The state-run Coppelia is one of the landmarks of Havana. In the meantime, it is the flagship of a chain, spread across the island and one of the largest ice cream parlors on the world. The so-called cathedral of ice cream serves in a modernist building in one of the busiest centers of the capitol.

The plot that Coppelia occupies today, was chosen to build the Hospital Reina Mercedes that was inaugurated in 1886. When the hospital was demolished in 1954, it was intended to build another hospital in its place, but the land had increased extremely in its value, as it was in the heart of the city. Thus, the idea to build a skyscraper with 50 floors was put forward, but it remained just as a project. Instead, on the initiative of the Instituto Nacional de Industria Turística (INIT), a park was built at the same place to attract the tourists. Small hills were created in the park and an artificial lake and fountains were added to the place. The cafeteria, bar and restaurant complex had a capacity of 500 persons. After one year, it was transformed into Centro Recreativo Nocturnal (night-time entertainment center).

In 1966, the Coppelia ice cream shop was inaugurated in a huge concrete building in the center of the park.  Its sketch belongs to the Cuban architect Mario Girona that used the plasticity of reinforced concrete, inspired by the modernist trend in Italy, Mexico and South America. The Project was conducted by the Cuban engineers Maximiliano Isoba and Gonzalo Paz.

The ice cream shop is named by Fidel Castro’s longtime secretary Celia Sánchez after her favorite ballet Coppélia. Coppélia is the mythical character of the comic ballet with the same name that is originally choreographed by Arthur Saint-Léon to the music of Léo Delibes. It bases upon two stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann: Der Sandmann (The Sandman) and Die Puppe (The Doll). In Greek, κοπέλα means young woman.

The underlying reason for establishing such a gigantic ice cream shop was the idea of Fidel Castro that wanted to prove the capability of Cuba in producing ice cream better than the big American brands. He aimed to create a place where the Cubans would eat ice cream, as much as they wanted for a price low enough for everyone.

The ice cream that the ambassador of Cuba in Canada had sent to Fidel in 1960s, led Fidel Castro to come to such a conclusion. The ice cream belonged to Howard Johnson’s that was an American chain of hotels and motels located primarily throughout the US and Canada. It had also once been a chain of restaurants and it was thought to be the best ice cream producer at that time, offering 28 different tastes of ice cream (Its ice cream is no longer manufactured). After tasting all the 28 containers with different flavors, Fidel Castro formulated his motto: ¡Helado por el pueblo! (Ice cream for People) and ordered to import the latest ice cream equipment from Netherlands and Sweden. Subsequently, a factory was set up beside the road to the airport to produce the qualified Cuban ice cream.

The concrete building is reminiscent of a concrete tent for some, a tea plate turned upside down for some, or a spaceship (probably an UFO) landed on the Earth for some. The giant circular roof with a diameter of 40 meters is supported by twelve reinforced concrete arachnid columns. It is topped by a skylight of colored glass in the shape of a small tower that is four meters high and five meters in diameter.  The upper floor of the two-storey building can be accessed through a helicoidal staircase. The upper floor consists of five large discs, divided by wood and tinted glass panels.

Together with the open area, it reaches a capacity of maximum 1.000 guests.

It occupies the entire block, bordered by the 23rd, 25th, K and L streets. The park area surrounding the building looks like a beautiful jungle, consisting of palms, rubber trees, figs and banyan trees. There is also a large parking lot.

Coppelia gained additional fame by the Oscar nominated, 1933 Cuban film Fresa y Chocolate (Strawberry and Chocolate). Two of the ice cream shop’s most popular flavors carry the name of this film.

When the ice cream shop was opened, it was offering the ice cream in 26 different flavors, so that it won the favor of the Cubans in a short time.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba entered an economic crisis, as it had lost is major financial source. The new situation also slammed into the ice cream production. Consequently, the variety of flavors was reduced to two or three, and the quality of the ice cream was impaired. Even though, Cuba got over this Special Period, Coppelia’s ice cream is never restored to the original to the general opinion of the senior citizens.

Currently, both during weekends and weekdays, from early morning to late evening, there are still people patiently waiting in long lines, even though the assortment decreased to 4-5 flavors and other good qualified ice cream shops are opened in the city. Coppelia is still a place where the Cubans of all ages, black and white, rich and poor, meet, taste exotic flavors such as coconut, mango or guava, chat and flirt under the same roof.

It opens at 10:00 every day, but it is not an unusual thing to see people waiting in the line at least an hour before. There are different lines for the indoors or the outdoors area. After over an hour, it will be finally your turn. On an average day, the number of the available flavors don’t exceed five. The ice cream is served in a plastic bowl, doused with syrup, and with cookie crumbs. Sometimes, you may be asked to share your table with others.