Times Two !!
I'm writing this blog from the house of our wonderful hosts Arnaldo and his family in Santa Clara, a province about 270 kilometers from the city of Havana. It's been a whirl wind of travels and experiences. Here is how things have evolved since my last blog:
Nicole and I spent a stimulating weekend with our new commadres Las Krudas, an all woman hip hop group. We met up with them at the Armas Plaza in Habana Vieja, where they are part of an amazing theatre troupe that performs to crowds of people and children in this old square with cobbled stones, an antique fountain, and very near the malecon. The performance that Las Krudas is part of is a combination of street performance, dance, theatre, rap, and even Yoruban culture. The men and women dress in colorful costumes like African clowns with colorful faces of the sun, dancing and skipping around on stilts, singing, rapping; there are also men and women dancers running around, and even musicians playing trumpets and drumming. It is truly a fantasic show that adults and children enjoy and the energy is more than you can imagine. Videos and pics are on the way.
Once we followed the troupe through the streets on a parade through the neighborhood we wound up back to the square, where Nicole and I happened upon the Fruit Man. Now, who is the Fruit Man, you may ask? Well, we learned that there is only one Fruit Man in Havana Vieja. He is a warm and spirited Rastafarian who saw me and asked if I was a Rasta and if I like Reggae. My Spanish is still not the greatest so Nicole has been my translator and she and I were invited by the Fruit Man to visit his family into their home. Inside a modest first floor apartment we met Fruit Man and his two daughters, 2 beautiful little girls, and his great wife who is expecting another child. I learned that there are lots of Rastafarian Cubans, and the Fruit Man insisted we listen to Cuban Reggae. It was great as he set up his sound system of huge speakers (it reminded me of home so much) and Nicole and I took lots of photos of the Fruit Man and his family while he entertained us, singing live reggae. It is beyond words to see how many AfroCubans love their African roots and want to connect with me. As an aside, so many people here, black, white, and even those in between ask me so often if I am Cuban because I look like someone in their family or even a neighbor. Back to our Rasta experience, after a few dances with them they invited us to a Rasta wedding this coming week and we went off to meet to Cuban musicians who took us to a place where we drank mojitos, listened to great live music, and danced.
While here Nicole and I have also been exploring what life is like for vegetarians, and have eaten at some retaurants for veg-heads in Habana. To be blunt, it is easier to be a meat eater here but we have learned that ther are more Cubans becoming vegetarians. The food is still evolving and most vegis cook at home. Still, getting enough protein here is an issue.
The next day, Sunday, Nicole and I were invited to eat a vegetarian meal at the home of Las Krudas, where we ate great black beans, white rice, and salad, and tons of ron, Cuban rum. Though I am not a heavy drinker when in Rome, or in this case Cuba, drink. During dinner with Olivia and Oldmyera (the spelling is wrong and I will correct later) we met some more womderful sisters with locks, one who lives in Denmark, and we had great conversation, learning about our different lives. We have really made a connection with these revoluntaires, and listening to their hip hop music was amazing. We have some of their music and will upload some of their tracks, but needless to say, their lyrics are edgy, intelligent, and pushes the envelope. One song entitled La Gorda, translated as "The Fatty" is a song that challenges the body images of Cuban women, and is so universal. I intend on writing and directing a music video for this track for Las Krudas, and if I am lucky I will return sometime in August during the Hip Hop festival.
After a fun filled weekend Monday rolled around and Nicole and I prepared for our 2pm screening of Bloodletting, translated as Desangrismo: Vida, Muerte, Salud. We got to the Charlie Chaplin theatre, where 15 of our own people waiting to see the documentary were chatting with us, when we discovered 15 minutes before the screening that our movie had been CANCELED!!!! Yup, canceled. Nicole went into the theatre to get passes for our group then returned to tell us that the only subtitled copy of Bloodletting, due in from Venezuela, had not shown up. Ugh!! We apologised to our crowd then went to the National Hotel to speak with coordinators who told us that they had rescheduled the showing on Tuesday. Well, Tuesday we showed up at the Charlie Chaplin theatre where there was confusion about which movie was being shown, so we had a tiny crowd!! Though that was disappointing it was great to see the few viewers in the audience crying!!! They were touched by my Mother and Brother and couldn't believe how difficult and expensive it is to live in the U.S. One Cuban woman told us that she thought Joe was handsome and that he should move to Cuba where he would do much better, so Joe learn Spanish!!
