1 GRANDA Avisittoreality21_print Allowed_97_2003

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A Visit to

Reality

Published in electronic format by 21 Creations [email protected]

Cover Design by Consuelo Castaedae-mail [email protected]

Design and layout by !uis C. "thon. e-mail [email protected]

#am$n !. %randaPhotos and &e'te-mail [email protected]

Copyright ( 2)1* by #am$n !. %randa

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3bout the 3uthor

#am$n %randa is from a traditional Cuban family. 6e was born in the nitedtates in 1/0) and educated in wit5erland and 7ngland. 6e has written twoother boo8s, 9:orldly mite; and 9&he erene City; . ?n additionhe wor8ed in film production for many years and wrote a screenplay9Canto de Cuba; . 6is virtual tour of Pinar del #io can be seen atwww.virtourist.com4america4pinardelrio4inde'.html
http://www.virtourist.com/america/pinardelrio/indexhttp://www.virtourist.com/america/pinardelrio/index


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!ist of Photographs in order of 3ppearance

iew of 6avana 2

igns and Aorro Castle =3mado and Bulito 0"bispo4Pla5a de 3rmas 1)arbershop 11%ilberto and his parents 126otel Ao8a 10!a &erra5a 1ar - !a &erra5a 1

the #ed !ada 21ids in hamlet 22Carlos Aanuel de CEspedes 2=Palace of the Captains %eneral 207ntertaining &ourists *1"ld 6avana treet *2"bispo **!a Aaravilla *F7l Gloridita *Centro %allego and the Capitol ldg. F)?nterior Patio of the Capitol F1Chamber of #epresentatives F2Capitol 6allway F*choolchildren on e'cursion FF&he ofa of 6avana =1Bulia Airanda =/!a !anchita de #egla 01

!anchita ?? 023 Pathway in ?sabel Aaria 0=CuyaguateHe #iver 00Gield of %reen 0!a Carreta 1!a #eal street Pinar del #io F

3braham Pere5 6ouse =us tation in Aantua /

#esidential street in Aantua 2

Gustes house in AacuriHe =Dimas /Dimas by the ea /FDimas chool /=lanca and family /0Aanolin Gustes /#ed 7arth - Pinar del #io 1))an Carlos 1)1!andscape umidero 1)2

AacuriHe 1)F&he &hree 3rnaldos 1)=&oledo and Gamily 1)/erta Gustes 11=Aartin and +eighbor 110Aiguel Gustes 11"n the porch with Buana Pere5 12FAantua Church 1*2

Cuni-%arcia Porch 1/F);s 1*0Aonument in Aantua 1*/!andscape Aantua 1F2&ransportation in Cuba 1F0Che sculpture Pla5a Civica 1=)?sabel Aaria 1=Fiew from the Porch 1==#amonin %randa 101aseball tadium Aantua 10=

Presidencial Palace 1Pla5a de !a Catedral 1/2Pla5a ieHa - "ld 6avana 1/F?nterior Patio - Pla5a ieHa 1/=34Cuba Aonument in 6avana 1/0:elcome to %uanabacoa 1/Cuban slogan 2)&he Iumuri alley 21=

#odeo 22)


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J"h beso de muHer, llama a mi puertaKJ6aschisch de mi dolor, ven a mi bocaK

BosE AartL


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iew of 6avana - 6otel +acional


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7verything was normal. ? got my bags and then wewaited around for someone to pic8 us up. 6e never showedup. ?t was such a strange feeling to be with my people forthe first time. ? loo8ed at them shyly and tried to catcheverything without focusing on anything in particular, thepeople waiting for friends and family, their clothes andmanner, the cars in the circular drive- way, #ussian !adas

with their bo'y loo8, the beverage stand, and the fluorescentlighting on people;s faces.

