Day 3

I woke up from a good night’s sleep at 8AM and did not sleep through my alarm this time! Success!!! I looked out my window and saw a magnificent view of the Malecón and ocean. It was a bit cloudy and rainy (drizzling), but was still magnificent! I got ready to go and went down to breakfast. Breakfast was interesting in terms of the selection, but I found eggs, fruit, and coffee.

            After breakfast, I met up with the tour group and we were off to Habana Vieja (Old Havana). On the a, we saw such beautiful sights, buildings, and a castle that used to protect Havana during colonial times. The Spanish built this castle, but never actually used it. Our tour of Habana Vieja was a walking tour. We saw all of the important squares and cathedrals and other important buildings. There were many hucksters, people trying to make a few dollars here and there. Some were dressed in costumes and wanted money for a picture with them, others offered to draw your picture in exchange for some money. The majority of us in the group had something done (whether it was taking a picture or a drawing made of us). I had a picture drawn of me and I also took a picture of a man and his cart that had three small dogs in it dressed in sunglasses and hats.

            The rain continued off and on for the rest of the morning, but it luckily would start up heavily when we went inside a building and all but stopped when we left the building (really good luck). Next, we went inside a hotel where Hemingway used to stay when he spent time in Cuba. He would stay in room 511 and that room is currently a museum. For 2 CUC, we each entered and saw the space. It wasn’t a big room, but there was a lot of history in it. We went up one more floor to the top of the building and got to look out onto the entire city.

            For lunch, we went to a restaurant in Habana Vieja called Dominicana. It was Italian food and was pretty good. I had chicken, white rice, sweet potatoes (that weren’t orange), minestrone soup, assorted fruit, a mojito (standard with most every meal), and café cubano (also standard). After lunch, we had 30 minutes to walk around Habana Vieja before our next activity. I backtracked a few blocks (walking down Obispo street) and found a small shop that had musical instruments. The woman in shop was very friendly and we talked for a few minutes before I purchased two pairs of claves. Since I was so friendly, she gave me a free gift with my purchase (a beaded necklace that was surely handmade). The claves were cheap and well worth the purchase! Each pair has one clave that has a built in resonating chamber and the other clave is a regular circular piece of wood. This was a wonderful people-to-people interaction and my first purchase of Cuban made instruments!

            I started walking towards one of the squares and stumbled upon a group of traveling musicians (2 guitar players and a guiro player). I started taking video of them and they all turned my way to give me a private concert. I spoke to them after their song and they asked for a tip for taking the videos. I was happy to oblige and gave them something. They were so happy, that they offered to play me a few more songs for me. I asked them if they could play Lagrimás Negras, and they agreed. I really appreciated their willingness to take the request and give me a short private concert.

            After this concert, I made my way back to where our group was supposed to meet. Once everyone arrived, we walked a block or so to La Casa de Africa. This place traced the African heritage within Cuba and had memorabilia that related to this history. Each floor of the building was dedicated to a region of Africa (West, South, Central) that had a strong influence in Cuba. There were also many gifts to Castro from African countries that were housed in this space (on the third floor).

            The Rumba performance was spectacular and I was able to get 15 minutes of audio and video. It was really well put together with great drumming, singing, and dancing. Afterwards, we walked back to the bus and returned to the hotel. Annie, our tour leader, assisted me in calling a few people who did not speak English. Unfortunately, no one was home that I needed to talk to. I decided to return to my room and write this blog entry and take some Tylenol for a headache. It’s about 4:45PM right now and I have to meet the group at 5:30PM for a private concert and then dinner at a Paladar (a privately-owned restaurant in somebody’s home). I’m going to relax for a bit and reflect a bit more on my day. Cuba is an amazing place with so much history, culture and music…but it is also filled with so much strife and dilapidation. The people are some of the friendliest people in the world and have such good hearts. A smile goes a long way here.

            It’s so wonderful to finally be here! I feel like we did soooo much today and saw soooo much today. Incredibly, there is more planned! I am anticipating that the rest of the trip will be filled with wonderful experiences. I am hopeful that I’ll be able to meet up with some of the people that I have been trying to call (people that Juan De Marcos, the producer of Buena Vista Social Club, recommended I contact).

           At 5PM, we attended a private concert at the family house of a trumpet player that is very popular in the Cuba Jazz Scene (who was also educated at Julliard).  His name is Yasik Mazano and was incredible! His band was great as well. They played jazz standards (Nature Boy, If I Were a Bell, etc.) and Cuban Standards. What a beautiful home, beautiful people, and beautiful music. I was able to get many audio and video recordings that I hope to study and enjoy!