Nicole and I spent a stimulating weekend with our new commadres Las Krudas, an all woman hip hop group. We met up with them at the Armas Plaza in Habana Vieja, where they are part of an amazing theatre troupe that performs to crowds of people and children in this old square with cobbled stones, an antique fountain, and very near the malecon. The performance that Las Krudas is part of is a combination of street performance, dance, theatre, rap, and even Yoruban culture. The men and women dress in colorful costumes like African clowns with colorful faces of the sun, dancing and skipping around on stilts, singing, rapping; there are also men and women dancers running around, and even musicians playing trumpets and drumming. It is truly a fantasic show that adults and children enjoy and the energy is more than you can imagine. Videos and pics are on the way.
Once we followed the troupe through the streets on a parade through the neighborhood we wound up back to the square, where Nicole and I happened upon the Fruit Man. Now, who is the Fruit Man, you may ask? Well, we learned that there is only one Fruit Man in Havana Vieja. He is a warm and spirited Rastafarian who saw me and asked if I was a Rasta and if I like Reggae. My Spanish is still not the greatest so Nicole has been my translator and she and I were invited by the Fruit Man to visit his family into their home. Inside a modest first floor apartment we met Fruit Man and his two daughters, 2 beautiful little girls, and his great wife who is expecting another child. I learned that there are lots of Rastafarian Cubans, and the Fruit Man insisted we listen to Cuban Reggae. It was great as he set up his sound system of huge speakers (it reminded me of home so much) and Nicole and I took lots of photos of the Fruit Man and his family while he entertained us, singing live reggae. It is beyond words to see how many AfroCubans love their African roots and want to connect with me. As an aside, so many people here, black, white, and even those in between ask me so often if I am Cuban because I look like someone in their family or even a neighbor. Back to our Rasta experience, after a few dances with them they invited us to a Rasta wedding this coming week and we went off to meet to Cuban musicians who took us to a place where we drank mojitos, listened to great live music, and danced.
While here Nicole and I have also been exploring what life is like for vegetarians, and have eaten at some retaurants for veg-heads in Habana. To be blunt, it is easier to be a meat eater here but we have learned that ther are more Cubans becoming vegetarians. The food is still evolving and most vegis cook at home. Still, getting enough protein here is an issue.
The next day, Sunday, Nicole and I were invited to eat a vegetarian meal at the home of Las Krudas, where we ate great black beans, white rice, and salad, and tons of ron, Cuban rum. Though I am not a heavy drinker when in Rome, or in this case Cuba, drink. During dinner with Olivia and Oldmyera (the spelling is wrong and I will correct later) we met some more womderful sisters with locks, one who lives in Denmark, and we had great conversation, learning about our different lives. We have really made a connection with these revoluntaires, and listening to their hip hop music was amazing. We have some of their music and will upload some of their tracks, but needless to say, their lyrics are edgy, intelligent, and pushes the envelope. One song entitled La Gorda, translated as "The Fatty" is a song that challenges the body images of Cuban women, and is so universal. I intend on writing and directing a music video for this track for Las Krudas, and if I am lucky I will return sometime in August during the Hip Hop festival.
After a fun filled weekend Monday rolled around and Nicole and I prepared for our 2pm screening of Bloodletting, translated as Desangrismo: Vida, Muerte, Salud. We got to the Charlie Chaplin theatre, where 15 of our own people waiting to see the documentary were chatting with us, when we discovered 15 minutes before the screening that our movie had been CANCELED!!!! Yup, canceled. Nicole went into the theatre to get passes for our group then returned to tell us that the only subtitled copy of Bloodletting, due in from Venezuela, had not shown up. Ugh!! We apologised to our crowd then went to the National Hotel to speak with coordinators who told us that they had rescheduled the showing on Tuesday. Well, Tuesday we showed up at the Charlie Chaplin theatre where there was confusion about which movie was being shown, so we had a tiny crowd!! Though that was disappointing it was great to see the few viewers in the audience crying!!! They were touched by my Mother and Brother and couldn't believe how difficult and expensive it is to live in the U.S. One Cuban woman told us that she thought Joe was handsome and that he should move to Cuba where he would do much better, so Joe learn Spanish!!
posted by Unknown at 11:48 AM
2 Comments:
Wow! What an amazing unfolding story! I am sitting at the edge of my seat reading your words as they come off the page rich with energy and color and excitement!! All my love to you and Nicole.
Nichole and Lorna,
This sounds absolutely amazing. Sorry, to hear about the confusion with the film, but it sounds like you are more tahn making up for it with amazing connections with amazing people. Keep mixing it up.
Max
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