Hotel Nacional De Cuba
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The Hotel Nacional de Cuba is a historic Spanish eclectic style hotel in
Havana, Cuba Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Vedado Vedado (, ) is a central business district and urban neighborhood in the city of Havana, Cuba. Bordered on the east by Calzada de Infanta and Centro Habana, Cuba, Central Havana, and on the west by the Alemendares River and Miramar, Havana, Mir ...
district, it stands on Taganana Hill, offering commanding views of the sea and the city.


History


Design and construction

The Hotel Nacional was designed by the New York architecture firm of
McKim, Mead and White McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm based in New York City. The firm came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in ''fin de siècle'' New York. The firm's founding partners, Cha ...
, financed by the
National City Bank of New York Citibank, N.A. ("N. A." stands for "National bank (United States), National Association"; stylized as citibank) is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of Citigroup, a financial services multinational corporation, multinational corporation. Ci ...
, and constructed in fourteen months by the U.S. engineering firm of
Purdy and Henderson Purdy and Henderson was a New York City-based engineering firm founded by Corydon Tyler Purdy and Lightner Henderson. They were active in the United States and Cuba between 1890 and 1944. Purdy and Henderson was founded in Chicago, and transferr ...
. The structure contains a mix of styles, including Sevillian,
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
,
Moorish The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defi ...
and
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
. The Palladian style entrance portic

has two stylized column capitals and quoins of coral stone. The layout of the Hotel Nacional is based on two Christian cross variants, Greek crosses, giving the majority of the rooms a view of the ocean. The 6 typical floors have 74 rooms and . of floor area. The eighth floor (top floor) has 66 rooms and an area of . The footprint of the building measures approximately 159 m x 81 m. The structure of the building is a steel frame, while the decorative elements including ground floor details, columns, wall facings, and much of the paving, are in coral stone.


Early operation

The hotel opened as The National Hotel of Cuba on December 30, 1930, operated by the American managers of the
Plaza Hotel The Plaza Hotel (also known as The Plaza) is a luxury hotel and condominium apartment building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the western side of Grand Army Plaza, after which it is named, just west of Fifth Avenue, ...
, Savoy-Plaza Hotel and Copley Plaza Hotel, at a time Cuba was a prime travel destination for people in the U.S. In 1933, after
Fulgencio Batista Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (born Rubén Zaldívar; January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician who played a dominant role in Cuban politics from his initial rise to power as part of the 1933 Revolt of t ...
's September 4 coup against the transitional government, The National Hotel was the residence of
Sumner Welles Benjamin Sumner Welles (October 14, 1892September 24, 1961) was an American government official and diplomat. He was a major foreign policy adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and served as Under Secretary of State from 1936 to 1943, dur ...
, a special envoy sent by U. S. President
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
to mediate the crisis. Soon after, on October 2–3, 1933, it was the site of a bloody siege that would become known as the Battle of the Hotel Nacional of Cuba. The conflict pitted officers of the Cuban army, holed up in the hotel, who had been instrumental in the overthrow of
Gerardo Machado Gerardo Machado y Morales (28 September 1869 – 29 March 1939) was a general of the Cuban War of Independence and President of Cuba from 1925 to 1933. Machado was elected president in 1924 as the leader of the Liberal Party, a moderate reform ...
but opposed Batista, against the non-commissioned officers and other ranks of the Cuban army, who supported Batista. Their successful assault on the hotel left over forty combatants dead and caused extensive damage to the building, including shell and bullet holes. The National Hotel was restored soon after and reopened. In 1939, it was renamed Hotel Nacional de Cuba. Chicago developer Arnold Kirkeby acquired the property in July 1943 and operated it for over a decade as part of his Kirkeby Hotels chain.