            Next, we attended dinner at a Paladar (restaurant in someone’s home) that is privately owned. It was called Esperanza and was really good. I had butternut squash soup, lamb in a red wine sauce, white rice, and black beans. What an incredible meal and experience! After dinner, we went back to the hotel and arrived back there around 10PM. On the way back to the hotel, I asked Annie if there was any music that she recommended hearing since the group didn’t have a concert listed on the itinerary. She suggested going to see a band called Interactivo, with a very popular Cuban musician (Bobby Carcasses). This group and musician was recommended to me by Juan De Marcos and I thought it would be a good thing to go to! The show started late, around 11:30PM, so I spent some time downstairs at the bar in the lobby having a coffee (café Cubano) with a few members of the tour group in order to stay awake. Annie told me that she was going to the concert, but would meet me there because she was meeting a group of students from Northwestern University there. So, I took a cab to the theater (Bertolt Bretch) and was at the theater in 3 minutes. It was a very quick ride! The cab driver was extremely friendly and we communicated well. I asked him if he spoke English, he answered: “A little”, he asked if I spoke Spanish, I answered: “Un poquito (a little)”, and we both laughed. So, we ended up having a brief conversation in both English and Spanish.

            When I arrived at the theater, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. There weren’t really any street lights, there were a lot of younger people outside hanging out, and there seemed to be some sort of loose configuration of a line that was slowly being let into the theater by a doorman or bouncer. I waited in the line, paid my 2CUC entrance fee (which was really cheap!), and found my way inside. After 5 minutes or so, I found Annie and she told me she would sit with me because the Northwestern students had their own professor with them, not to mention the fact that I had found a better seat than they had! The performance was INCREDIBLE! It was a mixture of all types of music; son, jazz, reggae, hip-hop, rock, funk, rumba, bolero, fusion, R&B, Earth Wind and Fire type horns, etc. Wow! The band consisted of congas, a drumset, trumpet, tenor sax, trombone, 3-4 vocalists, piano (keyboard), electric bass, guiro, and electric violin. One song started with the Cuban standard Veinte Años, another started with Recordame a famous jazz standard. Then, each song went into it’s own metamorphosis into 3 or 4 different styles throughout the duration of the song. Simply incredible! It was all SEAMLESS! Being in this club, I felt like I was in a European nightclub or a much nicer US nightclub. It was a typical US nightclub except it was cleaner, the people were more respectful, and the band was phenomenal.

            After the concert, Annie offered to take a taxi back with me to the hotel since it wasn’t the easiest thing in the world to navigate back home. We got back to the hotel around 2AM and I’ve spent the last 45 minutes writing in this blog. We are meeting at 9:45AM tomorrow morning (Thursday)! Goodnight!

            

Day 2

            Wow! What a day!!! 4:30AM wake-up to check-in at the Miami Airport by 5AM. The flight left at 9AM from Miami to Havana. I arrived at the check-in counter and there were incredible lines of Cuban-Americans waiting to check in and check luggage and goods for travel: Flat-screen televisions, bicycles, bicycle tires, baby strollers, etc. All of these things were wrapped in green plastic wrap with last names written in thick black magic marker to identify once they got to Havana. After standing in line for about 10 minutes, I realized that I was in the wrong line. A gentleman saw my Insight Cuba luggage tag and we figured out together where we were supposed to go. A few minutes later, the Insight Cuba representative appeared, and within a few minutes our entire tour group was assembled. The Insight Cuba representative collected all of our documents (passport, letter of authorization for travel to Cuba from OFAC). Then, she walked all of this information to the counter and processed everything. This took about an hour! During this time, we all got to talk to one another and get to know each other. We talked about where we were all from, what we were doing on the trip to Cuba, and other topics of conversation.

            After our documents were all processed, we were given our tickets and Cuban visas and moved to another line to weigh our luggage and check it. This is the counter where we received our actual boarding passes. There was a 44lb weight limit for both our checked luggage and carry on combined. Naturally, My luggage weighed more, and I had to pay $2 per lb (for a total of $14 or 7lbs over). This fee was only payable in cash. Then, we went through the security checkpoint at Terminal E, which is the international terminal. Ironically, the security checkpoint was directly in front of the hotel that I stayed at the night before; I had made a huge loop since I woke up in the morning! Security took a while, but I had no problem at all going through the line. By about 7:30AM, I was through security, but I wasn’t at the gate quite yet. After security, I had to walk up 2 escalators to a train/skytrain that travelled across the airport to a remote terminal that was used for nothing buy flights to Havana, Cuba. None of the shops/concessions were open except for Café Versailles, which was a small coffee shop with some food of the Cuba Nature (I believe this restaurant is owned by the restaurant I went to last night in Miami). I got a cup of coffee, which was very good and ate a cereal bar that I brought with me from home. This was the first thing I ate or drank all morning.

