Hi Everyone,
I'm back from my birthday trip to Cuba. It was great!
We had originally planned on taking in a jazz festival for young cuban musicians but we had the dates wrong (or rather, Cuba's official tourist website had the dates wrong). My wife had planned a lesson for me with Elmer Ferrer - an amazing Cuban guitarist - but his Dad was very sick so that didn't happen. Then my wife got very sick from something she ate (she was better after a few days) so I spent the night of my 50th birthday by myself in a jazz bar in Havana.
It may sound like I'm complaining, but I'm not at all. It was wonderful. And I got to pretend I was Ernest Hemmingway quaffing mojitos in old Havana while smoking a Montecristo #2. While listening to amazing music. What musicians!
If ever you go to Havana, take in La Zorra y el Cuervo (I may have spelled that wrong) - the fox and the crow. It's a great little club - I was there twice and great bands both times. Another good one is the Jazz Cafe, but the bands there start very late.
For Canadians, a trip to Cuba is stupid cheap. Air fare and an all inclusive resort on a beach outside of Havana is like $600 for a week. We were originally going to spend two weeks in casa particulars (bed and breakfasts) in Havana but non-chartered air fare is a lot more expensive, so we booked two weeks at an all inclusive resort and spent the two weekends in Havana. The first weekend in a casa particular complete (or incomplete) with no toilet seat covers
. The second weekend - my birthday - was in Hotel Nacionel, Cuba's most prestigious hotel. Very nice.
When talking about Cuba, it is difficult to leave out politics but I won't pass judgements here. There are bill boards everywhere saying "Patria o muerte" or showing pictures of Che Guevara, or other slogans about the revolution. It is part of the fibre of every Cuban. Here's a little picture for you... The US Embassy or "Intersection" is just off the Malecon or seaboard driveway in Havana. It's about ten stories high or so. On the top floor, there is a huge digital read out that scrolls American and international news in Spanish for the people of Havana to read. As a counter move, Fidel had 77 very tall flag poles raised and 77 huge black flags fly, hiding the digital read out. The 77 flags represent the 77 people who were killed in the bombed Cuban passenger airliner in 1976.. There are allegations that the CIA was complicit in this bombing.
The American embargo and the collapse of the Soviet Union has really hurt Cuba. Old Havana was once a gorgeous city - you can see that by the architecture. Picture the French Quarter of New Orleans going on for miles. But then picture a city after a war. Combine the two and you have old Havana. Practically all of the buildings would be condemned in a European or North American city. Narrow streets with kids playing baseball, small dogs wandering around, and on every street, someone under a 57 chev or ford trying to coax it back to life. The people are very proud and exceptionally nice.
And well educated. Our first taxi driver was a mechanical engineer, the second a military lawyer, the third a lab technician. And they all seem to want to make sure your stay is good. Since I had my guitar with me, one of the taxi drivers played for me a CD of his friends playing traditional Cuban music. Then as we got out, he handed me the CD as a gift.
At the resort, I had a lesson from a guitarist who played in the band that entertained at the resort every now and then. I don't speak Spanish and he didn't speak English very well. But he showed me some Cuban rhythms and strumming patterns as well as some traditional Cuban songs. I've attached a bit of the lesson here. It's a bit long but be sure to listen to the last bit where he sings Lagrinas Negra - he has a beautiful voice.
I'll try to post some pictures of Havana a bit later.
cheers,
Doug