The housing situation in Cuba is critical, with residential buildings collapsing under the weight of storms, lack of maintenance and years of neglect.
The house on Villegas Street, in the heart of Old Havana, looks nothing like the stately two-story home it used to be a century ago, with its high ceilings, wrought iron railings, semicircular arches and stairs covered in white marble. Its former elegance is such that local lore says it used to belong to a marquise. Today, everything inside the six-family unit is chaos. The roots of a tree protrude through the wall of a makeshift toilet where birds have made their nests. The roof is propped up.
All of the residents say the building once belonged to the Marquise of Pinar del Río, a title granted by the Spanish crown when the island was part of its domains. The Associated Press could not verify that, but its elegant design is visible. Nowadays, everything smells of mold. The AP interviewed all the residents of the building except an elderly man who was temporarily staying in a relative’s house.
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