How pleased was I, to flip the calendar to March and see Havana. Later last year, writing a review of Teresa Dovalpage’s new mystery novel for The Chicago Review of Books, I realized just how little I knew about Cuba. And #HereandElsewhere started with my wanting to look for small – even incidental – ways to widen my world, to counter the inclination to withdraw when the news seems menacing, so here was the perfect excuse to widen it further.
Coincidentally, I started the new year by reading a Cuban-American author: Margarita Engle. That’s her All the Way to Havana (2017) in the photographs. Mike Curato’s bold and richly coloured illustrations urged me to request this title from the library. (Not familiar with the history of the 1950s American cars in Cuban culture, but curious? This CNN article not only outlines the history, but illuminates the Cubans’ business savvy in recognizing the potential for new income sources in changing times.)
“Some of this island’s old cars purr like kittens, but ours is so tired that she just chatters like a busy chicken…” Engle writes. Normally, I would be much more interested in a storybook about a chicken, but these illustrations pull me into the story, even if it is about cars (the endpapers have sketches of the most popular models which are pictured in full-colour in the book).
Also, the fact that the illustrator was careful to draw the cars accurately (which creates the impression that he has made mistakes, because the Cubans have to work with older parts, so they might replace a model’s steering wheel with one from another model) made me wish that I could recognize those details myself.
One of my favourite spreads is of the road along the seawall, the red and lime and aquamarine vehicles being driven all in contrast with the worn and tired buildings up ahead. It looks like so many of the shots in the two videos I also watched recently: Discovering Havana (2005) and Free Havana (2012).
At first, Discovering Havana: In the Footsteps of Hemingway (2005) was much more about Havana than Hemingway. And because I’m not a massive Hemingway fan and because the film eventually does get around to sharing the writer’s haunts, it was satisfying in the end. The major tourist destinations are pictured and there are longer segments on sites like the Partagas Cigar Factory (still in production and all hand-made), the Museum of the Revolution, and the Grand Theatre.
On the Hemingway side of things, the segments on Finca Vigia and Ambos Mundos are detailed. You also get to see inside his study and an assortment of the collectible items on display there (although apparently he never wrote in this room, but preferred to be surrounded by everyday noises and activities).
But perhaps most importantly, you can learn to make a daquiri and a mojito exactly like Hemingway preferred his. (Hopefully I can still remember this when the weather warms.)
Free Havana: Six LGBT Cubans Speak Frankly about Their Lives is the first documentary of its kind to have been featured at Havana’s International Festival of New Latin Cinema. Remarkable given the country’s systemic persecution of LGBT(Q) citizens, the film also captures the movement towards acceptance in text that plays out against a backdrop of still photos and video footage of the city. This combination of personal anecdotes and storytelling with historical information allows viewers to situate the stories in context, even if you know little-to-nothing about the policies.
Two of the men chose to keep their identity private (they are pictured in shadow, or from an angle that masks their features) because the climate remains hostile in some respects. And perhaps this also explains why there was only one woman interviewed in the group. Some interviewees were old enough to be able to recount tales of the re-education camps (literally concentration camps, before the Nazi party equated concentration camps with death camps) that they’d been sent to when they were young. Overall, however, the filmmakers were clearly striving to present a balance of sombre and inspiring stories.
My desk calendar is by a Toronto artist (each month with a quotation from the work of an author associated with this city and printed on 100% recycled paper with VOC-free inks). It’s the perfect fit for my desire to widen my world, on and off the page.
Where have you been visiting on the page recently?
I’m not a car person at all, but pictures of those old cars in Cuba are always romantic and appealing. I love the sound of Cuba, though I understand from a friend who has visited several times how difficult life is for Cubans. Isn’t it wonderful how books can take us to so many fascinating places.
I agree! It’s not the only place with beautiful beaches that’s become synonymous with cheap holiday getaways while never a thought is given to the injustices that that tourist economy perpetuates, but the political situation and its disrupted relationship with the U.S. does seem to have exacerbated that whole situation. Lately I’ve been even more grateful for feeling that travelling on the page is “enough” for me!
