Havana, Cuba.- Havana, real and wonderful capital of Cuba, is celebrating today the 501th anniversary of its foundation amid the fight against Covid-19 and making progress for the new normal life.

The opening of several public works preceded the anniversary celebrations, which shows, according to provincial authorities, the will to overcome the difficulties generated by the pandemic and the economic crisis, exacerbated by the tightening of the US blockade.

Havana is going through a favorable epidemiological scenario, according to specialists, which allowed that the 2019-2020 school year could continue and the commercial, regular and charter flights were resumed on Sunday at the Jose Marti International Airport.

Havana Deputy Governor Yanet Hernandez told the Cuban News Agency that the traditional tour around the Ceiba tree was held on Sunday night in the perimetral area of El Templete, considered a foundational point of the city, as a prelude to the celebrations.

A special tribute will be paid to Havana Historian Eusebio Leal, who died in July. Leal directed the restoration works in the historic center of the capital city.

The founding of the Villa de San Cristobal de La Habana is celebrated on November 16, and 1519 is taken as the year of its foundation. This date appears in documents from the colonial period.