The holes that are now expanding aggressively across the bay’s promenade are not just a problem for pedestrians, they’re a symbol of the city’s decay.
14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Ciénfuegos, 26 July 2024 – The collision of the sea against the Ciénfuegos esplanade, along with too many years of neglect, has resulted in the continuing appearance of new holes in the surface of the promenade, as confirmed by 14ymedio this Thursday. The official press informed of this with alarm on Wednesday, by explaining that the sea has begun to “take back” its territory in Jagua Bay.
Built in the nineteenth century and based on the Havana Malecón model, the Ciénfuegos malecón (esplanade/promenade) lived through the town’s magnificent years which advanced with gigantic economical steps and Ciénfuegos was on the point of becoming one of the most beautiful and cosmopolitan cities in Cuba – if it hadn’t been for the sudden emergency stop that came about in the middle of the twentieth century, with the triumph of the Revolution.
The holes that are now expanding aggressively across the bay’s promenade are not just a problem for pedestrians, they’re a symbol of the city’s decay, and this is the manner in which the residents experience it – residents who have witnessed how, with the discontinuance of pavement-repairs, the potholes have begun to fill up with soft-drink and beer cans, along with other rubbish.
“This stretch of the esplanade has deteriorated a lot. People have complained to the government many times but they haven’t solved the problem, which gets worse over time and with the moisture and the rubbish which accumulates”, explains Orlando to 14ymedio – a health worker who passes this deteriorated part of Calle 37 opposite Radio Ciudad del Mar twice every day on his route to and from work.
“Those holes are dangerous, especially at night-time during the weekend when the promenade is full of youngsters. The street lighting isn’t good and anyone could trip up or fall into one of the cracks”. The official press agrees with Orlando and recognises that the night-time lighting is “rather precarious at present”.
“Even the candy sellers that pass by have their own rechargeable lamps, it’s so dark round here”, says the Cienfuegero. The drainage in the area, which gets constant impact from the sea, as well as downpours and storms, even that isn’t in the best condition. “If we get just a couple of drops of rain here, everything is flooded”, he says.
Despite the fact that “the location isn’t for parties”, says Orlando, when school term ended the promenade regained a bit of life and the kids of the city got together to listen to music or have a drink – despite the prices – in the nearby cafés, such as La Criollita, La Sureñita, or El Rápido.
“That’s why it’s so sad that the footpath on the promenade is in this condition because the majority of city life revolves around it”, adds Orlando, though he accepts that the solution is not a simple one. “It’s normal for the sea and salt to deteriorate structures, that’s why they need to have constant maintenance. However, it’s many years since there was even the smallest amount of maintenance work carried out, so now, if they’re going to do anything they’ll have to do it properly, because if they don’t, in a few months it will be just the same or even worse than it is now”, he concludes.
The promenade has not only lost bits of its actual structure, but also its life. Nancy, another Cienfuegera and a housewife, remembers the days when the fishermen, who were an emblematic image of life in the bay, would sit and wait for a fish to take the bait on their lines. “Not only is the water really dirty but the poor anglers have had to leave this area because of the new fishing regulations. Many have moved to other parts to avoid the fines and the inspectors”, she grumbles.
Also, the increased price of refreshments in local establishments has made them inaccessible. “You need to be carrying at least a thousand pesos to be able to sit in a bar and have a drink, or spend some time with your partner”, she says.
For Nancy, to watch how this area is dying – an area which so many Cienfuegeros have passed through, which has been for generations a place of meeting and of celebration, where years ago she herself had her first date – it’s to watch a part of her own memory disappear. “Every crack in the esplanade is a crack in the very identity of the Cienfuegeros themselves”.
Translated by Ricardo Recluso
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