Text and photos: Jezabel Cutiño Montalvo, first year student of Journalism, Faculty of Communication, University of Havana.

The representation in white marble of Carrara of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, stands majestically more than 50 meters above sea level in the city municipality of rule, to protect and guide the inhabitants of the capital of all Cubans.

The bay of the Maravilla City is home to one of the most representative icons of the Cuban capital. The majestic figure of the Cristo de la Habana is located in the town of Casa Blanca in the municipality of Regla. It was sculpted and designed by Cuban Lilia Jilma Madera Valiente. The idea of ​​making the sculpture is born from a promise; the wife of Fulgencio Batista, in 1957 during the assault on the Presidential Palace on March 13, prey to despair and unrest, promised that if her husband left unharmed, he would commission a sculpture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus that was seen from almost all places in Havana as a sign of gratitude.

This monument was inaugurated on December 25, 1958. It constitutes a personal vision of the author on Jesus Christ. His face breaks with the canons established at the time, because his lips are thick in representation of Cuban miscegenation; The sandals she wears are similar to those worn by the sculptor back then. Your eyes are empty to convey the feeling of looking everywhere. He is standing with one hand up, to bless, and the other in the heart. There are only three similar sculptures in the world, in Brazil, Portugal and Angola.

It is one of the most popular destinations in the city, so your visit is almost mandatory when you are in the capital, being at the foot of the Christ of Havana is a unique spiritual and sensory experience while transmitting incredible peace .