Havana conference

Beginning on December 20, 1946 the hotel hosted the Havana Conference, an infamous mob summit run by
Lucky Luciano Charles "Lucky" Luciano ( ; ; born Salvatore Lucania ; November 24, 1897 – January 26, 1962) was an Italian gangster who operated mainly in the United States. He started his criminal career in the Five Points Gang and was instrumental in the ...
and
Meyer Lansky Meyer Lansky (born Maier Suchowljansky; July 4, 1902 – January 15, 1983), known as the "Mob's Accountant", was an American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Lucky Luciano, Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the dev ...
and attended by Santo Trafficante Jr.,
Frank Costello Frank Costello (; born Francesco Castiglia ; January 26, 1891 – February 18, 1973) was an Italian-American crime boss of the Luciano crime family. Born in Italy, he moved with his family to the United States as a child. As a youth he joined N ...
, Albert Anastasia,
Vito Genovese Vito Genovese (; November 21, 1897 – February 14, 1969) was an Italian-born American ''American Mafia, mafioso'' and the leader of the Genovese crime family in New York City. A childhood friend and criminal associate of Lucky Luciano, Genovese ...
and many others.
Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola ( ; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...
dramatised the conference in his film ''
The Godfather Part II ''The Godfather Part II'' is a 1974 American epic film, epic crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, loosely based on the 1969 novel ''The Godfather (novel), The Godfather'' by Mario Puzo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Cop ...
''. Delegates were present representing New York City, New Jersey, Buffalo, Chicago, New Orleans and Florida, with the largest delegation of bosses from the New York-New Jersey area. Several major bosses from the Jewish Syndicate were at the conference to discuss joint La Cosa Nostra-Jewish Syndicate business. According to conference rules, the Jewish delegates could not vote on Cosa Nostra rules or policies; however, the Jewish crime bosses were allowed input on any joint business ventures, such as the Flamingo Hotel. Luciano opened the Havana Conference by discussing a topic that would greatly affect his authority within the American Mafia; the position of " capo di tutti capi" or "boss of all bosses". The last official boss of all bosses had been
Salvatore Maranzano Salvatore Maranzano (; July 31, 1886 – September 10, 1931), nicknamed Little Caesar, was an Italian-American mobster from the town of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, and an early Cosa Nostra boss who led what later would become the Bonanno cr ...
, who was murdered in September 1931. By the end of 1931, Luciano had eliminated this top position and re-organized the Italian mafia into "La Cosa Nostra", or "This Thing of Ours". A board of directors, commonly called the "Commission", had been formed to oversee criminal activities, control rules, and set policies. La Cosa Nostra thus became the top criminal organization within the
National Crime Syndicate The National Crime Syndicate was a multi-ethnic, closely connected, American confederation of several criminal organizations. It mostly consisted of and was led by the closely interconnected Italian American Mafia and Jewish Mob. It also involv ...
. Now Luciano could easily have declared himself as Maranzano's heir in 1932; instead, Luciano decided to exercise control behind the scenes. This arrangement had worked until Vito Genovese's return from Italy. Officially, Genovese was now just a caporegime; however, he had made it clear that he intended to take control of the Luciano crime family. Since Luciano's deportation in 1946, Luciano ally
Frank Costello Frank Costello (; born Francesco Castiglia ; January 26, 1891 – February 18, 1973) was an Italian-American crime boss of the Luciano crime family. Born in Italy, he moved with his family to the United States as a child. As a youth he joined N ...
had been the acting boss of the Luciano family. As a result, tensions between the Costello and Genovese factions had started to fester. Luciano had no intention of stepping down as family boss; he had to do something about Genovese. Luciano also realized that Genovese threatened his overall authority and influence within the American mafia, probably with support from other crime bosses. Therefore, Luciano decided to resurrect the boss of all bosses position and claim it for himself. He hoped the other bosses would support him, either by officially affirming the title or at least by acknowledging that he was still "First Amongst Equals". At the conference, Luciano allegedly presented the motion to retain his position as the top boss in La Cosa Nostra. Then Luciano ally, Albert "The Mad Hatter" Anastasia seconded the motion. Anastasia voted with Luciano because he felt threatened by Genovese's attempts to muscle in on his waterfront rackets. Checkmated by the Luciano-Costello-Anastasia alliance, Genovese was forced to swallow his ambitions and plan for the future. To further embarrass Genovese, Luciano encouraged Anastasia and Genovese to settle their differences and shake hands in front of the other bosses. This symbolic gesture was meant to prevent another bloody gang war such as the
Castellammarese War The Castellammarese War () was a bloody power struggle for control of the American Mafia between partisans of Joe "The Boss" Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano that took place in New York City from February 26, 1930, until April 15, 1931. The feu ...
of 1930–1931. With Luciano solidifying his personal position and squashing Genovese's ambition for now, Luciano brought up discussion of the mob's narcotics operations in the United States.


