LAS «LOMAS» DE LA VÍBORA, LOS BALCONES NATURALES DE LA HABANA.
LA CONEXIÓN CATALANA. En la Víbora de los años 30 y 40 las lomas estaban entre los terrenos más caros de La Habana. Como en la antigua Roma fundada sobre 7 colinas, la Habana no podía ser menos y contaba con 7 en la Víbora y así se llamaban: El Timón, El Mazo, Chaple o Luz, Joaquín, El Burro, El Limón y Jesús del Monte. En sus inicios urbanísticos estuvieron destinados a acoger a ciertos representantes de lo mejor de la sociedad habanera, no tanto de la alta burguesía como de la élite intelectual.
Desde comienzos de siglo, la Loma del Mazo se fue llenando de bellas edificaciones en orden disperso por ejemplo la casa de Nicolás… More
In the Viper of the 30 s and 40 s, the lomas were among the most expensive grounds in Havana. As in ancient Rome founded on 7 hills, Havana could not be less and had 7 in the Viper and so were called: The Timon, El Mazo, Chaple or Luz, Joaquin, El Donkey, El Lemon and Jesus of Mt. In its urban beginnings they were destined to host certain representatives of the best of Habanera society, not so much of the high bourgeoisie as of the intellectual elite.
From the beginning of the century, the Loma del Mazo was filled with beautiful buildings in order scattered for example the house of Nicol áss Rivero (in the street Luz Caballero, between Carmen and Sponsorship), director of ′′ El Diario de la Marina «, the Spanish favorite newspaper in Cuba. This home was built in 1911 and originally only had a garage plant and a gazebo-shaped terrace. In the 30 s, Nicolas’s grandson Pep ínn Rivero extended the house by adding another plant.
Very close, in 1916, the house ′′ Don ′′ Celso Gonz ález Niarra, a trader dedicated to trafficking in cattle was built. The pursuit of comfort is evident in the conception of this home that retains fragmentation of the typical space of eclectic constructions.
A few hundred meters is the house
de D ámaso Gutiérrez, rich textile merchant who feeds the desires of many lovers of art of the century and many museum conservatives. The portal’s capitals and cornices, the balustrade of terraces, ramps and iron staircase maintain a strong influence from Catalan Modernism while hiding a touch of neo-silver inspired by the Spanish Casino in Prado. You could say that this building is the manifesto of Catalan Modernism in Cuba: the ornamentation of the facade could read the inscription ′′ Merced ′′ in honor of the patronage of Barcelona. Built in 1913, this house has great interest in both the conditions of its construction and its own aesthetic qualities. Work by Catalan master Mario Rotllant, attributed in archives to Alberto de Castro, the official author of other simpler neighborhood residences and eclectic style. De Castro had graduated as master of works in 1884 and had the power to sign architectural projects, which no other than Rotllant could do. They were not recognized by the College of Architects.
The further use of Damaso Gutiérrez’s house is iconic of the neighborhood’s particular destination. Purchased in 1940 by Hilda Christ of the Mace, in 1950 it became a pedagogical institution, the Caribbean Military Academy, moved to Washington early in the Revolution. Later, like many such mansions, it was used as offices or warehouses. Her facade (if it’s not another luck right now) looks leper and unfortunate.
But the ultra urban and social non plus of the Viper is undisputedly concentrated in the former San Francisco estate of Assisi, distributed by Eduardo Chaple (the municipal permit dates back to April 7, 1914) who left it his name. As a small Montmartre Habanero, the Chaple Loma is composed of just a dozen concentric streets bordered by charming and opulent mansions, of which the best placed have viewpoints. The bars of the entrance gates of these houses often specify the name they are known under, which was usually the name of the owner’s wife as the villa Gloria, one of the most ostentatious on the hill, built for the lawyer Alcazar as well as Juanita and Placencia villages. The particularity of these ′′ villas ′′ of the Viper as opposed to the aristocratic ′′ fifths ′′ of the Cerro is worth stressing. The ′′ villages ′′ evoked an aspiration for the bucolic, a delightfully country charm that only bourgeois civilization is able to fantasize, even if these mansions were gifted with all the modern comfort imaginable for the time.
On April 1, 1923, Bohemia magazine launches the article ′′ Vibore ñasas «. The neighborhood is thus integrated into the festive life of Havana with its societies dances, its performances of circus, theatre and film (Noting that the first film studio of Cuba was located on the Jes Jesúss del Monte Road) as well as the balloon ascensions. Extracted from the book ′′ La Havane. Quartier de lumi ère «. Edit. Telleri
Posted by Roberto Hernandez Traba ·