I love pictures of the old cars in Cuba – those splotches of colour. I’ve never been… I’ve only seen pictures.
Drive-By Saviours took me to Indonesia. It was also partly set in Toronto. One part takes place during the blackout. You might like it!
I think I have that as an e-book…is it the one that’s set partly on or near Cherry Beach in Toronto, a mystery? How did it end up in your stack?
I can’t remember if it mentioned Cherry Beach…
I just thought it was about time I read one of his books… so I did!
I checked – I do have it as an epub! And it does seem like a good time to read mysteries…the kinds of books that have solutions built in!
Loved your post! I would love to visit Cuba someday but this is a good reminder that I have access to the world at my fingertips through books and documentaries. Currently I am “spending time” in Norther Ireland through Anna Burns’ novel Milkman. It’s quirky but I am enjoying it so far.
That’s definitely on my TBR list, along with a NF Irish book, set during the Troubles, which has gotten a lot of media attention (but I’m forgetting the title in this moment) about a woman who disappeared. (Why do we always think of documentary films as things that students and children should watch, as if we learned everything that we need to know when we were in school and, oh, thank goodness, THAT’s all looked after? LOL)
I’ve watched Buena Vista Social Club and some other documentaries. Read about Che.. But I don’t think I’ve read any of its writers. Come to think about it, I don’t even know any of their names.. Feels wrong. That is one of the reasons I started the project – the feeling that I am missing out on great literature, fresh eyes..
Great post! Can’t wait to see what’s in for April.
Thank you for the recommendation; I see the original documentary was produced in 1999 (I love that it was an international effort) and there has been an updated version in 2017. When the public libraries reopen, I will have a look for these!
Yes, I completely understand. That’s how I felt too. And there’s no excuse for it when we have an internet connection and public library systems to support our curiosity.
I’m looking forward to April’s “destination” too. rubs palms rapidly together
I love your attempts at ‘widening your world’ instead of shying away from it. The news is VERY scary right now, but we can’t just stick our head in the sand, and this seems like a very reasonable way of widening your scope while still protecting your mental health.
I visited Cuba in my last year of University. I stayed at an all-inclusive resort with my hubby (boyfriend at the time!) but we took a day trip in Havana which was fascinating. The poverty was horrible to see, but there were some definite points of beauty and grace too-I also smoked my first (and only) cigar there 🙂
The cigar factory was fascinating – it was one of my favourite parts of the film (I’ve never smoked one myself)! The poverty behind the tourism industry which buoys those all-inclusive vacations is atrocious and fortunately we know so much more about that now. Earlier today, while doing the dishes and listening to an NPR news podcast (an older one, I’m always two or three weeks behind LOL), the journalists were discussing the fact that new developments in the war in Syria right now are causing the worst humanitarian crisis of our time, affecting millions in that week and more than half of the numbers children, and how it’s being completely overshadowed in the news by other (also important issues) but one of the individuals speaking to it said that increasing public awareness of it is crucial, individuals taking the time to understand it, so I guess that, in whatever small ways we can widen our world, it’s important to try.
Ugh hearing about that is so sad. We’re freaking out about having to stay in and watch netflix while other countries are falling apart at the seams….
IKR? Reading about these other situations helps me put things into context: being better informed helps me balance.
Fascinating post. I’ve always been intrigued by Cuba (I read up a lot on Che and Fidel back in the day) and one day would love to visit. Currently visiting the past more than another country (although it is another country) with Lennie Goodings’ A Bite of the Apple. Maybe France next!
That Goodings’ book sounds so good – I’m not sure if it’s available in Canada (yet? ever?) but it’s definitely on my TBR. There is a Virago podcast about it too, which just makes it sound more interesting! Who was it who said that the past is another country? 🙂
Bookmarks did an article about modern Cuban literature in July/Aug 2015 if you’re able to access back issues via your library system.
Thanks, Rebecca. I’ll keep that in mind – these mini-projects have the capacity to swell into major projects for sure.