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Tourism Refunctionalization of the Historical Center In Article Mercator, Fortaleza, v.19 , e19020, 2020. ISSN:1984-2201 TOURISM REFUNCTIONALIZATION OF THE HISTORICAL CENTER IN OLD HAVANA https://doi.org/10.4215/rm2020.e19020 María Karla Hernández González ᵃ* - Maria Tereza Duarte Paes ᵇ (a) Master in Geography. Master's degree at the State University of Campinas, UNICAMP, Brazil. ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7960-7507. LATTES: http://lattes.cnpq.br/3903724795068784. (b) PhD in Social Sciences. Professor at the State University of Campinas, São Paulo (SP), Brazil. ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0632-1521. LATTES: http://lattes.cnpq.br/2575223542516645. Article history: (*) CORRESPONDING AUTHOR Received 30 June, 2020 Address: UNICAMP. Rua Carlos Gomes, nº 250, Cidade Universitária, CEP: Accepted 05 August, 2020 Publisher 15 September, 2020 13083855, Campinas, São Paulo (SP), Brazil.Tel: (19) 35214570. E-mail: [email protected] Abstract This paper deals with tourism refunctionalization in the Old Town in Havana, which was marked by two fundamental events: the City Center (Old Havana) and its Fortification System were declared World Cultural Heritage sites by the UNESCO in 1982, a fact that bestowed international visibility to the architectural ensemble, and the government decision on cultural tourism development in this area from 1993 on, thus, making these historical sites attractive for commercialization and aggravating socio-spatial contradictions. The study, which comprised a literature review, documentary research and an analysis of empirical results, aimed at evaluating the renewal of urban landscape, displacement of a part of the low-income population, arrival of the Cuban middle class and revaluation of housing, albeit informal. These facts highlight that there is a growing gentrification process taking place in the Historical Center of Old Havana. Keywords: Cultural Heritage, Tourism Refunctionalization, Historical Center, Old Havana. Resumo / Resumen REFUNCIONALIZAÇÃO DO TURISMO DO CENTRO HISTÓRICO DA ANTIGA HAVANA Este artigo trata da refuncionalização turística do Centro Histórico de Havana Velha, marcada por dois eventos fundamentais: a declaratória do Centro e do sistema defensivo da cidade a Patrimônio Cultural da Humanidade (UNESCO), em 1982, que conferiu visibilidade internacional ao conjunto e, a decisão governamental de desenvolver o turismo cultural nesta área, a partir de 1993, tornando a zona histórica atrativa para a comercialização, agudizando as contradições socioespaciais. Por meio de revisão bibliográfica, de pesquisa documental e de análise de resultados empíricos, avaliamos a renovação da paisagem urbana, os deslocamentos de uma parte da população de baixa renda, a chegada das classes médias cubanas e a revalorização, mesmo que informal, das moradias. Esses fatos apontam a existência de um processo de gentrificação emergente no Centro Histórico de Havana Velha. Palavras-chave: Patrimônio Cultural; Refuncionalização Turística; Centro Histórico; Havana Velha. REFUNCIONALIZACIÓN DEL TURISMO EN EL CENTRO HISTÓRICO DE LA VIEJA HABANA Este artículo aborda la refuncionalización turística del Centro Histórico de la Habana marcada por dos eventos fundamentales: la declaratoria del Centro y del sistema defensivo de la ciudad como Patrimonio Cultural de la Humanidad (UNESCO), en 1982, hecho que le otorgó visibilidad internacional al conjunto y, la decisión gubernamental de desarrollar el turismo cultural en esta área, a partir de 1993, potenciando la atractividad de la zona histórica para su comercialización, hecho que agudizó las contradicciones socioespaciales. En este artículo, por medio de revisión bibliográfica, de investigación documental y del análisis de resultados empíricos, evaluamos la renovación del paisaje urbano, los desplazamientos de una parte de la población de menores ingresos, la llegada de la clase media cubana y la revalorización, incluso cuando es informal, del precio de las casas. Hechos que señalan la existencia de un proceso de gentrificación emergente en el Centro Histórico de la Habana Vieja. Palabras-clave: Patrimonio Cultural, Refuncionalización turística, Centro Histórico, Habana Vieja. This is an open access article under the CC BY Creative Commons license 1/15 Copyright © 2020, Universidade Federal do Ceará. María Karla Hernández González - Maria Tereza Duarte Paes INTRODUCION Touristification of some historical centers in Latin America has been related to the fact that they were designated World Cultural Heritage sites by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It has highlighted the relation between world heritage and tourism as an integrated logics of visibility and consumption of those places. UNESCO’s declaration ensures international notoriety to