1950s heyday

In September 1955, Kirkeby Hotels Corp. sold the Hotel Nacional to a newly formed Cuban company, Corporacion Intercontinental de Hoteles, S.A., with
Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and more commonly known as Pan Am, was an airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States for ...
's Intercontinental Hotel Corp. division assuming partial ownership and also management of the property. Alphons Landa, a prominent Washington attorney, represented Pan Am and arranged for other clients and friends to acquire shares in the hotel's ownership at the same time. Dave Beck, President of the Teamsters and Roy Fruehauf of the
Fruehauf Trailer Corporation Fruehauf Trailer Corporation, previously Fruehauf Trailer Company (1918–1963) and Fruehauf Corporation (1963–1989), was an American company engaged in the manufacture and sale of truck Semi-trailer, trailers, and other machinery and equipment ...
were silent partners for at least two years. Fruehauf would sell his interest in the hotel in May 1957; other investors would lose everything when Castro came to power. Lansky planned to take a wing of the ten-storey hotel and create luxury suites for high-stakes gamblers. Batista endorsed Lansky's idea even though there were objections from American expatriates such as
Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...
. Under Lansky's impetus, a wing of the grand entrance hall was refurbished to include a bar, a restaurant, a showroom and a luxurious casino. It was operated by Lansky and his brother Jake, with
Wilbur Clark Wilbur Clark (December 27, 1908 – August 27, 1965) was an American casino owner and land developer in Las Vegas, Nevada. Early life Wilbur Clark was born on December 27, 1908, in Keyesport, Illinois. His parents were Shirley and Lulu Clark. Ca ...
as the front man. The new wing of the hotel, consisting of Wilbur Clark's
Casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...
Internacional, the adjoining Starlight Terrace Bar, and the Casino Parisién night club (home of the Famous Dancing Waters), opened in 1956 with a performance by
Eartha Kitt Eartha Mae Kitt (née Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer and actress. She was known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa Baby" ...
, who became the hotel's first black guest. The casino and clubs were an immediate success. According to an unpublished article sent to Cuban Information Archives around 1956–57, "The bar was tended by local bartenders, and the casino managed by gentlemen from Las Vegas." By the spring of 1957 the casino, sublet by the hotel for a substantial rent to Lansky, was bringing in as much cash as the biggest casinos in Las Vegas. In late 1958 the casino was sold to Michael McLaney and Carroll Rosenbloom.


Post-Cuban Revolution

Following the
Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...
in January 1959, Havana's casinos were briefly shut down, but were quickly reopened after protests by casino workers left out of work. The Nacional suffered heavy financial losses in the months that followed, and as a direct result, the Intercontinental Hotels division of PanAm reported a net loss of $154,000 in 1959, after reporting a profit of $200,000 in 1958.
Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...
nationalized the hotel in June 1960, seizing it from Intercontinental Hotels, which resulted in the hotel chain posting a net loss of $71,000 in 1960. Castro finally closed the casino in October 1960, almost two years after his overthrow of Batista. During the
Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis () in Cuba, or the Caribbean Crisis (), was a 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when American deployments of Nuclear weapons d ...
, anti-aircraft guns were set up on the site of the Santa Clara Battery and an extensive series of tunnels were built under the property, which are now open to the public on guided tours. After years of neglect due to the reduction in tourism following the revolution, the hotel was mainly used to accommodate visiting diplomats and foreign government officials. The collapse of the USSR in 1991 forced the Cuban communist party, anxious for
foreign exchange reserves Foreign exchange reserves (also called forex reserves or FX reserves) are cash and other reserve assets such as gold and silver held by a central bank or other monetary authority that are primarily available to balance payments of the country, ...
, to reopen Cuba to tourists. In September 1997, the hotel was the target of a bomb attack. The action was intended to hit tourism.


