Havana: La Habana

The cultural and architectural history of Havana are evoked in inspired photographs that show the remarkable variety of the city's styles: the academic classicism of aristocratic homes, rococo residential interiors, art deco and art nouveau buildings, the famous El Tropicana, and the stylistic amalgam of the Columbus Cemetery. With text in English and Spanish.

Although large in format and lush in appearance, this celebration of the Cuban capital's architecture should not be permitted to languish as a coffee-table book. Its gorgeousness is matched by its informativeness, for there is as much to learn from Stout's prose as there is to savor in Rigau's arresting photographs. Stout proclaims Havana a great city and proves that that is not just empty flattery. Through her expert guidance, we tour the neighborhoods, avoiding the public buildings and monuments to explore the wealth of architecture Habaneros live, play, and die amid--"houses and gardens, gas stations, cinemas, cemeteries, and the ever-present Havana barber shop." The distinctive Cuban architectural idiom--its sources, traits, and spectacular examples--is analyzed as a context for understanding Cuban history and culture, particularly the place music occupies in city life and the inpact on island customs made by blacks brought from Africa back in slave days. The book's pretty face can't hide its serious contribution to historical and cultural materials on Cuba. Brad Hooper

Havana, a city few of us have been able to visit, is reputedly one of the most beautiful cities in the Western Hemisphere. Photographer Stout (Great American Thoroughbred Racetracks, Rizzoli, 1991) and writer Rigau (Puerto Rico 1900, Rizzoli, 1992) have assembled a volume of magnificent images of Havana and its streets, spaces, and architecture. Spanish colonial architecture dominates, together with the unmistakable colors and styles of Caribbean design. The often stark photographs are notable for their sense of decay and for the absence of people. A Spanish translation of the text is included at the end of the volume. Essentially a picture book, this work is appropriate for public libraries.
Mary Margaret Benson, Linfield Coll. Lib., McMinnville, Ore.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.