sites, aggregates economic value to assets and attracts both investments and tourists; it happened to Latin-American cities which have World Cultural Heritage sites (DELGADILLO, 2015). This paper analyses the Historical Center in Old Havana, an area with several historical buildings, a fortification system from the colonial period and many public spaces which were designated UNESCO World Cultural Heritage sites in 1982. Cuba, a socialist republic which has been under the USA commercial embargo since 1958, has implemented restructuring processes of urban space to adapt the central area in Havana to international tourism, a contradictory process of appropriation and use of urban space in the Latin-American context. Results were based on a literature review on tourism, cultural heritage and gentrification mainly produced by Latin-American authors, documentary research on the recovery of the Historical Center in Old Havana and tourism in the area between 1990 and 2018 (maps and photographs provided by Proyectos RESTAURA, 2017), sites available at the Oficina del Historiador de la Ciudad - Emisora Habana Radio, Habaguanex S.A, Revista Opus Habana, the Plan Maestro (2004; 2006; 2016), laws on urban regulations of the Historical Center and the Plan Especial de Desarrollo Integral 2030 (2016), Cuban statistical annuals – issued by the Oficina Nacional de Estadísticas (ONE) –, which refer to international tourism in Cuba from 1990 to 2015 and from 2015 to 2018 and digital data and documents issued by the UNESCO – related to the Historical Center in Old Havana – and by the Consejo Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural del Ministerio de Cultura. In order to give voice to local people, fieldwork was carried out in the Historical Center in Old Havana between August and September 2018, i. e., semi-structured interviews were made with some groups that live in the area, such as local residents, civil servants, workers or owners of private businesses and employees or technicians that work in heritage and tourism management centers. Twenty-two people were interviewed about several themes, such as implications of the process of tourism refunctionalization of cultural heritage (AUTHOR 2, 2012); residents’ displacement towards areas out of the Center; arrival of the Cuban middle class to the area; and positive and negative aspects of tourism opening (AUTHOR 1, 2019). Interviews were analyzed by the ATLAS.ti software program. Besides, guided observation and a photographic survey aimed at identifying and registering the population’s life conditions (housing, services, public equipment), tourism infrastructure (hotels, restaurants, nightclubs) and characteristics of private businesses in the area THE HISTORICAL CENTER IN OLD HAVANA: FROM RECOVERY TO TOURISM REFUNCTIONALIZATION Havana was found in 1519 in the area that has been known as the Historical Center in Old Havana. Its buildings had a ground floor with an internal patio, large gates, ceramic decorations, military fortifications, churches and squares (PLAN MAESTRO, 2004). It became the capital of the island in 1607, due to its location in the bay, a key port for relations between the New and the Old Continent (LEAL, 2004). The fortification system, which comprised the Castillo de la Real Fuerza, the Castillo de Los Tres Reyes del Morro and the Castillo de San Salvador de la Punta from the 16th century and the Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña and the Muralla de La Habana, from the 17th century, protected the city against privateers and pirates. Afterwards, aiming at beautifying the city and creating spaces for Spanish religious orders (PLAN MAESTRO, 2004), the colonizers built some of their marks, such as the Convento de San Agustín, the Ermita del Humilladero, the Iglesia del Santo Ángel Custodio, the Monasterio de Santa Teresa and the Convento de San Felipe Neri (LEAL, 2004). Besides, they created the five fundamental squares, public Mercator, Fortaleza, v.19 , e19020, 2020. ISSN:1984-2201 2/15 TOURISM REFUNCTIONALIZATION OF THE HISTORICAL CENTER IN OLD HAVANA spaces of everyday life. The Villa invested in cultural buildings, in the railway and in elite residential neighborhoods that led to population exodus and enabled the center to take on an industrial function between the 18th and the 19th centuries (PLAN MAESTRO, 2004). The country was involved in three independentist wars, but its goal was frustrated when the USA entered the war in 1898; Cuba, which was a Spanish colony, became a North-american neocolony, even though it had become a republic in 1902. The country changed owners, as well as interests. Havana, which is the result of the mixture of Spanish white people, African black people, Cuban aborigines and, later, criollos, has kept its marks in constructions crystallized in space and time,
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