Two Paths for Havana

Two Paths for Havana

by Carlos Rodríguez Estévez [UPM]

Screenshot of the movie

Source: Squint Opera

During the last couple of years, the group Friends of Havana have been encouraging one noble idea: To help find a balance in Havana’s future urban transformations that preserve its assets, and perhaps, helps it become a model city for the rest of the world. The production of a short animation to visualize these possible futures is one of the main initiatives of this group to put the word out there.

Moving images have been, for over a century now, a powerful tool to communicate ideas and engage any kind of audience. That is the purpose of this video, to illustrate the principles behind the vision of a coalition of mainly Cuban planners, and engage decision-makers in a conversation about the future transformations of the Capital of the island.

The film intends to show two possible paths for the city. The first one visualizes a chaotic future, with a dramatically increased use of the automobile, speculative developments and the lack of any economic strategy. Then, an alternative path reveals a future with an equitable and sustainable transportation system, new developments emerge in balance with the preservation of the existing heritage; and all of these obviously after rooting the city’s economic future on its unique cultural and people-centered assets.

During the last decade, it has become evident that Havana is about to face a series of urban planning choices that will make a defining impact on its built environment, infrastructure, and livability. The planners and officials from Havana and Cuba must lead the city together towards a sustainable and consciously planned future, or otherwise, opt for the chaotic development that has been evident in many other global cities. The Cuban capital is sort of an unpolished jewel that can leapfrog over urban mistakes made during most of the second half of the 20th century.

These were solid reasons for Friends of Havana to catalyze the organization of a workshop held there in February of 2017. The event brought together international and local experts and officials to discuss a vision for the future of the city that took into consideration economic aspects, transportation and infrastructure issues, and also preservation, architecture, and community-led planning. But one imminent conclusion came out of the meeting: the need to disseminate the ideas behind these findings to continue the discussions and broaden what the coalition built during the workshop. Thus, the group identified as the first follow-up project to provide the necessary tools for this dialogue: a short video and an executive summary of the proceedings that could be shared by Cuban planners with other agencies and governmental decision-makers.

My workstation at Squint Opera’s Studios.

Photo: Carlos Rodríguez Estévez.

Currently, I am still involved in the production of this film, which is taking place in the headquarters of Squint Opera, a creative company based in London that has been very successful in working with media addressing the built environment. This project represents their first one contextualized in Havana, even though they have a broad list of clients that range from leading architecture firms to government and grassroots institutions. Since the very initial stages of this production, there has been intense feedback between the Cuban leaders of the event and the filmmakers. The team has also rehearsed about a dozen versions that started with live footage and evolved into a vibrant fully animated 3-minute video, to finally begin spreading the word during the fall of 2018. I have been able to participate in almost every stage of the production: From the initials meetings, playing the role of an ambassador between the Cuban planning officials and the team of filmmakers; during the shootings or producing the scripts -a cameo was once considered for one of the initial versions. And while these lines are written, I have been directing and animating some shots for the film, making sure the film represents the city’s possible future paths.

There is a lot to say, but little time in which to say it. It is crucial that this piece of animation becomes a sharp, sensitive and encouraging message that engages all the possible forces to help Havana be preserved and become an exemplary city of this century.