Includes bibliographical references (p. 215-225) and index.

Introduction: The Havana mosaic : sweetness and light -- Images of Havana -- Havana as unique -- The emergence of the city -- Theoretical issues -- The structure and aim of the book -- 1. The colony (1550s-1902). Historical overview -- The city in the shadows -- Pre-sugar Havana (1550s-1760s) -- The boom city : sugar and the evolution of a capital (1750s-1901) -- 2. The republic (1902-1958). Historical overview -- A nation without a capital, and capital without a nation (1902-33) -- Havana as the 'cultural problem' (1934-58) -- Bohemia case study -- Conclusion -- 3. The revolution from 1959 to 1990. Historical overview -- Dark days and revolutionary enlightenment (1959-71) -- The grey years -- Conformity and stagnation (the 1970s and 1980s) -- Case study : bohemia and Granma -- 4. The revolution in a new light? : Havana as a new cultural space. Historical overview -- The periódo especial and Havana -- The evolution and rediscovery of a Havana culture -- Case study : the casas de culture -- Conclusion : Havana as chiaroscuro.