14. San Isidro
Rum-sodden and rebellious,
Old Havana’s San Isidro sizzles after dark. Its narrow streets were once a designated ‘zone of tolerance’: somewhere the government turned a blind eye to prostitution. They are now a mecca for art instead, largely thanks to the lauded Cuban actor Jorge Perugorría. When he alchemised an abandoned bread factory into
Galería Taller Gorría in 2016, he started an explosion of murals from local and international names that has been slowly consuming the barrio’s crumbling mansions ever since. It has also birthed its own resistance movement against
Cuba’s restrictive regime, spearheaded by local artists and musicians. Rooftop bars, shadowy salsa joints and a soundsystem on every corner: San Isidro has it all.