The house where the Cuban writer, storyteller, and poet Dulce María Loynaz (1902-1997), winner of the Cervantes Prize and one of the most recognized figures in Cuban literature, lived, has a garbage dump and sewage waters facing its entrance that flow down the street without the authorities having addressed the issue.
The complaint was shared this Thursday on Facebook by Frank Coto Hernández, who described mounds of cardboard boxes, plastic bags, debris, and household waste up to one and a half meters high, accumulated from the corner of 19 and E to the middle of the block. To that situation is added an overflowing pit whose waste runs down the street and reaches the entrance of the institution.
While literary events are held inside the center and Cuban culture is promoted, outside, waste and sewage create a health hazard that affects the environment of one of the city's heritage buildings.
The house where Loynaz resided from 1947 to 1997 was declared a National Monument that last year and transformed into a cultural center in 2005. The journalist and lawyer also received the National Literature Prize of Cuba in 1987 and the Cervantes Prize in 1992, a distinction that made her the first Latin American writer to receive this award.
"It is unacceptable that a space that should be a tribute to the memory of the writer is overshadowed by neglect," Coto noted in his post.
The complainant demanded the immediate removal of waste at the corner of 19 and E, the repair of the overflowing pit, and a permanent sanitation plan for the block and its surroundings. They also insisted on respect for the heritage value of the property and the memory of the writer.
In December 2024, a garbage dump had already been documented in front of the same cultural center. Throughout this year, other complaints have highlighted the sanitary deterioration of Vedado.
In July, a fire consumed part of the landfill at the corner of 15 and K, near the national headquarters of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR), while that same month, the independent journalist Yoani Sánchez reported the open burning of waste in the neighborhood.
In October, the Cuban writer and art critic Jorge de Mello criticized how the sewage was flowing through the flowerbeds for months without any visible repairs.
The situation is part of a waste collection crisis affecting all of Havana, with a collection fleet impacted by diesel shortages and mechanical deterioration.
At the beginning of September, the authorities unveiled 20 trucks and more than 240 containers of Chinese manufacture, with an investment exceeding one million euros, although they acknowledged that these resources "are not the definitive solution."
The discontent has also been expressed on social media. "If Vedado is like this, how must the rest be?", a citizen asked weeks ago in response to images of garbage piling up in the crowded neighborhood. Another resident summarized her outrage with a more forceful statement: "What a lack of hygiene, Havana, Cuba, is turning into a trash heap."
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