A video published this Wednesday on the Facebook profile of La Kinkalla TV showcases the accumulation of garbage and debris at the corner of San Rafael and Galeano, one of the most crowded areas in the Cuban capital, where a partial building collapse in August 2025 resulted in the death of a worker from Café Boulevard.
"They have turned this collapse here on the boulevard into a dump. Trash and pollution continue to grow," laments the voice accompanying the images, as the camera surveys the area. The author also warns about the state of the structure and the danger it poses, in his opinion, to those who pass through the area.
The text accompanying the clip states that "this is just another example of the apathy and poor government management of the Cuban state, and if we continue to endure it, we will face more collapses and our history will dissolve."
The collapse occurred on August 14, 2025, when the ceiling of the upper floor of the building caved in and dragged down the one on the first floor, landing on the ground floor, where Café Boulevard operated. Several people were trapped under the rubble and a worker at the establishment lost his life.
According to reports from neighbors at that time, the building, approximately a century old, had been declared uninhabitable for years, while its facade underwent touch-ups that did not address the structural issues of the property.
The video once again highlights the condition of the site more than 14 months after the tragedy. Instead of visible rehabilitation, the images show waste and remnants of the structure piled up in an area of San Rafael Boulevard, an emblematic zone of the Cuban capital.
Users' reactions reflect indignation over the decline and nostalgia for the corner's commercial past. "That was beautiful; as a child, it was a joy to stroll, to see those shops, the movie theaters. In short, they've destroyed everything," wrote one user.
Another one recalled that "on the ground floor there was a cafeteria from the Palmares Chain. How horrifying!" A third comment directly attributed the situation to the Cuban government. "This is true, just a few blocks from the Capitol, but it's the fault of the government, ONLY THEM," he wrote.
Several users identified the site as the former "VEA," a space they remember as a social and commercial meeting point in Havana. "One of the most emblematic places in Havana. Draw your own destructions, sorry, conclusions," quipped another commenter.
"We are left without Havana," summarized another user, in a reaction that encapsulated the frustration expressed in the comments about the deterioration of a space linked to the urban memory of the capital.
The scene fits into a pattern of urban decay that is advancing unchecked. In Havana, approximately 1,000 buildings collapse each year according to official figures, there are 185,348 properties in poor condition, and the housing deficit exceeds 929,000 units nationwide.
The garbage crisis exacerbates the situation, with a shortage of staff, collection trucks, and an energy crisis that has paralyzed the waste collection system.
Other emblematic spaces in Centro Habana have faced a similar fate; the Almacenes Ultra has become a public toilet, while streets like Monte, Zanja, and Belascoaín remain buried under mountains of waste.
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