Blog from Cuba – Far Fung Places May 2012
Dennis Keser, Co-principal of Far Fung Places
Sunday May 6 (Trinidad)
I had heard Trinidad was a “quiet, laid-back town” (it once
thrived on the sugar trade but then declined), but as I discovered, it
rocks! At night in open squares
street musicians play Cuban salsa while seniors dance freely in the cobblestone
streets.
Our first night after dinner I took most of the group up to
the town square to find some music. Just by chance on the steps of one of the
churches, we found a salsa band that Bob Montgomery, a member of our group and
a renowned American jazz performing artist, said was one of best he had ever
heard. Three vocalists with powerful voices were backed by 10 talented
musicians playing intoxicating music on drums, basses, guitars, trumpets,
saxophones, trombones, all keeping beat to the maracas. Scores of
shoulder-moving locals applauded when they heard Bob introduce himself and then
begin to play. Seeing this 70-plus-year-old man with these young artists was
marvelous––he soloed and jammed with the group until 11:30 p.m. Everyone
including Bob was on cloud nine. We got back to the hotel at midnight, so
energized by the music we could hardly sleep!
Monday May 7
(Trinidad)
Tonight we had a wonderful dinner at Paladar Sol Ananada, an
18th-century fully restored one-story architect's house just off the main
square. Paladars are local homes converted into restaurants that are sanctioned
by the Cuban government. Our group
of 15 was seated comfortably in the main dining room at the owner’s family
hardwood table. The dark colonial furniture, some made in Cuba and other pieces
imported from Spain, added to the atmosphere. The owner had hired a local
fisherman to bring in the catch of the day, a huge local fish that the family
chef deboned in front of us. The owner also offered fresh lobsters for a few
extra dollars per person. A group of strolling musicians entertained us during
our meal. What a way to wrap up the day!
Tuesday May 8 (Trinidad to Havana) Today our coach driver
got lost in the maze of narrow cobblestone streets of Spiritus and then got
wedged in a corner trying to make a turn onto the main square. This is not
surprising. These streets were built for horse-drawn carriages, bicycles, and
pedestrians, not 32-passenger buses! The vernacular architecture is charming:
two- and three-story colonial buildings with wrought-iron grilles and verandas
with potted geraniums. Freed from our tight spot, we continued to Santa Clara,
where we stopped at the government-approved restaurant Los Caneyes for lunch;
it was overflowing with tourists.
Afterward, we visited the mausoleum of Che Guevara, who is practically
apotheosized in Cuba—T-shirts, books, films, and paintings of Che are found
everywhere. Before returning to
Havana, we dropped into a non-touristy cigar factory, where hundreds of workers
sitting in rows of wooden tables separate, roll, band, and finish thousands of
cigars while listening to a “reader,” someone designated to read aloud
newspapers or a novel to relieve the monotony of the work.
Our group stayed at the upgraded Hotel Saratoga, far
superior to the Telegrafo where we had been originally confirmed. What
attentive service at the bar, with quality wines for only 5.00 CUC a glass and
the best rum I have found in Cuba yet, 12-year-old Santiago for 5.50 CUC. At
today’s conversion rate, that is about $5.25 a glass.
Friday May 11 Today I asked the group if they wanted to see
the Tropicana show or go to a real jazz club. Many hands shot up for a real
jazz club—we had all attended the touristy Buena Vista Social Club, and now
everyone wanted something less commercial.
Before the show, we had dinner at a wonderful local paladar
within walking distance of the Saratoga. Some in the group wanted to try
healthy Creole food, like braised chicken in capers and raisins and other
slow-cooked dishes in spices such as oregano and citrus. Others ordered and
shared cooked-to-perfection lobster tails for only 20 CUC ($20). Sated, we all
hopped into cabs for the oldest and best jazz club in Havana: La Zorra y el
Cuervo (The Fox and the Crow).
We got there at 10:00 p.m. and had an hour to wait for the
show, but the time went by quickly watching jazz videos from previous shows on
a big flat screen. You feel like
you’re in one of those old San Francisco or New York clubs of decades ago—if
you’re my age, you remember the underground and in-your- face jazz clubs of the
‘60s. The club was small, and smoking was allowed, but with the efficient
ventilation, we couldn’t smell any smoke at all. The cover charge was 10 CUC
and included one drink. Compared
to the Buena Vista Club at 65 CUC, this was a deal.
The band was amazing––Mary Rodriquez has a drop-dead-killer
voice, a combination of Ella Fitzgerald and Janice Joplin. The stage was
crowded with a piano player, six string bass players, a snare and conga
drummer, trumpeters, and one of best saxophone players I've heard in years.
They were young, brilliant, and amazing.
When I told the owner of the club, Arturo, that Bob
Montgomery was with us, Arturo said he would be thrilled to invite him onstage.
When the show started, we were all riveted to our seats. At the end of the
third number, Mary Rodriquez announced that Bob Montgomery was in the audience,
and she invited him to join her onstage.
They played “Summertime” and brought the house down––it was truly the
best night of the trip. A once-in-a-lifetime musical and cultural experience!
Saturday May 12 We wrapped up our nine-day trip with a visit
to Eduardo Choco Roca, Cuba’s most-renowned collagrapher. We observed the techniques that he uses
to make his textured lithographs, like applying the acrylic paints to a pressed
board, then adding sand to create the texture. The painting is then put into a
press, rolled out, and dried. He visits junkyards for scrap metal and goes to
the beach to collect sand. This collagraphic style for which he is known is
based on his struggles to become an artist.
From foot-tapping music in the streets to underground jazz
clubs to the creative home-cooked meals in the family-run paladars, Cuba
rocks!
