Christmas in Cuba
Cuba wasn't on my figurative (or literal for that matter) radar as a possible destination for the winter, until a colleague mentioned she was going there in mid-October. My interest was piqued. And a couple days later it was decided. Then the island got hit by two hurricanes and an earthquake - on top of what was already perhaps the biggest economic crisis they've had since prior to the Revolution of 1959 - so things got postponed just a bit.
But I did end up making it in time for Christmas, and my first impressions have been quite good. Or, in the not very diplomatic phrasing I've been privately telling friends: It's totally fucked and hopeless (mainly due to 60+ years of US embargoes, sanctions and other utter nonsense), but for me personally it's been amazing. Things will almost certainly get even worse when the new old regime of the Evil Empire to the north officially takes over on 20 January, so if the posts below pique your interest too, better not to wait to plan your own visit!
First glimpse of Cuba
NB: This was actually taken more than two days before it was originally, since getting a local sim card and internet access here is a bit of an adventure. Especially if you'd like to exchange money at a decent rate on the black market first.
All of this is totally hypothetical of course. In fact, if you check the IP address from where this is being posted, it'll assure you it's El Salvador....
Landing at Havana's Jose Martí International Airport
¡Bienvenidos a Cuba! 🇨🇺🇨🇺🇨🇺
What the airport lacked in amenities and pizzazz, was compensated for by one of the rarest experiences in travel: a perfectly pleasant taxi ride from the airport at a fair price...
Rent's paid
When the place you booked for a week makes a great first impression, why even bother feeling things out for a bit before paying a full month's rent? Especially after discovering that there's a hitherto unmentioned rooftop with 360° views of the city....
Getting Che out of the way
Let's just go ahead and get some of these cliché Che shots out of the way early here. Although this likely won't be the last you'll see of Comrade Guevara over the coming weeks and months....
Havana Sunrise
An idyllic Havana sunrise!
And if you were to pivot this shot a few degrees to the right, you'd see a glowing orange orb peeking up from the horizon. But you'd also see a cloud of dark smoke billowing out of the Turkish diesel powerplant barge in the port.
Win some, lose some. Nowhere is perfect....
Parque John Lennon
This statue of John Lennon - seated in Parque John Lennon, what are the odds of that? - actually has a couple of holes on either side of the eyes, so real glasses can be placed on the face for photo ops, which is a really cool little detail.
Unless of course it's your first day in Cuba and you haven't sorted out any local currency on the black market yet, so when the enterprising young lad in the Lakers jersey lurking nearby springs into action and places a pair of frames on Mr Yoko Ono’s noggin, you've got no choice but to sheepishly move along before getting a better shot....
Cuban-style Christmas caroling
There aren't a whole lot of Christmas lights or other decorations here in Havana, but yesterday the people brought some colourful holiday cheer to the US embassy. It was also likely a farewell of sorts, since when the new old regime takes office in the DC shortly, there's a good chance they’ll shutter their seaside fortress here once again.
Not that it'll really matter, since by all accounts the only purpose it serves is spying, undermining the Cuban government (aka the revolution) and taking exorbitant visa application fees from locals without ever issuing any visas.
As for the demonstration, it was quite a sight to see - a unique Cuban cultural experience according to a friend here. But like most events of this sort around the world, it also seemed to be a performative spectacle rather than some kind of popular expression of the zeitgeist.
All ‘independent’ media connected to Cuba should be read with a heaping sack of salt, but this article doesn't seem unfair in its coverage of the day's events and how they fit into the ongoing economic crisis on the island: https://en.cibercuba.com/noticias/2024-12-20-u2-e2-s27068-nid294223-cuando-termino-marcha-apagon-seguia-ahi
Cuban Pizza
When your piping hot take away pizza comes with free medical information in lieu of a pizza box and your one goal is to make it home without dripping grease on your shorts....
Spoiler alert: Turns out that there was still room for one more unaccomplished goal on the already teetering heap of unaccomplished goals!
NB: At least the pizza - a 23cm ham and 'fancy' cheese for $1.37 - wasn't half bad.
Equilibrio
Some cool public art along the Malecón in Old Havana (ie the relatively small corner of the city that's been beautifully gussied up for tourists).
'Equilibrio' by Osmany Betancourt (Cuba) and David Griesmyer (US).
‘Winter’ in Havana
Historical averages for December: 26.5°C (high), 19.5°C (low), 5 days of rain and 195 hours of sunshine
Starcafe
As someone who grew up in Seattle - and already hated Howard Schultz (for spite-selling the Supersonics to an Okie) long before coming to the realization that neoliberal capitalism is one giant scam - this place is almost guaranteed to eventually make an appearance on some kind of 'My Favourite Things about Cuba' article that'll never actually be written.
The knowing wink is what really puts it over the top. Kudos to the graphic designer who came up with that little touch!
Christmas in Havana
Santa Baby
Yultide lifehack: Put on Eartha Kitt's holiday classic 'Santa Baby' while looking at this photo and imagining yourself spending this Christmas in Havana.
You won't regret it, and if you're lucky you'll have the song stuck in your head all day. The lyric about the '54 convertible is especially uncanny....
