El Cristo is a very famous statue of Christ in Havana that faces the city from the little municipality of Casablanca, right across the bay. This 20 mt Carrara marble sculpture has been watching Havana’s day and night since 1958.

If you enjoy photography, this is  one of the places where you can have a spectacular view of Havana closer to dark and really early in the morning when the water of the bay is calm and the light is marvellous. I have seen wonderful pictures of the golden light that bathes the whole city, as if the city was enchanted and not one single brick of it could fall apart or look semi-destroyed. Incomparable!

The place tends to be very crowded with locals on weekend nights but if you go Monday to Thursday you can find a lot of peace there. Depends on what you are looking for.

I have a very good friend who has to cross the bay every morning to get to work and I envy the view that the little trip allows him to see everyday at 7am.

Looking at the city from the statue’s side and with the love that corresponds I dare to say that my city is the most beautiful place on Earth. Well, I agree, we have Europe, but for an islander that has grown up surrounded by water for over 20 years Havana has been my Caribbean Paris and Madrid. 🙂