:e decided to ta8e a ta'i. 3mado, as usual, dic8ered withthe driver and then we agreed. &hat is how ? rode to thehouse in Airamar for my first night in 6avana. ? hadn;tslept very well for a few days and usually ?;m

9dormil$n;. ? did not sleep more than 2 or * hours be- causeit was all so damn ama5ing and weird and ? didn;t 8nowanything.

lowly ? began to 8now everyone at the house. :e were allformal and stiffly polite. &his is always funny but withsomething poignant underneath. &here are reasons for

everything.

? forgot to tell you about the Muality of the night and the airand the ride. &he way the car lights beam through unlitstreets illuminating details. &he peeling paint on columns,the small dogs sleeping on porches, the puffs of diesele'haust from rumbling truc8s and the long av-


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F 3 isit to #eality

enues with their sparse traffic. 3ll embraced by the vel-

vety dar8ness and thic8, scent-laden air.

"n my first day in 6avana, there was full sunlight withthat hot white light of the tropics that ma8es every colorclear. ? got my ne't emotional surprise as we drove in thecar and came out of the Gifth 3venue tunnel bear- ing leftand ? saw my first view of 7l Aalec$n, the sinuous curve of

avenue that fronts the sea and leads to the bay of 6avana.? had very strong feelings. Iou see ? had heard of it all mylife but never really e'pected to see it. ? was born in Aiami.?t was a normal ride for my friends.

? would have these Holts and some ? would share and othersnot. 6avana and my people were a wonder to me. ? ate the

city with my eyes. 3ll my life my family had told me thatbecause of my name ? could not go. ? had believed themand for much of my life ? had not wanted to go. &he Cold:ar was real.

:hen the business wee8 started, 3mado had meetings in"ld 6avana and ? wandered the city. ? had a list of

museums to see. 3n older Cuban 7'ile and family friendhad shown me pictures of his visit and told me where togo. :hen we met in Aiami it had all the drama of aclandestine meeting for even though thousands go everyyear, amongst our families it is loo8ed on badly, emotionsare volatile and inHuries real, so we hide our


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3mado and Bulito


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Captains-%eneral made it the beginning of a beautiful

e'perience. &he Palace was the center of government for afew centuries and is where the .. %eneral :oods orroo8e, whoever was fat and ruled Cuba for a short time,had an elevator installed.

? sat in the chair. ? spea8 panish with a Cuban accent so ?am instantly identifiable when ? spea8 but our e'- periences

clothe us differently. Ay people and ? were e'otic to eachother. &he older ones 8now.

%ilberto the barber is middle-aged with a gentle face and afull bushy mustache. 6e wore a clean, short- sleevedsmoc8 and our conversation began, as so many did,identifying myself as Cuban from Aiami. 6e as8ed,

O :hat province is your family fromQR, as he fold-ed the cloth around my nec8, carefully tuc8ing in theedges.

O Pinar del #ioR, the westernmost province inCuba.

O :here in Pinar del #ioQR &his time with a pu55lede'pectancy in his voice.

O Aantua.R


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6e seemed stunned, went to the closet, and came bac8 with

his identity card. 6e showed it to me. ? read, irth- placeAantua.R +ow ? was the one who was surprised. Ay hair, ofcourse, was untouched. o we entered into an animatedconversation of surprise and e'change.

6e 8new of the family, though he was a bit off on myfather;s nic8name, but then * years is a long time. Ay

grandfather was the most important man in the district bac8then. 6e was a signer of the Constitution of 1/F),landowner, Congressman and more but our family was butone of a weave of families. &he phone rang. ?t was thebarber;s mother.

O Iou;ll never believe who ? have sitting in the

chairR, he began. &hey tal8ed and then he passed thephone to me.

O Sue tal, eoraR ? began for ? am polite.

