A resident of the Sevillano neighborhood in the Havana municipality of Diez de Octubre reported the accumulation of garbage in his area with a group of photographs that he ironically presented as a promotion for a supposed tourist destination.
Pablo Cruz posted the images on Thursday in the Facebook group "Sevillano Víbora Cuba," along with a sarcastic description of the dump, which he referred to as a place "where nature overflows (literally)."
"Tired of spas with crystal-clear waters and lavender scents? Then the municipal trash site 'El Charcón del Sevillano' is your ideal destination. Forget about wave pools: here we offer sewage water pools with a vintage aroma that lingers on your clothes for weeks," he wrote.
The photographs accompanying the text show a park covered with cardboard boxes, plastic bags, containers, and packaging materials, amidst overgrown weeds and a wet asphalt surface.
The post elicited reactions of humor and indignation among residents. "Beautiful dumpster. Olympic gold," responded one neighbor, while another sarcastically commented on the "epidemiological tourism" that the place offers.
"It's not a dump; it's a beach resort with a Swedish table included, a source of pride for our neighborhood and carefully protected by the local management," emphasized another forum member.
However, the comments made it clear that the issue goes far beyond that landfill. A resident reported the presence of sewage in the streets Josefina and Jorge, another dump on Gertrudis approaching Gelabert, and large piles of waste at the corner of Gertrudis and Anita, in front of Villa Marista, where vehicles have to drive onto the sidewalk to get through.
Other participants pointed out dumpsites in Anita and Úrsula, near the Amejeiras primary school, and along the Finlay line, from Diez de Octubre to Arroyo Naranjo.
Concerns about health consequences were also evident. "We feel shame and pain as residents of this Sevillian neighborhood. The indifference of the authorities who should be looking out for these matters is troubling. This is about the health of everyone here, especially our children," wrote a resident.
Another neighbor reported that after notifying the relevant authorities about sewage leaks, state workers demanded 130,000 pesos to carry out the repairs. The residents had to gather the money house by house before the service arrived.
"If they think we can live among garbage and decay, they consider us animals," summarized another participant, who extended the complaint to the rest of Havana.
The situation of the Sevillano is part of a waste collection crisis affecting the entire capital. In February, the government announced a plan with 49 measures to address the issue, and in September, it introduced 20 trucks and more than 240 containers made in China, with an investment exceeding one million euros.
However, the authorities themselves acknowledged that these resources "are not the definitive solution." Active landfills have multiplied in municipalities such as Boyeros, Centro Habana, San Miguel del Padrón, and La Habana Vieja.
The accumulation of waste has also fueled reports of rodent proliferation and other sanitary issues. Cuba ended 2025 with at least 81,909 official cases of dengue and chikungunya and 65 deaths, while between 2018 and 2022, leptospirosis caused 105 confirmed deaths in the country, 26 of them in Havana.
Due to deficiencies in the state service, the official newspaper Trabajadores suggested in October that Havana residents pay 100 pesos for each private garbage collection, an alternative that would transfer the cost of a service that is the responsibility of the authorities to the citizens.
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