Famous guests

In 1956, singer
Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...
was contracted to perform in Cuba and wanted to stay at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba, but was not allowed to because the hotel was segregated. The hotel had earlier turned away black celebrities including
Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed "the Brown Bomber", Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He r ...
,
Marian Anderson Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897April 8, 1993) was an American contralto. She performed a wide range of music, from opera to spirituals. Anderson performed with renowned orchestras in major concert and recital venues throughout the United S ...
,
Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first Black American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the Baseball color line, ...
and
Josephine Baker Freda Josephine Baker (; June 3, 1906 – April 12, 1975), naturalized as Joséphine Baker, was an American and French dancer, singer, and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in France. She was the first Black woman to s ...
. Cole honored his contract, and the concert at the Tropicana was a huge success. The following year, he returned to Cuba for another concert, singing many songs in Spanish. There is now a tribute to him in the form of a statue and a jukebox in the Hotel Nacional.
Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...
stayed at the hotel just after the Revolution in 1960, with his wife, the philosopher,
Simone de Beauvoir Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (, ; ; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, nor was she ...
. The couple interviewed
Che Guevara Ernesto "Che" Guevara (14th May 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentines, Argentine Communist revolution, Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and Military theory, military theorist. A majo ...
, and Sartre wrote 'Sartre visits Cuba', which was published in Havana in 1961, narrating his experiences. The hotel has since named the room he stayed in after him. In its 80+ years of existence, the Hotel Nacional has had many important guests, including artists, actors, athletes and writers such as
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
, the
Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
and
Duchess of Windsor Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Spencer and then Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986) was an American socialite and the wife of Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor (former King Edward VIII). Their intenti ...
,
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
,
Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...
,
Ava Gardner Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' att ...
,
Rita Hayworth Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino; October 17, 1918May 14, 1987) was an American actress, dancer, and Pin-up model, pin-up girl. She achieved fame in the 1940s as one of the top stars of the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of ...
,
Mickey Mantle Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Mick" and "the Commerce Comet", was an American professional baseball player who played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York ...
, Johnny Weissmuller,
Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent films during the 1920s, in which he performed physical comedy and inventive stunts. He frequently ...
,
Jorge Negrete Jorge Alberto Negrete Moreno (; 30 November 1911 – 5 December 1953) was a Mexican singer and actor. He specialized in the musical genre of ranchera. His posthumous album "Fiesta Mexicana Volumen II" has been ranked by critics at No. 163 on t ...
,
Agustín Lara Ángel Agustín María Carlos Fausto Mariano Alfonso del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Lara y Aguirre del Pino (; ; October 30, 1897 – November 6, 1970), known as Agustín Lara, was a Mexican composer and performer of songs and boleros. He is rec ...
,
Rocky Marciano Rocco Francis Marchegiano (September 1, 1923 – August 31, 1969; ), better known as Rocky Marciano (, ), was an American professional boxer who competed from 1947 to 1955. He held the world heavyweight championship from 1952 to 1956, and re ...
,
Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include ''Jesse James (193 ...
,
Rómulo Gallegos Rómulo Ángel del Monte Carmelo Gallegos Freire (2 August 1884 – 5 April 1969) was a Venezuelan novelist and politician. In 1948, he became the first freely elected President of Venezuela, president in Venezuela's history. He was removed from ...
,
Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian and American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Oliv ...
,
John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...
,
Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however, Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...
,
Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, silent screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, ...
,
Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cinema actors of the 20th century,''Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia''
,
Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...
,
Yuri Gagarin Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who, aboard the first successful Human spaceflight, crewed sp ...
, scientist
Alexander Fleming Sir Alexander Fleming (6 August 1881 – 11 March 1955) was a Scottish physician and microbiologist, best known for discovering the world's first broadly effective antibiotic substance, which he named penicillin. His discovery in 1928 of wha ...
, Minnesota (United States) Governor
Jesse Ventura Jesse Ventura (born James George Janos; July 15, 1951) is an American politician, political commentator, actor, media personality, and retired professional wrestler. After achieving fame in the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), he ...
, and innumerable Ibero-American Heads of State and European monarchs.


Hill of Taganana

The Santa Clara Battery was built on top of a hill which was home to one of the most historic caves on the island. The hill of Taganana, located in the coastal outcrop of Punta Brava near the cove of San Lázaro took its name from a cavern in the
Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...
where the princess Guanche Cathaysa took refuge. She was captured and sold by the Castilians as a slave in 1494. The 7-year-old Guanche girl from Taganana (in Santa Cruz de Tenerife) was taken captive along with four other youngsters (Cathayta, Inopona, Cherohisa and Ithaisa). Cathayta was sold as a slave with her companions in Valencia, in April 1494. It is believed that after this she spent the rest of her life somewhere in Spain as a Menina for some woman of the Spanish high society. In Cuba, in a parallel legend that states that one of the caves under the Taganana hill served as a shelter for a Cuban Indian girl of the same name who fled from her Spanish persecutors. The Cuban novelist Cirilo Villaverde immortalized Guanche Cathaysa in his literary work, ''La Cueva de Taganana''.


Gallery

File:Hotel Nacional progress photo of construction.jpg, Progress photo of construction File:Havanna Hotel Nacional 1973 PD 1.jpg, Hotel Nacional de Cuba, 1973 Image:Hotel Nacional de Cuba La Habana.jpg, Hotel Nacional, January 2006 Image:Hotelnacionale.jpg, Hotel Nacional, January 2008 File:La havane hotel national hall.JPG, The lobby as seen in 2015


See also

*
Barrio de San Lázaro, Havana Barrio de San Lázaro is one of the first neighbourhoods in Havana, Cuba. It initially occupied the area bounded by Calle Infanta to the west, Calle Zanja to the south, Calle Belascoáin to the east, and the Gulf of Mexico to the north, formin ...
* FOCSA Building * Monument to the Victims of the USS ''Maine'' (Havana) * Purdy and Henderson, Engineers


References


External links


Hotel Nacional de Cuba official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hotel Nacional de Cuba 1930 establishments in Cuba 20th-century architecture in Cuba
Hotel Nacional de Cuba The Hotel Nacional de Cuba is a historic Spanish eclectic architecture, Spanish eclectic style hotel in Havana, Cuba, opened in 1930. Located on the sea front of Vedado district, it stands on Taganana Hill, offering commanding views of the sea an ...
Hotel buildings completed in 1930 Hotels established in 1930 Hotels in Havana Defunct casino hotels in Cuba