?t turned out her husband had been best friends with arelation of mine in Aiami. ? could hear him over the phone

line getting all e'cited and happy. Ay hair was stilluntouched. "ne and a half hours after ? had entered, ?left with an e'cellent haircut at the most e'pen- sivebarbershop in 6avana , an invitation to visit hisparents and the news that an entire branch of my family wasstill living in the district of Aantua. Ay friend and ? wereboth an hour late and arrived at the same


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"bispo - Pla5a de 3rmas


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arbershop


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%ilberlo and his parents

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moment at the designated meeting point and thus were both

on time. 6avana is li8e that.

? did not tell you about our outing the day before and my firsttaste of my beloved province of Pinar del #io. ? behavedHust as my dogs, Aelo and +ene, used to do when myfatherwould ta8e us all for a ride in Aiami bac8 when my brotherand ? were growing up. Ay friend was driving too fast for me

to see everything and yap, yap, yapR ? would go. ? was alle'cited and alert when we drove into the hills near oroa. ?was struc8 with wonder and pride at the lushness, cool air,verdant hills, ferns, a falling stream, palms and other treesdripping orchids.

&here were four of us in the party. :e finally arrived at a

tourist hotel, the Ao8a that was above a village set in thehills, !a &erra5a. Ay friends stopped for lunch and ? leftthem to race down the winding road to the village. Ay friendaside, ? only wanted to be with Cuban people and to meetthem.

? have often been timid and do not force myself on other

people. ? had seen when we were driving up the roadthat there was a small structure Hutting out into the la8e.:hite walls on three sides open on the fourth, tile roof andred railings on the verandah. ? figured it might be a bar orcafe of some sort and went to find out. ? loitered by thegangplan8, too8 photographs, and waited until ? feltcomfortable or willing to go in.


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1F

&here were people sitting at tables and no one seemedmuch bothered by my presence and blessed relief, ? sawa bar. ? went to the man and as8ed if it was open to thepublic. 6e said IesR and we went through a few moreMuestions and answers before ? finally ordered and payed fora beer.

3nything that is available in Cuba, with the e'ception of thefarmers mar8ets, is available and payable only with ..dollars or its convertible peso eMuivalent. &here are threecurrencies on the islandN the national currency


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lons. 7ach section has separate stairwells for access to the

various dwellings. ?t was built in the early 0);s and thehotel, which is further up on the hill and not visible from thela8e, was completed within the last two years . &he hotel is of elegant appear- ance and fullymodern. &he village is of good design but somewhatshopworn and with an air of the unfinished that all post-revolutionary concrete structures seem to share.

#uben told me that it was a community development proHectbuilt for eco-tourism and that all profits would be reinvestedin the community. Bobs were for local people. ? found thewhole thing to be very attractive and laudable. ?t was inevery respect a model proHect for ? saw no other of its 8ind.

? was favorably impressed by the proHect and by #uben. Aygrandfather, in his political career and in his life, had alwaysbeen concerned with the betterment of rural people;sconditions. ? am certain that he would have approved of theproHect and of young #uben. ? have envied only once in mylife and got over it Muic8ly. ? was at a friend;s house. hewas calling loads of people, spea8ing freely and ? wished

that ? could do that. Ay friends are my lifeline but ? have tobudget my calls. ? did however tell #uben that ? enviedhim. ?t was a fib but ? wanted to convey my approval. ?wished him well and departed. &hey must have thought ?was mad.


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6otel Ao8a


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!a &erra5a


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? Hoined up with my friends as they were finishing at therestaurant. 7vidently, the food was appallingly bad andsomewhat e'pensive. ? only ate once at a state runinstitution. ?t was a restaurant in 6avana, located in abeautiful old apartment. :e demanded to inspect the foodbefore it was coo8ed, the service was poor in all senses ofthe word, and the china was mi'ed, some of very high

Muality and worth more than a year;s wag- es of any of theemployees, and others of C"A7C"+ manufacture. &hegood china was stamped #iviera Bewelers, in panish. &hecompany is still in business and as far as ? 8now, still ownedby the same family and still serving some of the samefamilies as clients. ?t is now located in Coral %ables wherethe Aayor is a 6avana gentleman of an old Cuban family.

