillars with deep cracks, stains from humidity, and advanced erosion caused by sea salt and lack of maintenance.

In some photos, the sun reflects off a tranquil sea while the silhouette of the Havana buildings stands out in the background, highlighting the contrast between the beauty of the natural environment and the neglect of the structures lining the coast.

Dalton uses a comparison that is both ironic and striking: "The pyramids of Giza and Khufu in Egypt are over 4,500 years old and were built around 2500 B.C.; they have been preserved much better."

The Havana Malecón, whose first section was inaugurated in May 1901 and whose final section was completed in 1958, has been fully constructed for only 65 years, which makes its current state all the more difficult to justify.

The documentarian concludes the reflection with a direct jab at the official discourse of the Cuban regime: "The thing is, back then Donald Trump didn't exist," an irony that dismantles the argument with which Havana often blames the U.S. embargo for all its ills.

The state of the Malecón is part of the widespread structural deterioration in Havana, where approximately 1,000 buildings collapse each year.

In June, a collapse in the Malecón area was reported, one of the most iconic avenues in Cuba, where buildings with severe structural damage are prevalent.

Dalton, who grew up in Cuba from a young age and was trained at the Cuban Institute of Art and Cinematographic Industry (ICAIC), has transitioned from being a product of the revolution to becoming one of its most direct critics.

In May, he declared that the Cuban regime "must end, must fall, it can no longer sustain itself", and he described it as "corrupt" and "highly repressive."