In homage to the memory of the City Historian, Dr. Eusebio Leal Spengler, and to give continuity to the legacy of the great social and human project that he led in Old Havana, La Perla de Belėn, a cultural community restaurant that is part of the Family Care System (FCS) of the San Isidro People's Council, in this municipality of the Cuban capital, has re-emerged after a three-month restoration.  

Now with a capacity for 120 people, the recently restored dining room was in very poor condition, the ceramic floor was on top of a granite floor (the original); the walls were very deteriorated and damp, the partitions in the premises were incomplete, there was practically no carpentry and the structure of the warehouse was in a terrible condition, as well as a lack of paint and poor lighting throughout the building. 

Workers from the San Isidro Investment Department of the Investment Budget Unit of the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana first executed a project for each of the specialties and an attractive interior design to refresh the image of the space.  

They changed the floors, restored the walls, removed the old water mains that ran under the floor, installed new plumbing and water installations, replaced the old kitchen and enlarged the kitchen counter, uncovered the wooden ceiling, and modified all the woodwork, as well as placing allegorical signs for each establishment and adding new tables and chairs for the diners. The façade was also modified and the levels were refurbished. 

Among restorers, designers, blacksmiths, architects, electrical engineers, planners, and builders, some 80 workers were involved in the project, located on Compostela entre Conde y Merced. It turned out to be a very interesting project from a constructive and social point of view, as it is intended to involve all the residents of the surrounding area so that they can attend the cultural events with the participation of actors from the community.  

So far, four FCSs have been recovered in Old Havana and another one is being restored in the Jesús María People's Council. La Perla de Belėn offers services, at very modest prices, to elderly and low-income people.  

Also, while the grandparents are having breakfast, lunch, or dinner, they can watch television and enjoy, for example, music or poetry recitals; and afterward, they can participate in educational and recreational activities. And during the hours when the elderly are not being cared for, the dining room will serve as a restaurant and cafeteria for the population.

 The idea is for the FCSs not only to offer food services to diners but also to link culture and physical activity to the community; in these dining rooms, people could even move the dominoes in the popular game of dominoes.