Coral %ables is rather similar in parts to Airamar. Aybrother;s townhouse is in a part of Coral %ables thatbears the same relationship that ohly did to Airamar,neighborhoods of 6avana located on the other side of the3lmendares #iver. Ay grandfather;s 6avana house was inohly. Ay family was not AaHor !eague but we were &riple

3. 3ll of our families were once penniless refugees of theCold :ar. ? thin8 about it. "ur social patterns are strong.&hey have re-created themselves from scratch, to somemeasure. 6owever, that was not the point. Ay opinion ofstate run restaurants was not from my limited e'periencebut rather from conversa-

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tions with foreign businessmen in Cuba who assured me

that in generalN food Muality was bad, service poor andprices high.

&he ne't two wee8s ? spent photographing 6avana, havingnew e'periences, tal8ing to everybody and des- peratelytrying to find a means to get to the district of Aantua andmeet my family.

? forgot to tell you another story about my first day inPinar del #io. ? met 3mado and the others. &hey fin-ished and we drove off and yap, yap, yapR ? would gowhen the view changed and ? wanted to see every- thingwhile he drove too fast. &wice, ? made them stop so that ?could ta8e pictures of the landscape. "ne of those times,

we stopped at a hamlet. &he houses were hidden from theroad and behind me. ? had not noticed. Ay focus was onthe landscapes. Children came running up and as8ed meto ta8e their picture. ? did. &here was a party going on,some of the men were sitting and drin8ing, and then ?heard the music. &hey of- fered me a drin8 and ? had todecline because of time. ? e'plained that ? was with a

group from 6avana but that ? was a Pinareo from outsideand it was my first day in the province and the others did notunderstand my emotions. &he 9guaHiros; toasted me whileone de- claimed with emphasis,

O Iou are in your ProvinceKR ?t felt good.


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the #ed !ada


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ids in hamlet

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&a8e a wal8 with me through "ld 6avana. :e start at thePla5a de 3rmas and then eventually ma8e it to the formerCapitol building, which now houses a library. &he Pla5a islively with an ebb and flow of people. ?t is rich with historyand that lends a certain solemnity and Muiet to the hubbubthat is yet always there. &he Palace of the Captains-%eneral is now a museum of Cuban history with manymementoes honouring those who struggled forindependence. "n the plaMues, ? saw many names thatwere familiar to me from my life in Aiami including those ofrelatives by marriage, the Dia5 de illegas. ? was thrilledand by seeing those plaMues and 6avana, ? understoodbetter some of the sources of e'ile fervor.

&he Pla5a also houses the former .. 7mbassy. ?t wasthe 7mbassy while the Palace was the center of govern-ment. &he new 7mbassy was moved to a prime spot on theAalec$n when the center of government moved. &he ..7mbassy is no longer new but is still there and in aperennial state of repair postponed and covered inscaffolding.

?n thecenterof thesMuare is a statue toCarlos AanueldeCEspedes, the father of the nation. 6e started the strug- glefor Cuban independence 12/ years ago, although ouridentity as Cubans is vastly older. ? met a descendant ofhis in 6avana. 3 distinguished gentleman who is anarchitect and wor8s for 6abaguane', the semi-au- tonomousagency that is headed by the 6istorian of the

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City, 7usebio !eal and whose tas8 is the restoration of "ld

6avana through mi'ed foreign private4state entities thatinvest in the city. &he architect has three children, two sonsand a daughter. &he daughter lives in Aadrid. &he sons arealso both architects. "ne lives in 6avana and the otherrecently relocated to Aiami as an e'ile where he is a visitingprofessor and sometime lecturer at the niversity of Aiami. ?met "restes Br. when ? returned to the tates and now weare friends, struggling artists defining our culture andourselves by e'ercising our respective vocations. &hehighest professional salary in Cuba is F)) pesos a month,which is roughly eMuivalent to 2) .. dollars.

