“A piece of the balcony came loose and a stone fell on her, sending her rolling to the edge of the sidewalk,” says a neighbor.
14ymedio, Havana, 28 September 2025 — A balcony on San Lázaro Street, between Hospital and Espada streets in Central Havana, collapsed this Saturday and fell on a woman who was passing by the block at the time. “The girl was about 40 years old. A piece of the balcony came loose, and a rock fell on her, knocking her to the edge of the sidewalk,” a neighborhood resident told 14ymedio, adding that the debris is still visible in the street.
“A friend helped her up and left with her. Rumors spread that she was dead, but then the police came and said she was alive and in the hospital. It was learned that she lives on Infanta and is from this area, but I don’t know who she is,” the resident adds. She explains that the residents of San Lázaro are alarmed by the condition of the buildings on the street, which periodically collapse.
“Where the stones fell, many elderly people are always sitting, but this time it was a miracle they didn’t die. They were already gone when the balcony collapsed,” she says, although she fears that the next time a balcony or part of a facade collapses, the residents won’t be so lucky.
“At any moment, Old Havana will be like a desert, nothing but dust, except for the Capitol and the hotels, which are the only things that are repaired annually.”
The neglect, the salt air, and lack of resources of the residents of San Lázaro have turned the avenue into an example of the capital’s already unsalvageable architecture. Untouched by the restoration of the historic center and somewhat removed from the more modern neighborhood of El Vedado, the buildings along the artery that runs parallel to the sea are clearly beyond repair.
On social media, some residents also reported the collapse, sparking criticism of the government, which has abandoned the neighborhood and other areas of the capital to their fate. “At any moment, Old Havana will be left like a desert, nothing but dust, except for the Capitol and the hotels, which are the only things they repair annually.”
Other commentators described the problem as just another of the daily hardships Havana residents face. “The situation we have here in Havana is deplorable. The filth eating away at us from all sides, the desperation, the lack of electricity, the hunger, the misery, people dying, children without food, and the elderly yearning for a little attention and help.”
“Where the stones fell, there are always many old people sitting, who this time did not die thanks to miracle.”
Last August, another elderly woman was injured after a building partially collapsed on Reina Street , between Manrique and San Nicolás, also in Central Havana. The woman was hospitalized, and nearly 15 families were left homeless, with their furniture and appliances scattered in the street.
That night, most of them had to spend it outdoors, and, according to one of those affected, who spoke to this newspaper, on that first day, “no one came” from the government to check on their situation.
A few weeks earlier, a building on the corner of San Rafael and Galiano streets in the same municipality partially collapsed, killing an employee of the Café Boulevard, located on the ground floor. The collapse of part of the roof trapped several people. According to neighbors who spoke to 14ymedio at the time , the building has a tenement apartment on its upper floor, which suffers from infrastructure problems and overcrowding. Part of the roof collapsed on the employees, and one of them died beneath the rubble. The entire block where the building is located shows alarming signs of deterioration and lack of maintenance.
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