Last weekend, I visited the Padrino (spiritual mentor) of a friend of mine. She is of the Santeria faith, which is a very common here in Cuba. It originated from Yoruba practices, and was brought over with slaves during the plantation era in Cuba. It melded with Catholic practices from Spain, native practices, and to […]

One of the blessing and curses of Cuba is the lack of access to the rest of the world. In my experience travelling in the past domestically, in Europe, and even in South America, a large part of the experience is always documenting the experience. The art of being a tourist; in balancing experiences and […]

Apparently yesterday was a national holiday dedicated to children, a national day for the next generation of Cuban revolutionaries.  I didn’t realize it until I found myself at a youth concert of entirely Van Van (popular fusion group) songs in that late afternoon, with hundreds of Cuban children and parents. As the sun set on […]

Every day that we travel to and from class at the ISA we take either the “guagua” (public bus) or a “botero” (classic american cars that currently serve as shared taxis). Regardless of which you choose, the destination is always the “Playa Paradero.” This is essentially a four block open-air transportation stop lined by closely-packed […]

Stream of consciousness, bare with me. We’re roughly half way through our time here on the island and still exploring new spaces and groups. What an outstanding opportunity we have here to take in this space as it currently stands before whatever comes next. April fools day took its toll on our group. Sarah thought […]