"restes del Castillo r. graciously wrote,

O 3m ? really a distinguished gentlemanQ "h my%odK ?;m not a descendant of Carlos Aanuel de CEs- pedesalthough his second last name is my first oneN we come froma common trun8 of a tree but from different branches. ? wor8for an architectural design agency of the City 6istorian;s"ffice not 6abaguane'. ? have four childrenN the eldest oneis "restes, who lives in Aiami. Geli' is the second one andlives in 6avana as does the youngest, Bavier. Aaria Doloresis my third child who is in Aadrid for her doctorate inbiological science.R


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Carlos Aanuel de Cespedes


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Palace of the Captains-%eneral

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:herever ? wal8ed through the city and the countryside,people would come up to spea8 to me. ?n the sMuare, itmight be a antera, a blac8 woman of age and distinc- tion,priestess collecting for her religion, young people Hustloo8ing to spea8 to someone different or vendors bothlegal and illegal. &he vendors, hustling a living much asothers do in any country where tourists visit, alwaysstarted the same way.

O 7spaaKR &hey would shout as they saw mecoming and ? would sha8e my head.

O +o.R

O ?taliaKR +o again.

O &hey would shrug as if as8ing what thenQR

O CubanoR ? would say and most would get pissedand storm off.

? would spea8 to those who recogni5ed me as Cuban."thers, though ? felt sympathy for, after all, it was only

swing and a miss, and they are Hust trying to ma8e aliving, ? would not help in their pegging me. "ur e'-periences clothe us differently and manners ma8e the man.Ay 8ind made some mista8es but we are 9ancien regime;and ? am Cuban. :ords. ? stop at a place. ?t overloo8s thevalley of ?sabel Aaria. tanding there, ?

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feel as natural to it as the bree5e or the trees or the water.&his dust is from that earth.

&he illegal vendors are sometimes left alone and at othertimes are arrested by the vanload by the tourism police,which are different fromN regular police, traffic police,motorcycle police, security police and secret police. Prisonsentences are handed out the way flyers are at an 3mericansupermar8et. "ne year, two years, special on vendors, si'months.

#estoration wor8 is centered on the sMuares of greatesthistoric value radiating outward along main thorough- fares.&he farther you are away from tourist areas the morethings are in ill repair. ide streets can reveal a level ofdecay that is actively dangerous for if you wal8 on the sidesthere is real ris8 of a falling piece of masonry or balconyhitting you. ome buildings are in total collapse andothers are ruins but have facades that can be preservedand incorporated into new wor8. &his is the case in myfriend;s proHect. &he 6elms-urton !aw does not apply tothe property. &here is no claim from government, individual,or heir as the former owners were panish. 3ll claimsbetween the respective gov- ernments are settled.

&he buildings vary in age. &he oldest date from the 10thCentury, some 1th Century, many 1th Century, most1/th Century and some 2)th Century buildings includ-

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ing some 3rt Deco treas res s ch as the former acardi


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ing some 3rt-Deco treasures such as the former acardi6avana headMuarters and mostgovernment buildings of the former, short-lived, hot-house#epublic . &he Grench are, ?believe, currently on their Gifth #epublic. ?t may well ta8e acouple of centuries, or so, to get the swing of the thing.

&o wal8 in the side streets and fully appreciate the sightsand sounds you have to be Cuban. Cultural memories aretriggered by a #umba beat from an unseen courtyard, thesmell of coffee and cigar smo8e, wor8shops that are notshops and may loo8 li8e hovels but are not and where thesame activity has been going on for centuries. &he soundsof metal, banter among neighbors, greetings shouted inpassing, some old lady yelling at a running child or the aweand aura of some traffic-stop- ping national monument of awoman cutting through the crowd li8e a prow through water,these and more surround you. &he cultural memories arethere even if li8e me, you have never lived there and aree'perienc- ing them for the first time. Cuban culture isstrong.

