Former WSN deputy photo editor Ben Norman recently returned from studying in Cuba. His photo essay explores a colorful niche in Havana culture.
"El Malecon" in Havana is an 8 km stretch of cement seawall spanning from one side of the city to the other. Many people say that it's both a help and a hindrance; it protects the city and its inhabitants from weather, but prevents them from leaving the area.
Regardless, it is the heart and soul of Havana. There is no other place in the city where you will find, at any given moment, a more diverse group of Cubans and foreigners in the same place. During the day, you are almost guaranteed to come upon fisherman, young couples (foreign and local) and a musician or two, often in the same area.
It is at night, however, when the true character of the Malecon comes out. Fueled by the ridiculously cheap, yet incredible rum, the music gets louder, the romantic petting gets less secret and a whole different group of Cubans come out of the woodworks.
This group is comprised of homosexuals and transsexuals that descend upon a three-block stretch of the Malecon, ironically very near to what many consider to be the best hotel in the city, the Hotel Nacional. They come to hang out, find out where the parties are and hook up. The police are present, but for the most part, the government ignores the happenings. For many of the people who show up to this section of the Malecon, it is their only chance to fully express themselves during the week.
