Clandestina
- Best time
- Daytime — and check it's open first
- Getting there
- Old Havana, a short walk from Plaza Vieja
Why it’s in the log
The Havana graphic designer Idania del Río opened Clandestina in February 2015 with her Spanish business partner Leire Fernández: the first independently run design shop in Cuba. Everything in it is designed in Cuba by a collective of local artists — T-shirts, oversized bags, posters, most of them screen-printed and many carrying slogans about modern Cuban life, "Actually I'm in Havana" and "99% diseño cubano" among them.
It is a small shop on a corner of Villegas and became one of the best-known private businesses in Old Havana; del Río was among the Cuban business owners who met President Obama during his 2016 visit.
Check it's open before making a special trip. The most recent report we could find is from early 2025, when it was one of the few clothing shops in the area that had managed to stay open.
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