+o two buildings are the same. &here is a wonderfulvariety and facades are of dressed stone or painted inpastel colors, pale yellow, soft peach, creamy white.

&he facades are accented with hard colors on the shut- tersof tall narrow windows or railings on balconies in


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blue, green, brown etc. 3bove most doors, there is usu- allya fan inset of colored glass to let the light in.

&he people are se'ual and lively. &here is a lot of move-ment and many currents of mood, not everyone is friendly.Pedi-cabs are common but the most common vehicles are3merican cars from the F);s and =);s with some few beingin e'cellent condition and others held together with stringand a certain moral Muality of in- domitable spirit. &heowners of some of these cars have tacit approval to operateas ta'is and riding in them is an e'perience. &he passengerarea is vast with enough room to conduct an affair in andinclude a compact * piece Ba55 Combo with bar to help youconduct it. ?f the above seems a bit callous because of thepolitical situation, consider. &he previous generation had awild time, stuc8 my generation with the bill, and then getsangry with us for trying to fi' it, politically spea8ing. "fcourse, they also taught us to learn to love family and beCuban but some of us 8ept on learning and to be free andthin8 and spea8 for ourselves and respect the rights ofothers we learned on our own and by living in the widerworld. ? love to learn but ? often hate the pro- cess becauseuntil ? have learned ? do not 8now that ? am doing it. 7noughpamphleteering. &ime for a bit of bar chatter, social stuffand we are after all on our way to the Capitol so Muit loiteringyou lot.

6emingway used to say that he li8ed his 9moHito; at the


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7ntertaining &ouris1s


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"ld 6avana street


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Obispo


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!a Aaravilla

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odeguita del Aedio and his 9daiMuiri; at the Gloridita.


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:ellOgood choices. 6e made many places his own and

those two are still there. ? received my favorite postcardfrom an e'otic location in the !evant, a painter friend ofmine sent it, and it went - Dear #amon, 6emingway wasnot here. !ove, 3llessandro.R

3t the odeguita, you can still see a picture of 7rroll Gly- nnwith epy, a 6ungarian adventurer, bac8 when epy was

younger and causing scandals in 6avana. "nce, he madea sculpture in Palm each of 3nita 78berg na8ed. hewas not present. ?t was around the time9!a Dolce ita; was a big hit. 3nita 78berg;s husbandslugged epy upon meeting. ? met epy a few years agowith another painter friend of mine, !aureano %arcia-Concheso who also had been friend of my father;s. epy;s

three-acre estate in Coconut %rove is complete with an oldpanish style bar cellar on the grounds. epy later seduceda friend of my then girlfriend. &he friend was at least F=years younger than he was and afterwards he gave her afa8e watch. Ay then girlfriend is now married, based inCosta #ica and wor8s for the :orld 6ealth "rgani5ation.y chance, ? ran into her in 6avana while she was there on

:.6.". business.

?nside, 7l Gloridita loo8s li8e it more properly belongs in aAiami each hotel for it is 9Bac8ie %leason; elegant but theydo ma8e an e'cellent daiMuiri. &he headwait- er wears abright red sports Hac8et and on his lapel is a

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long column of flag pins of different nations. +o doubt,


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rearranged over the last few decades but when ? was there,

? chec8ed and ..3. was in the top three.

Aovie people have continued to go to 6avana even duringthe height of the Cold :ar. &he only reason ? 8now isthat ? saw a documentary on Cuban Cinema on an artscable channel in Aunich. ? was trying to get to enice towrite a boo8. Aartin corsese, Grancis Gord Coppola,

%eorge !ucas, #obert #edford, 3rnold chwar5enegger andmore have all gone.

