I want to preface this post by saying I have not used the internet thus far, have no idea what my fellow Cubanistas have been writing about, and although I would hope that each of us responds to a different aspect of life here in Cuba, apologies if I repeat information or anecdotes.
Havana is loud. Everything about it is vibrant, in-your-face, and loud. I sit here in my giant king size bed (Julie gave Becky and I the title ‘las reinas’ because we won the best room in the house in a game of rock, paper, scissors the first night) listening to exhausts of 60’s Pontiac ‘botero’s cruising down Calle G, dogs barking outside my window, the TV loudly commenting on the ceremony dedicated to the return of the 5 heroes de Cuba in the dining room, Jack strumming away on the guitar instead of doing his readings, and pedestrians shouting as they recognize friends at La Fuente (a peso restaurant we frequent across the street). The noise is not chaotic; it isn’t stressful. This city is alive, and the orchestral melodies of a Tuesday evening in Vedado are all part of the melody.
It is easy to whip out the metaphors and romanticize the city. Its colonial mansions colored brilliantly with stone porches look if they could be from New Orleans, or a European village, and shout poetry. Its music circles on the street outside my house send me to sleep in a state of serendipity. Havana, although I merely have penetrated the surface, is a city full of creativity and life. It is difficult to remember I am living in a privileged romance-infused balloon that hovers over the actual, existing city to fall back down to reality. I have only been exposed thus far to an intellectual and creative community in Havana through ISA and Elliot’s friends. With all the gallery exhibitions, discussions, and shows, sometimes I feel as though I never left Portland or Minneapolis. Don’t get me wrong, this world is definitely a complete enigma full of contradictions to me. But, I AM SO EXCITED TO FIGURE IT OUT.
Okay, I have rambled about my first impression and thoughts of la Habana for long enough.
Con todo siempre tranquilo,
Sara