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Meridiela.

Fusterlandia

A Havana suburb where the artist Jose Fuster covered his house and then his neighbours' houses in ceramic mosaic.

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Typeart site
WhereHavana
Nearest cityHavana
Best seasonYear-round
Time to allowTwo hours
Getting thereJaimanitas, about 20 km west of central Havana
EntryFree; donations and purchases at the studio

José Fuster began covering his own house in Jaimanitas with mosaic in the 1970s and did not stop, working outward through the neighbourhood as neighbours asked him to do theirs. The result is several blocks of a working-class suburb where walls, roofs, benches, bus stops and doorways are covered in broken tile in bright colour, with recurring motifs of palms, roosters, boats and faces. His own house and studio are at the centre, with towers, a pool and a rooftop that can be climbed.

What you actually see

  • The studio house - Fuster's own house, mosaic from the ground to the roof, open to walk through.
  • The neighbourhood - streets where dozens of houses have been given the same treatment.
  • The rooftops - climbable terraces with mosaic towers and views over the suburb.
  • The motifs - palms, roosters, boats and faces repeated across the whole project.

When to go

Year-round; it is outdoors and works in any weather. Mornings are quieter, before the tour groups arrive from Old Havana. Midday sun makes the colours harsh in photographs.

Honest expectations

It is genuinely a residential neighbourhood, and beyond the studio the houses are people's homes rather than exhibits. Tour groups arrive in numbers and the site is small. There is little in the way of shade, food or facilities.

Nearby

Central Havana is half an hour east, and Marina Hemingway is nearby on the coast.

What to pack for Fusterlandia

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Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.

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