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In the Museum of the City (formerly the Palace of the Captains-General).
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This was the flag of the Voluntarios, the lawless, loyalist paramilitaries who cooperated with Spanish troops during the wars of independence.
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In the old town.
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The bodegas have existed since the colonial period: a neighborhood general store. These are now the outlets at which people buy their rations of food and other basic goods.
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Here is the current schedule of rations.
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In the Plaza de San Francisco de Asís.
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Looking away from the Plaza back towards the bodega.
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In front is the church of San Francisco.
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Capitalism penetrating.
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Habana Vieja reminds me a lot of what I've seen of Cartagena, Colombia, the "city of balconies". (Both are UN World Heritage sites.)
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In the Plaza de la Catedral.
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The Cathedral. Cuban writer Alejo Carpentier described it as "music set in stone".
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The ramparts of San Carlos de la Cabaña.
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I think this probably used to be a moat.
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The famous rounded turrets of Spanish fortifications. Look at the space in between the "teeth" of the wall. You can see the space is shaped like a V with the narrow point on the inside of the wall, to give the defender a greater field of fire. You also get a kind of idea of how thick the walls are, if you can see the channel in between the teeth of the wall.
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