Selecting just one detail that moved me from the Café Literario Marqués de Arcos is quite difficult, since this place is not just another coffee shop—there are many things here that make it an unforgettable site. Even so, there is something that left me with an especially vivid memory.
This café is located inside the Palace of the Marqués de Arcos, in one of its halls. It is situated in the Plaza de la Catedral in Old Havana, although the entrance does not face the plaza directly but rather Mercaderes Street.
Several friends had spoken to me about this café and I really wanted to visit it even though I didn’t know its exact location. I found it by pure chance. I was on Mercaderes Street taking photos of the mural that is right in front of that building, one of the architectural jewels of the plaza, when I looked toward the inside of a charming garden, visible through an open gate. At first, I didn’t pay much attention to it, it looked like another pretty garden in an old house turned into a café. But then I saw something that made a “click” in my head, a bronze sculpture of the brilliant Gabriel García Márquez. In that instant I knew I was in front of the Literary Café I had so much wanted to visit. Even without total certainty, I decided to go in. And it was when I passed through the large wooden gate of the interior hall that I had no doubt, I was in the right place.
That is the memory I will not forget. A dimly lit space, with the walls covered in fragments of poems and quotes from writers of all times. But not only the walls, also the chairs, the tables, the corners were written on in a display of literature. A row of furnishings that awaken a feeling of intimacy where each written phrase is not just a decorative element, but an invitation to think, to feel, and above all to remember. That is the feeling I have engraved in my memory when I think of this very special place.
I saw many fragments, mostly of poetry, from renowned authors such as José Martí, Carilda Oliver, Eliseo Diego, and my favorite: Dulce María Loynaz.
... The street smells of dawn,
which is an old smell of mist,
and women brewing coffee by the windows,
a smell of fresh smoke
that comes from kitchens and factories... "
—D.M. Loynaz
... La calle tiene olor de madrugada,
que es un olor antiguo de neblina,
y mujeres colando café por las ventanas;
un olor de humo fresco
que viene de cocinas y de fábricas..."
-D.M. Loynaz
Although the interior was filled with poetry and romanticism, we decided to enjoy the coffee at the tables in the outdoor patio in the shade, contemplating a tropical garden full of ornamental plants, surrounded by the colonial architecture that distinguishes this building. A quiet place full of history and beauty.
Here it is a delight to savor a coffee, in the serenity of an atmosphere that weaves together the modern with the colonial. For that very reason, choosing just one memory is difficult for me. But without a doubt, I will always keep in my memory this moment in which literature and the unique atmosphere of this place came together to gift me a lovely experience at the Literary Café Casa del Marqués de Arcos.
Cheers, and until next time.
I leave an open invitation to everyone to participate in this weekly prompt from the Cinnamon Cup Coffee community.
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Original content by the author. © 2025 
Contenido original del autor. © 2025
