The directors of the La Caridad theater in Santa Clara have been searching for years to get rid of the legion of adolescents, rockers, hippies, troubadours, delinquents, drunks and insomniacs who come every night to the famous “dry boardwalk”, the name given to the right side of the building.
In a meeting with leaders of the Communist Party and the provincial government, the disappearance of the La Marquesina bar, which occupied one of the corners of the building, was announced, and the foundation of a new establishment in the opposite corner, the Marta Café, destined to sweep away the “boardwalk” to undesirable night owls.
The measure tries to resolve an old tension: youth against bureaucracy, spontaneity against planning, civil space against possession of the State. Another aspect is also tried to be concealed, but without calling it by name: drugs are consumed on the side of the theater, people urinate in public, walls and bars that are patrimonial are vandalized, and prostitution and its international variant, horsemanship.
They try to hide another aspect, but without calling it by its name: drugs are consumed on the side of the theater, people urinate in public, walls and bars that are patrimonial are vandalized, and prostitution is practiced.
Founded 137 years ago by the benefactor from Villarreal Marta Abreu, the theater is one of the emblems of the city and the symbolic center of two cities: the daytime, characterized by sweaty pedestrians looking to board a bus or an electric motorcycle on their way to hospitals ; and the night, dominated by adolescents and young people from the Central University.
the guitars and downloads on the “malecón” they frequently give way to an early morning of hallucinogens and alcohol, bought from discreet dealers and tolerated by the Police, or obtained at El Mejunje, a recreational center two blocks from Parque Vidal.
In La Marquesina, an old symbol of the splendor of the city and its central square, local prostitutes often met with their almost elderly lovers, usually from Italy, Canada and Russia. On the prowl were also several youngsters, owners of gestures and passwords to indicate, in any language, their availability.
The directors of La Caridad assure that the transfer of the bar to the space of the “malecón” and the creation of a kind of museum in the place it occupies today will scare away the nocturnal horde. The Marta Café will be located in the premises of the old Artex store.
“What will happen when the cafeteria is on the other side?” asked the user Maritza Ramona Jaime: “We will take the walls anyway”
“The idea is not to give up that popular site,” assures the local newspaper Vanguard, but to “breathe new life into the place”. For its part, the “historical research” space will contain photos, posters, a model of the building and old programs of theatrical performances, as well as a sales space that will replace the Artex store.
“It was analyzed that there is much more shade on that side in the afternoon than on the opposite side,” said the official reporter Francisnet Díaz Rondón, alluding to the “malecón” and the need to “occupy it”. He regretted, however, that a space like La Marquesina, “one of the most bohemian in Santa Clara”, disappears.
The journalist’s reflections on the new measures provoked indignant comments from his readers. “They took the ‘malecón’ away from the young people, and now what’s next?” Asked a user. Another described the fact as “regrettable”, since La Marquesina was a place “of tradition” and the space occupied by young people the same.
“What will happen when the cafeteria is on the other side?” asked user Maritza Ramona Jaime: “We will take the walls anyway.”
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