? have been luc8y to meet many people who 8new6emingway as friend. 3ll assure me that he was a deeplycharming man, cultured and rather handsome in person. 6ewas a man of many facets and those that see only one

define themselves but not he. ? did ma8e it to enice andhad a passionate and rewarding e'perience writing mysecond boo8 9&he erene City;, the arts and history of@enice as seen through Cuban eyes. ? was luc8y to stay inan apartment in Pala55o ?vancich where 6emingway used tostay and ? wrote at the same des8 as he. Ay friendConsuelo ?vancich arranged it for me. 6er father,

%ianGranco, was a close friend of 7.6. and lived for a fewyears at 9Ginca igLa; in an Grancisco de Paula, Cuba. 3t6emingway;s house, %ianfranco met and married a youngAarMuesa from 6avana, Cristina de andoval y de la&orriente, Consuelo;s mother. &he AarMues de la &orriente

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7l Gloridita


was a well-8nown figure who tried to mediate between the ti t t d th l ti i d t i d i


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atista government and the revolutionaries and tried again

and again but to no avail.

Peace among Cubans is a hard sell.

:e cross to ParMue Central, close our noses at the smell ofurine coming from the public pissoires, and ma8e our way toPrado. "n the corner we stop. Decline the offer from the

vendor selling oranges from his cart, and stand- ing ne't tothe tall, handsome, cast-iron street lamps, admire the view.3cross the street, is an impressive Pal- ace formerly theCentro %allego and now 8nown as the +ational &heatre. ?tis vaguely reminiscent of the Paris "pera but set at groundlevel and without the Cupola. p the street and on the sameside is the Capitol. &he Capitol is modeled after the one in

:ashington.

? come from a political family. Ay father #am$n %ran- daGustes, grandfather #am$n %randa Gernande5, and great-grandfather 3braham Pere5, were congressionalrepresentatives of the former #epublic. Ay grand-uncle !omberto Dia5 was a enator. ?

entered the Capitol as a tourist with the passport of an- othercountry. ? loo8 at the tic8et stub U 110*, stamped as paid,T*.)) D, and another T2.)) tic8et to be allowed to ta8epictures, which ? also loo8 at now. &he building wasalmost empty even if you include the people who wor8there. ? cannot tell you what my emo-

#am$n %randa */

tions were even at this distance. ? am usually a Muietfellow and wal8ed about the immense and largely empty


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fellow and wal8ed about the immense and largely empty

building, Muietly and by myself. &wo other tourists entered at about the same time but we did notspea8 to each other.

? have pictures of the building, from the building, of the viewfrom the steps up and down Prado. ? have pictures of thevast hallways paved in colored marble, the gild- ed

freestanding lamps and marble benches that are allreminiscent of ersailles. ? have pictures of the beautifulinterior courtyards filled with thriving palms and plants. ?have a picture of me sitting in a chair in the circularchamber of the representatives, one off from where myrecent ancestors sat, with a nervous forced smile on my faceand haunted eyes. &he picture was ta8en by the cleaning

woman who was 8ind and did it Muic8ly so we would not becaught. ? have one last picture that ? myself too8. 3teacher and her class of Hunior high students sitting on thesteps and behaving much as their eMuiva- lent on ane'cursion always do. ? will not be their enemy nor considerthem to be mine.


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Centro %allego and the Capitol ldg.


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?nterior Patio of the Capitol


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Chamber of #epresentatives


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Capitol 6allway


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choolchildren on e'cursion

#am$n %randa 45

&here were many strange coincidences throughout mytrip, which is part of what gave it that air of unreal- ity. "ne


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night early on, 3mado too8 me to a paladar. &hey areprivately run restaurants, which are restricted to twelvepatrons at a time. &he business is but one of a very smallbut growing number of private enterprise activities that arepermitted by the Cuban government though rules changeoften and the authorities are 5eal- ous in protecting theirauthority. 3nyway, we sat down in the restaurant and who

should wal8 in but Carlos Aa- vroleon. &he last time ? hadseen him had been two years earlier in !ondon, where heis based, and where he had been wor8ing as a & producerfor 3C +ews covering the war in 3fghanistan, conflicts in7thiopia, omalia and elsewhere. ? went to school anduniversity with his brother and have been running intoCarlos on and off for more than twenty years. 6e is always

interesting.