            Then, we had to wait till our 9AM flight boarded around 8:30AM. The flight itself was easy, painless, and I got to sit in the exit row, which had extra leg room. There was severe turbulence, but otherwise it was fine. When the plane landed in Havana, the passengers on the plane cheered and clapped. The flight was only about 45 minutes (if that). When we taxied to the gate, there was no jetway, only stairs leading to the runway. What an INCREDIBLE site when I walked outside of the plane! We all walked a couple hundred feet to the airport doors and walked inside. The next leg of our trip was customs. The lines were not too long, but the process was slow. You walk into a small booth and are asked a few questions. Then, you are buzzed through a door into baggage claim. The customs agent that I dealt with was not in the best of moods and she didn’t talk much. With that said, she was nice to me and let me through with no problem (one member in our group got his ENTIRE bag searched, so I think I made out pretty well). Once through customs, we had to wait about 30-45 minutes for our luggage to come off of the conveyer belt. I already knew some people on my tour from earlier in the morning, and we chatted while waiting for our luggage to appear.

            While waiting, there was a huge pile of luggage all wrapped in green plastic wrap (like in the Miami airport). It was an incredible site and I thought I would take a picture of it; not a good idea in retrospect. Within seconds, a Cuban security agent came up to me, and waved her finger “No!). I apologized, said I didn’t know, and put the camera way. It wasn’t a big deal and I got to keep the picture, but I now realized that that part of the airport was a government facility and you aren’t allowed to take pictures of government facilities in Cuba. Nothing like almost causing an international incident only minutes after I got to Cuba!

            After getting my luggage, I went outside to a sea of Cubans waiting for their friends and loved ones to come through the doors. I found our Insight Cuba Tour guide, Meylin, and she showed me where the bus was waiting with the bus driver, Julio. It was a small Chinese made manual bus and was owned by the Cuban travel and transportation company, Transgaviota. It had Air Conditioning and was quite comfortable. We had to wait another 30-45 minutes for the whole group to get to the bus, so I took pictures of the aiport and the 1950’s cars that were driving around and parked at the airport.

            It was 12pm by the time we were on the bus and leaving the airport. We couldn’t check into the hotel yet, so we went to the Plaza de la Revolucion.

            This is where all of the major political speeches take place. There is a huge monument and statue of José Martí. Getting off the bus at this plaza was simply incredible. Outside of the airport, this was my first real stop on my first visit to Cuba. I started to tear up a bit because I was so happy that I finally made it to Cuba. Just simply incredible…very hard to put into words.

            Then, we went off to the hotel. We still couldn’t check in, so about half of the group ate lunch at an Italian Restaurant in the hotel (not exactly what I expected my first meal to be in Cuba, but it was food nonetheless!). I got to practice my Spanish with the waiter. After lunch, we were finally able to check in. When I got to my room, it smelled like smoke even though it was a non-smoking floor. I tried to get another room, but the hotel was filled to capacity, so I just went with it and hoped that the smell would dissipate (it did very shortly after!).

I decided to unpack, find internet access to check and send e-mail, and explore the hotel. I wondered out to the pool area and there was a live band playing Cuban Traditional Music. The instrumentation of the ensemble consisted of upright bass, tres, bongo/cowbell/singer, and maracas/singer. They played wonderful music and were very friendly! They played some of my favorite songs: Son De La Loma, Besame Mucho. It started to rain a little and they stopped playing. I went up to my room and took a nap. It was about 4PM at this point and I was tired. We had a group meeting at 6PM to meet our other tour guide, Annie, who is an American living and working in Cuba through Insight Cuba (the company that organized my trip) and Tulane University. I set 2 alarms for 5:30PM and figured I would be fine. Unfortunately, I was wrong and I slept through my alarm and woke up at 6:30PM!!!!! I rushed downstairs and just missed the meeting by a minute or two. At the time I thought it was not a good way to start the trip, but ultimately it didn’t matter.

            I ended up getting a private description of everything from the guides and I was completely fine! It was actually better this way because I was able to express the things that I wanted to do on the trip. Annie told me that the music conservatories were not possible to visit on this trip because they are currently in exams and closed their doors to foreigners. I was bummed about this, but realized that there was not much I could really do. I was hopeful that I could work something out and still get to visit. After this, I met up with some members of the tour and we walked on the Malecon.

