Hamel: Something More than a Street Name
The Hamel Alley, located in Centro Habana, is an iconic place in Havana city
By Ana Margarita Sánchez Soler asanchez@enet.cu
The drumming at the sun light shows that there are celebrations. We could think that some special event is being taking place; but not necessarily. Those that resound are drums announcing the joy of living and the desire to go into our deepest roots. The Hamel Alley, located in Centro Habana, is an iconic place in Havana city
Those who come from outside and don’t know the place can quickly find a neighbor from the Aramburu and Hospital streets willing to offer explanations with loquacity.
History refers us back to the early months in 1990 when this apparently common path becomes an area for the worship of syncretic traditions and Afro-Cuban cultural elements.
The idea of making the area an attractive mural came from Salvador González Escalona. This painter wanted to offer a kind of community gallery for all nearby neighbors and visitors. Since then, each wall has been acquiring fragments of the colorful island which is familiar with its original rituals.
Fernando Belleau Hamel was a US citizen who decided to settle there and give work to the black persons who needed it to survive. Although the neocolonial authorities wanted to take over the place, the attempts were unsuccessful. And, in an act of courtesy, those meters of street were baptized with the surname of Fernando.
Great and many artists have passed through the Alley of Hamel, like Merceditas Valdés and Celeste Mendoza, among others.
People’s memory still evokes the queen of the guaguancó (popular dance) waving her hips while she was observed by images and symbols that could come alive.
The alley is decorated by recycling. This accentuates the rudimentary nature of the place to which some have been able to contribute with their creative genius.
Havana is a Wonder City thanks to projects of this nature which involves fun, tradition and culture. Thus, for having a good rumba: Hamel and his people.
Translated by ESTI