Havana Ghost Tours --- When The Stars Come Out, So Do The Ghosts By Christian Rieger At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

See the Haunts of Old Havana with The Original Havana Ghost Tours, Havana Cuba's first ghost tour. Ghost Guides will introduce guests to the city's "other night life" as they walk through the shadowy, cobblestone streets and narrow lanes of this Grande Dame of the Caribbean.

The ghost tour walks amidst the city's most haunted places— the Cathedral, the waterfront, the battlements, the haunts where Hemingway imbibed spirits. Christopher Columbus' bones are said to rest in Havana. Does his restless spirit wander its streets? You shall find out.

Havana conjures up many images of its illustrious past — piracy, the Spanish Maine, Hollywood movie stars, the glamor of Café Society and the Mob in the 1940s and 1950s.

Its physical heritage is Spanish and its spiritual foundation is with the Indians that came before. This combining is reflected in her full name — San Cristobal de la Habana. It combines San Cristóbal, the city's patron saint, with Habana, a name of mysterious origins that is said to be the name of the daughter of a major chieftain, Habaguanex, who controlled the area. Is it her spirit that gives Havana her grace and beauty? The guides will reveal her story.

The Spanish monarchy gave the city the designation "Key to the New World and defender of the West Indies." A daunting name and responsibility for any political entity. It is here, in late summers, that the Spanish treasure ships gathered from around the Americas to sail as a convoy to the Old World, she was the hub of trade.

During this time she suffered regular attacks by buccaneers, pirates, and French corsairs looking for booty, and perhaps some chicas. The first attack and burning of the city was by the French corsair Jacques de Sores. He took the city with only two ships. He plundered the city and murdered 30 elders and blacks who were imprisoned. He left without obtaining the enormous wealth that he was hoping to. Are the spirits of the prisoners still there bemoaning their odd fate at the hands of a stranger? Are the ghosts of the Spanish Colonial Guards still riding the streets at night to protect the citizens of this fabled city? You shall find out.

But for many Americans it is the 1950s whose image is best known. It was the time before Castro's revolution, a time when the mob nested in Havana. Names like Meyer Lansky, Lucky Luciano and Santo Trafficante hob-nobed with the Hollywood elite — Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner, Marlene Dietrich and Gary Cooper. Their memories, if not their spirits, still haunt this fabled city.

Great old buildings like the Convent of St Augustin, El Morro Castle, the chapel of the Humilladero, the fountain of Dorotea de la Luna in La Chorrera, the Church of the Holy Angel, the hospital of San Lazaro, the monastery of Santa Teresa and the Convent of San Felipe Neri keep her steeped in tradition and rich in spirits.

The Ghosts wish to introduce you to the Havana of years gone by — and of the spirit-rich nights of the here and now.

Join the Guides and Ghosts in Havana when Congress lifts the ban on American Travel to our sister country to the south — ninety miles from Key West.

Muchísimas Gracias, Señoras y Señores,
Los Fantasmas de La Vieja Havana

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