Date of tip: January 2007

Source: Jorge L. Giovannetti (playacorcega@prw.net)

Location: 906 Compostela St. corner of San Isidro St., Old Havana, Havana, C.P. 10100

How to get there: Located at the southern end of Compostela Street, the archive building is impressive in its size and architecture. Yet, it is virtually hidden in one of the most deprived areas of Old Havana. If you are in Old Havana, just locate Compostela St. and walk along it from north to south –as the street crosses Old Havana- and you will eventually see the archive on your right. From other areas of Havana, most of the State Cabs (Panataxi, etc.) will take you there, which might be an option for the first visit. But of course, if you are working there everyday, you do not want to pay cabs everyday in Convertible Cuban Pesos (known as CUC). From outside of Old Havana, other means of local transportation will take you near the Capitolio (Capitol) or the Parque de la Fraternidad (Fraternity Square) from where you can walk to the ANC (if you can bare the heat). If walking from Capitolio you can walk east through Dragones St., and then turn right (south) in Egido St. (known as Belgica Avenue), until reaching San Isidro St. at your left. Enter St Isidro until you reach Compostela St. and you will see the building at your left. If not wanting to walk, you can take a bici-taxi (bicycle cab) from the Capitolio and the driver will drop you wherever you request.

Language: Spanish

Getting started: The ANC is open to bona-fide national and international researchers. However, international researchers should have the endorsement of a local academic institution to obtain access, and you will need two important inter-related things: (1) a letter from a sponsoring Cuban institution and (2) a research visa. The hosting institution should make the visa arrangements for you and provide the necessary letters of introduction to the archive addresses to the Director of the Archive (You will not be able to do research with a tourist visa). While you cannot see documents until access is granted by the Director of the Archive, you can search the catalogues in the reading room. At your arrival, you will leave your bags in reception, and introduce yourself to the Chief of the Reading Room, who will get you started. You will then fill a form and you have to sign in and out of the reading room everyday. A letter from your supervisor (or ideally, previous Cuban contacts and/or institutional agreements) will be needed in order to get the local institutional support from the Cuban side. Be advised that no letter from your institution, no matter which letterhead, will get you access to the archive. The letter has to be from the Cuban end. It is advisable to contact both the archive and the hosting institution beforehand to be aware of any change in policy, but generally, if you get to the ANC with your Cuban letter, things will work fine. 

Opening Hours: Generally from 8.00am to 5.00pm. Fridays the archive closes earlier, and there might be unexpected closures due to local infrastructural condition or events.

General working conditions: The Main Reading Room is now air conditioned. There are about 10 tables with space for four people each. Chairs are old and not always comfortable. Not all tables will be close to an electricity socket and if you are using a lap top, you should either bring an extension or be sure you have a good battery. There is no internet access for researchers and there is a library adjoining the archive reading room that you can consult. The general ambiance in the archive is jovial and “very Cuban” and the staff is friendly and supportive.

Consultation: Consultation of documents takes place only after access has been granted by the Archive Director, but you can consult the many catalogues available (therefore, the time while your application is being processed, can be used to do the catalogue search that you have to do anyway). You can only order documents in the morning and consult them throughout the day. Catalogues are available in the reading room, and the Staff in the archive has prepared several on-line catalogues that can be consulted for specific searches with the assistance of a member of staff. You order the documents in a paper slip (5 at any given time) and wait for them to be delivered. Documents can be kept overnight in reserve.

Policy on technology: Laptops are welcome. No cameras or scanners are permitted, and there is no internet connection available.

Photocopy policy: There used to be photocopy facilities, but as of my last visit, the policy implemented is of scanning documents. No limit in photocopy/scanning exist to my knowledge other than that imposed by the limitations of the ANC itself (staff, etc.). Price is relatively expensive for what one might expect, and Cubans pay in national currency while foreigners pay in CUC.

Particularities: Put it simply, the archive operates with the paradoxical combination of formality and informality of many Cuban institutions (i.e. personalised familiar treatment combined with the formality of institutional processes) and in that sense ANC differs to what researchers are used to in other countries. There are no cafeterias or restaurants close to the archive itself; a couple of places in CUC exists in Egido St. and walking north through Compostela St. there are is a little shop in CUC and a few Cuban places in national currency (but only for little snacks). If researchers do not want to invest much time in looking for places to eat, and then get frustrated in the process, the best advise is to bring your own food (whether fruits and a sandwich) and eat it there outside the archives. Unfortunately there is no place designed for researchers to eat, and you are not allowed to eat in the entrance stairs, which means that you have to look for your very own spot for lunch. Again, opening and closing times may vary depending on local situations, whether they are fumigating the place, if there is water or not, if the workers would be provided lunch or not, or if there is a national mobilization, or a hurricane. Researchers must therefore, try to be on the loop as to what is happening. 

How to apply for classified files: There is no possible way to apply for classified files, which are surely not there in the archive anyway. The great bulk of information is pre-1959 documentation. It is worth noting that the ANC holds a massive amount of unprocessed materials that, and as time goes by new generations of scholars will be able to work with them. Some of these records, once processed, researched, and digested by historians, would probably change many of the things we know about Cuban history (or the way we know them).

Etc: The ANC holds a wonderful amount of material for the study of Cuban, but also Caribbean history (the Audiencia de Santo Domingo, for example) and while scholars will consult the catalogues pertinent to their research, they should be well advised in getting feedback from the archivist and local researchers. Some collections, such as Miscellaneous Files, Miscellaneous Books, and Donations and Remissions, have incredible materials about a wide variety of topics. Scholars should also consult the following guides and publications before starting their research: Archivo Nacional de Cuba. Guía breve de los fondos procesados del Archivo Nacional (Havana: Editorial Academia, 1990);  Louis A. Pérez Jr., “Record Collections at the Cuban National Archives: A Descriptive Survey,” Latin American Research Review, 19: 1 (1984), and Louis A. Pérez and Rebecca J. Scott, eds. Archivos de Cuba (Havana: Ediciones Unión, 2003, also published in English by University of Pittsburgh Press, 2003).

Places to Stay: Depending on budget and personal preferences, there are many options of places to stay. For researchers, the best place to stay is to rent a room/space in a Cuban house (casas de alquiler, or casas particulares). The alternatives and options vary according to area and the length of your stay, and you should seek advice on housing matters with other fellow scholars. If you prefer the comfort (and prices) of a Hotel, the most practical place to stay is in Old Havana from where you will be able to walk to the ANC.

Forms: The form you have to fill will be provided in the ANC at your arrival.

Funding: No. The ANC does not provide funding or grants for researchers.