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Cuban Mortar Tiles Chapter 8 Production of Mosaicos Hidraulicos after 1959
Havana Vieja Factory
The Habana Vieja factory is owned by the Empresa de Restauracion de Monumentos,
a construction company which carries out work for the Offi ce of the
City Historian of Havana. The factory was founded in July 2009 to producing
200x200mm tiles, and currently has a limited range of designs matching traditional
tiles (10 patterns). They plan to expand the range in due course. The factory
currently has one press (i.e 2 workstations) and the two operatives estimate
between them they produce between 60 to 80 tiles a day of a fairly complicated
pattern. (It is interesting to compare this to the rate of production of a one-press
private workshop in Santa Clara which produces badly made jaspeado tiles under
contract to the local State building products company – at a rate of 800 tiles
per day!) The Italian-made presses are new and the result of lengthy research
by the Empresa de Restauracion de Monumentos. The new presses have
automatic lifting of mould lids, which slightly reduces the manual component of
the process. The factory sells to the Offi ce of the City Historian of Havana They
do not sell to individuals. There is no in-house moldero so they have to buy in
new moulds.
In interview, the technical director for the Empresa de Restauracion de Monumentos
reported that the factory at Las Guasimas currently produces plain
tiles at 250 x 250 mm size. The factory produced tiles for the Saratoga hotel in
Havana. Production suffered from “diffi culties with the presses and with
decorative technique”. An architect working in the architecture section of the
OHC also tried to obtain tiles from the Las Guasimas factory, but the quality was
so poor the tiles were taken up and thrown away after they had been installed.
Another factory at Limonar was trying to produce 200 x 200 mm tiles, but were
using polymer bases for the moulds which scratched easily, producing faults in
the tiles.
Small scale artisan production
In addition to the State factories and workshops, private workshops can be
found providing tiles both under contract to State companies and also to
individuals. The traditional tiles seen by the author in a private house in Las
Tunas were of high quality (fi g. 91), produced by an artisan operating a single
press from his own house. The artisan explained he was not able to obtain an
appropriate license to produce these tiles, and has therefore had to cease
production. Verbal advice from residents in Las Tunas suggests that many of
these private producers exist, and that there is a market for a well-made
decorative mortar tile.
Fig 92: The factory and team at Las Tunas.