🎶 Santa baby, just slip a Sable under the tree for me
🎶 Been an awful good girl
🎶 Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight
🎶 Santa baby, a '54 convertible too, light blue
🎶 I'll wait up for you, dear
🎶 Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight
Jojojojo!
There are quite a few well-known alternatives to the fat American capitalist Santa Claus - Krampus and Dedek Mraz (the Slavic ‘Grandpa Frost’) come to mind - but this guy is truly a novelty.
It looks like some kind of barefoot Creole Caribbean Santa - a cross between Saint Sebastian and the Grinch - who levitates around the island, bringing festive cheer to all and sundry, distributing disemboweled lobsters and fried egg lanterns to those who've been naughty and/or nice, all the while avoiding barrages of arrows shot by mischievous locals.
Because why not? It's the 2020s and literally anything is possible....
NB: Although if anyone is curious, here's the real backstory (from art collective Food of War).
Birthday Boy
¡Feliz navidad y feliz cumpleaños to this chap here! Looks like he's ready to party - and perhaps already started hitting some of that delicious communion wine for breakfast. But judge not, it's his special day!
He's also looking quite sharp, if not downright spry, for being two millennia and two dozen years young today. Just goes to show what eating right, having a positive attitude, living a sin-free life and being the son of God can do for you! If only we could all be so lucky....
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night
This is the rooftop view that was teased in an earlier post….
Isabella & Robin
Who needs cats or dogs or goats when you've got lobsters at home? Meet Isabella and Robin!
These cuddly crustaceans are mother and son, but also a couple. Just one more reminder that true love knows no bounds, and animals shouldn't be judged by human conventions!
NB: The father, who was obviously named Batman, is no longer in the picture (or the aquarium). He died of an indeterminate cause under mysterious circumstances, but circumstantial evidence pretty strongly points to an Oedipus type situation. It should also be stressed that all of this is 100% true.
The King & I
A little Boxing Day window shopping in Centro Habana....
¡Mucha Lechuga!
An urban garden in centre of Havana. Coincidentally, lettuce does seem like one of the few things that there isn't a noticeable shortage of these days....
If you like piña coladas
When you're not drinking alcohol, but the minimal price difference between virgin and real piña coladas at a local street market does give you pause for consideration....
FYI, the current black market exchange rate is 300 pesos to the US dollar, so these prices are $0.67 and $0.83 respectively.
NB: After a solid two decades of fairly rampant alcoholism, I only drink for 'special' occasions now. But there's no firm definition thereof. Ukrainian Independence Day in Odesa for sure, meeting up with old friends from uni it depends, $0.83 piña coladas at a Havana street market, I need to think about.
(Although I actually didn't think about this last one at all, it just made for a better post to frame it that way).
Aqui y Ahora
When street art in Havana revives Fatboy Slim earworms from the late ‘90s....
Godfather of Soul
🎶 Wow! I feel good, I knew that I would now
🎶 I feel good, I knew that I would now
🎶 So good, so good, I got you
If you got it, flaunt it
Sunday morning in Havana. All dressed up and nowhere to go....
Havana 2024
A fairly typical building on a fairly typical street with a fairly typical automobile passing by in Havana in the year 2024....
¡Muy delicioso!
Not many food shots over the first couple weeks here in Havana, since almost all meals have been at home with the family that's adopted me, and I hadn't really thought of taking photos.
But yesterday's lunch was especially photogenic - ham, fried bananas and salad (with pineapple vinaigrette and fresh spinach from the rooftop garden) on a bed of very flavourful rice and beans.
"We understand history, this is the Revolution"
A certain imperial power to the north also understands history, which is why it's spent the past 6+ decades doing everything it can to make sure said revolution didn't succeed.
Sadly, the results kinda speak for themselves. Even the ghost of Fidel seems to know that the writing is on the wall - just look at that melancholic expression he's got in this photo. What's more depressing is that the 'winners' eventually end up writing history....
¡Feliz año nuevo desde La Habana! 🥳🎉🇨🇺
An early ¡Feliz año nuevo desde La Habana!
Hope everyone has as good a time tonight as Señor Menéndez here has every single second of his life!
Smile!
When you've long given up on finding a date for New Years Eve, and then - Boom! - serendipity strikes! Meet Recita, which if I understood correctly, is Cuban slang for ‘smile’.
Sure, she might be pushing 100 in dog years and be in dire need of having her nails trimmed, but as Confucius famously said: Beggars can't be choosers, bro....
NB: This is actually 100% true, except for that bit about the proverb being from Confucius.
A night to remember
In case anyone was curious, a traditional Cuban family New Year's celebration includes many hours of eclectic music videos being played on the TV - everything from Cuban hip hop and Reggaeton to all of your favourite ‘80s American hits, all with 10x more bass than non-Latin ears are used to - a giant meal centred on roast pork, and a surprisingly responsible amount of rum.
At midnight, everyone dumps water from the balcony, while the neighbours opposite might light fire to an effigy representing any bad vibes from the previous year (it looks like a burning cross in this shot, but rest assured it was a person a few moments before). And then things finish up with sparkling cider and apple slices, with video calls to family in the diaspora.
Or at least that was my experience of it. An amazing time from start to finish, and highly recommended if you're ever lucky enough to get the chance....