Cuban Architect Describes Havana as a "Bombed-Out City"

Cuban architect Ileana Pérez Drago, an expert in architectural restoration and a former collaborator with Havana's Historian's Office, offered a stark depiction of Cuba's capital: "Photos of Havana resemble a bombed-out city, as if a war has occurred."

Currently residing in Miami, Pérez Drago has been involved in colonial restoration projects in Cuba. She shared her insights during an interview focused on the potential urban reconstruction of the country amid a possible political shift.

To illustrate the extent of the decay, she recounted an anecdote from over 30 years ago, when she presented slides of Havana at a restoration course in Italy. Another attendee showcased images of bombed Lebanese areas. The similarities were striking. "I began my talk by saying, well, this isn't the result of a war, and people laughed because what I showed looked just like Lebanon," she recalled.

Structural Concerns and Urban Decay

Alarmingly, that was three decades ago, and "now everything is much worse," Pérez Drago warned.

She pinpointed Old Havana and Central Havana as the regions with the most severe structural issues, while provinces are, as she put it, "less bad" than the capital. "There's a general collapse in the country, and architecture is no exception," she stated.

Statistics paint a grim picture: approximately 1,000 buildings collapse annually in Havana, the national housing deficit exceeds 900,000 units, and 35% of existing structures are in fair or poor condition.

Resistance to Relocation

While working on architectural surveys in Old Havana, residents often confronted her. "Sometimes people got a bit upset and you'd have to leave because there was so much documentation happening while their homes were falling apart," she shared.

One of the most pressing issues is the reluctance of residents to leave homes at risk of collapse. "There's always been resistance to leaving because people know they'll face years in shelters," she explained.

Families hope the buildings will hold up as they have for decades without maintenance. "They've managed for 67 years sometimes without fixing a leak. But everything has a limit, and many homes haven't held up, leading to fatalities."

Tragic Consequences

This tragedy has real faces. In November 2025, a mother and her son died in a building collapse on Compostela Street in Old Havana. In August of that year, a worker was killed under the rubble of a collapsed roof in Central Havana. And in January 2026, two collapses within 24 hours shook Muralla and Teniente Rey streets, also in Old Havana.

Those who escape these dangerous buildings face harsh realities. Evacuated families find themselves in makeshift shelters and government offices lacking basic services, perpetuating the cycle: people prefer to risk staying in precarious buildings rather than endure years in such conditions.

Pérez Drago was clear about the recovery prospects: "Cuba's problems are so extensive that it’s unrealistic to think they can be resolved in a year or two."

She estimates that a full reconstruction of the housing stock will require at least 15 years of sustained effort, involving both local and international teams and stringent regulations that are currently absent.