For those of you who don’t know, the coast of Havana borders the Atlantic Ocean and during the Spanish occupation of the island, they built a massive sea wall to protect the city from opposing ships, but also from the sea and mother nature. Our hotel was extremely close to the Malecon and was a beautiful site to wake up to in the morning. Like many things in Cuba, the pavement was cracked, and the road and sidewalk was rundown, but functional nonetheless. There were many buildings along the Malecon with such varied architectural designs that were simply magnificent. After this walk, we returned to the hotel and had our first Mojitos of the trip.

            Next, we went to dinner at El Ajibe, which is a very famous restaurant in Cuba for Chicken, rice, beans, and tostones. The food was exquisite! The sauce that came with the chicken was really good. I had guava juice, which is very common in Cuba as well as my first Café Cubano of the trip!

            After dinner, the group was supposed to go to the music club next door, Dos Gardenias, in order to hear a night of Boleros. Unfortunately, the band’s start time got pushed back and wasn’t supposed to start until 12:30PM. The entire group opted to return to the hotel. I was still adamant about hearing music on my first night in Cuba, so I went to another club (that the bus dropped me off at) on the Malecon that had salsa casino music (Cuban son/etc. from the 1940’s and 1950’s). Margaret (woman on the tour from Philadelphia) and Annie (tour guide from Insight Cuba and Tulane) got off the bus with me and we walked towards the club. It was unfortunately closed because of the rain that had occurred earlier.

            When we returned to the hotel, Margaret, Elaine (Spanish Teacher from San Diego), and I decided to go across the street to a place called Jazz Café. We walked across and payed the cover charge and went inside. The music was really good. It was a mix between jazz standards and Cuban traditional music. The instrumentation was keyboard, baby bass, timbales (with 2 bells, bass drum, crash cymbal, and splash cymbal), congas, guiro, soprano and trumpet/flugelhorn. They played things such as Blue Bossa, A Night in Tunisia, and a F Blues. The musicians all had such virtuosic skills, incredible chops, and rhythmic complexity. It was very much a fusion between jazz and Cuban music that I wouldn’t quite classify as Latin Jazz (the swing definitely felt implied without being heard by a ride cymbal, etc.). The bass player and the piano player interacted beautifully (rhythmically and with chord substitions). The show cost 10CUC (Cuban Convertible Peso) for the show and 2 drinks (although each of us only had 1 drink).

            It is still hard to believe that I’m in Cuba. All of the things that I’d read about and seen on television and in the Buena Vista Social Club Documentary was right before my eyes. Wow. ¡Buenas Noches!

Day 1

            Today was Part 1 of my trip to Cuba. I caught a 12:55PM flight from Philadelphia to Miami. The flight was fine and smooth. I landed at 3:30PM and was at the Miami International Airport Hotel by 4PM. This hotel was conveniently in the airport and didn’t involve me taking a shuttle anywhere off of the premises. This hotel is straight out of the 1960’s or rather straight out of an episode of the television show “Pan-Am.” It was very retro. The room itself was small, but alright. (I have all the basic nescessities). At first I didn’t think I had a window, but at closer examination, I did! It is very small and the view is of the rooftops of the terminal, but a window nonetheless!

            After my arrival at the hotel, I decided to go into Miami for a bit. I was going to go to Miami Beach or South Beach, but didn’t feel like taking a long cab ride and paying $30 each way. Instead, I took a 10 min cab ride to my favorite restaurant in Miami, Versailles, in Little Havana. I ordered the Ropa Vieja and a glass of red sangria and it was really awesome! (¡Fue incredible!) On the cab ride back to the hotel, my cab driver was Cuban and I’m pretty sure he came here 32 years ago during the Mariel Boatlift. I didn’t understand all that much of what he said in English, but it seemed like he had done something in Cuba (had a misunderstanding with a woman) and had to move to the United States. He was a nice man and loved all that America stood for. He especially liked the positive attitude that Americans have (American Dream perhaps?).             After he dropped me back off at the hotel, I went upstairs and relaxed. I went up to the rooftop restaurant and found an old baby grand Kawai piano that hadn’t been played in years. The host was gracious enough to let me play the instrument and I ended up playing for around 45 minutes.

            I’m really excited for tomorrow! In a little over 12 hours, I’ll be in Havana, Cuba…A place that I’ve wanted to go for a long time; the place where Buena Vista Social Club was born; the place that is forbidden to so many Americans; the place that has been untouched by American Capitalism for the past 50 years. I am so excited to see the beautiful sites, hear the beautiful music, and meet the Cuban people. I have a long list of places to go and people to meet. I only have a week and limited free time, but I’ll do the best that I can! I know I’ll have an amazing time. When I write in this blog again, I’ll be in Cuba!