A video shared on social media this Friday showed the state of ruin and neglect of Almacenes Ultra, one of the most emblematic stores in Havana, located at 109 Reina Street in Centro Habana. The floor is covered with dark stains, scattered trash, and a smell of urine that viewers themselves described as unbearable.
The reel published on the account of Facebook Cuba today showcased the façade of the location with rusty windows, doors covered in graffiti, and the interior in a state of extreme decay, images that have sparked a wave of outrage among Cubans both on the island and abroad.
In April 2025, a video documented black sewage leaks, accumulated waste, and moldy walls inside, conditions that reportedly led to its permanent closure.
The images from this September confirm that the situation has not improved at all.
The comments from Cubans reminiscing about the store in its prime reflect a mix of nostalgia and anger.
"I knew that store before '59 and in the early years of the '60s; it was a dream to enter there just like La Época, Flogar, or the Ten-Cent on Galiano," wrote a user.
Another recalled that "Ultra and Fin de Siglo were the largest stores in Havana, spacious with their escalators and multiple floors."
The outrage also pointed directly to government accountability: "That disaster is 50 meters from the municipal government of Centro Habana, but apparently there is no government in Centro Habana," noted another commentator.
"The only clean part of Havana is where the honorable members of the Central Committee live," another added with bitter irony.
"Today abandonment and destruction are the masters of Cuba. What once amazed, today there are only ruins left," summarized a Cuban in the comments of the video, with a phrase that could easily apply to the entire island.
Almacenes Ultra, founded in 1938 by the Asturian César Rodríguez González (1882-1966), was a pioneer in Cuba's department store model: it featured escalators, multiple floors, and up to 120 employees.
After the triumph of the revolution in 1959, it was nationalized under Law 890 of 1960 and came under the control of the state, which managed it until its gradual collapse.
In 1994, it was partially reopened and presented by the regime as the largest store in the country, but decades of state management led it to its current condition.
The abandonment of Ultra is part of a documented pattern of decline affecting the historic large businesses of the capital, all of which were nationalized after 1959.
Fin de Siglo was reported in ruins in 2022, Galerías Paseo collapsed in 2024 and the former RCA Victor store was demolished in September of that same year.
The context further exacerbates the situation. The streets of Havana are overflowing with filth, as a recent series of videos demonstrated, including one that highlighted the mountain of waste piled up behind the no less iconic store La Época.
A few days ago, the official press presented a batch of 20 trucks and over 240 containers from China, with an investment exceeding one million euros, although the authorities themselves acknowledged that it "is not the definitive solution."
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