The Gran Farmacia Johnson sits on the corner of Obispo and Aguiar streets, housed in a structure of steel and concrete built in nineteen fourteen. Its interior is defined by rows of ceramic jars and intricate wooden shelving that hold a…
Old Apothecaries and Healing
We walk through Old Havana's beautifully preserved 19th-century pharmacies to explore how traditional homeopathics, herbal remedies, and Afro-Cuban spiritual cures remain central to modern Cuban life.
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1. farmacia Jhonson
2. Museum of Pharmacy Habanera
The Museo de la Farmacia Habanera occupies a corner building on Calle Brasil and Compostela, distinguished by its original nineteenth-century neo-Gothic facade. The site began in eighteen fifty-three as a pharmacy called La Reunión,…
3. Museo Farmacia Taquechel
The Museo Farmacia Taquechel is defined by its wall-to-ceiling mahogany and cedar shelves, which house a collection of nineteenth-century French porcelain apothecary jars. Located on Obispo Street in Old Havana, the building began as a…
4. Habana 1791 (Museo Del Perfume)
Habana 1791 is a perfumery and working museum housed within an eighteenth-century colonial mansion on Mercaderes Street. Its interior is recognizable by rows of antique glass cabinets, stained-glass windows, and shelves filled with…
5. Iglesia y Convento de la Merced
The Iglesia y Convento de la Merced stands out for its lack of a bell tower, a design choice that leaves its stone facade looking uniquely flat and somber against the Old Havana streetscape. Located at the intersection of Cuba and Merced…
6. Botanica Eyeife
Botanica Eyeife is a space for the practice of traditional Cuban spiritual customs, situated within the dense grid of Old Havana. A botanica functions as a physical shop for those seeking supplies related to religious and occult practices,…