Havana – Museo de la Cuidad

This museum started out to be like a lot of other museums in Havana – a grand old building left over from colonial times that has been transformed in an unconvincing way into a modern museum. That was, however, until I met the sassy staff.

The museum is housed in a lovely old building on Plaza de Armas. This building was built by the Spanish as the Governor’s residence. It follows the classic Spanish template – fancy front and a large courtyard in the middle.

The contents of the museum is a bit lacking in interest. It’s a whole bunch of miscellaneous junk that has been clumped together for want of a better place to put it. Wandering around is very dull. For a museum of the city, it didn’t have that much useful information on the history of the museum. It was mostly a whole bunch of military stuff – uniforms and cannons and such. Yawn.

When I reached the top floor at the back, however, things changed dramatically. There were two bored looking women sitting outside one of the rooms. I wasn’t sure if it was opened and walked straight passed. The ladies called me back. This is where the fun started.

These ladies, one in particular, was a total flirt. Once I walked in, she shut and locked the door behind us! Oh my, what had I got myself into! Luckily, she was just having a bit of fun. In baby Spanish so I could follow, she pointed out all the artefacts in the room. Unlike the other rooms, this one had some good stuff in it. It has the very first Cuban flag and a series of important portraits.

But that wasn’t what the ladies were interested in. Through my dodgy Spanish, I could tell she was saying “You’re sexy” and “Pretty man”. She was also leading me around by the arm and squeezing my biceps. Such a flirt!

At the back of the room, was some historic boat behind a velvet rope. She wanted me to get a photo, so she pulled back the velvet rope and insisted I go and have a proper look. Sassy
AND helpful!

I thanked the ladies for their help and started to walk out. The lady looked upset, so she grabbed my hand and started strutting down the room humming the wedding march! She was such a character, I had a smile on my face for the rest of the day!

So, the museum is a bit dull, but the ladies are a lot of fun! Oops, that sounds a bit sordid! Oh well, it is Havana after all!