6e was in Cuba wor8ing freelance as an associate-pro-ducer and camera operator for a documentary report on the6elms-urton law. 6e introduced me to his producer,!inda. :e sat ne't to each other at dinner and so ? spo8e toher about Cuba . he

decided she wanted to interview me. ? said yes but spentthe ne't wee8 dodging it.

3fterwards the group wanted to go to a discotheMue. ?refused twice. &he third reMuest was aw8ward and ?


went along figuring that ? would wal8 in with them, wait= minutes, and then leave. ? never made it on that oc-


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casion. ? was in a car with a young, panish e'ecutive andCarlos. 3s we approached the entrance, Cuban girls withdollars in their hands mobbed our car and every other. ?much later learned the club does not allow unescortedwomen and so they show the money to let you 8now thatthey can pay for the entrance fee themselves. ? wasenraged. ? demanded the car be stopped, got out of it as

was, howled insults, slammed the door and stormed off.

?t was a good few miles bac8 to the house and the wal8did me good. &he nights in Cuba are ama5ing, in8y blac8and with oceans of stars. 3 mile or so into my wal8 ?became aware of someone else. "nce we were certain thatneither was going to mug the other, we shared our

respective rages and wal8ed together. 6e was a blac8 manfrom "ld 6avana who was raging against the system andsaid the leaders should visit reality.

O Sue hagan una visita a la realidad.R

O 3 good titleR, ? said.

O se itR, 6e said.

O &han8 youR and now ? do. Partway, he left me

#am$n %randa 47

to chase two girls and a bottle of rum that he had mis-placed somewhere close to the Copacabana.


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"ne day ? was wal8ing from "ld 6avana bac8 to Aira- mar,a distance of about to 1) miles. ? had only Hust startedand had to cross in front of the panish 7mbassy, ahandsome eau' 3rts villa painted white. &here was a largecrowd of about two or three hundred people and they weresilent, always a dangerous sign. ? crossed by the rim of the

6avana &unnel andmade it across the street to the little par8 in front of the7mbassy.

? as8ed one fellow what was going on and he mutteredimprecations against the Cuban government and the

system. 6e said two had gotten in. ? moved over closer to some par8benches and loitered there with my camera in my shoul- derbag and my thumbs in my Heans poc8ets. Drawing attentionto myself at a potential riot is in my view - not prudent.

&he police arrived in large number and then began to

disperse the crowd. "ne boy, 1 or 1, was bac8ing off froma police car, whose occupant, a ergeant that loo8ed li8ea hard case, was as8ing him Muestions. &he boy 8eptrepeating,


O ? didn;t do anythingR as he bac8ed off and thenmoved away.


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&he car made as if to chase him but ? believe he got away.core one for the boy.

? was dispersed, along with everyone else, firmly andMuietly. ? continued with my wal8. ? found out later what hadhappened. &here had been a change of government in

pain and the new Prime Ainister, Ar. 35nar was and isconservative. Ar. Aas Canosa of the Cuban- 3merican+ational Goundation had some influence with conservativegovernments and so he used it. core one for theGoundation. &he panish 3mbassador made some noisesabout liberty in Cuba and meeting with dissidents. &heCuban government 8ic8ed the panish 3mbassador;s ass

out of the country. core one for the Cuban government.&hough ? sympathi5e with the values of the 3mbassadorand also have a dispute with the government, ? do notforget that a little over 1)) years ago that panish bastard,%eneral :eyler, may he rot in hell forever, in the service ofthe ?mperial %overnment put concentration camps in mybeloved province of Pinar del #io. +o panish 3mbassador

can dictate anything to any Cuban on any matter on Cubansoil.

&o be Cuban is to have many disputes, at many differ- entlevels over a long span of time and all held concur- rently.&he day after this incident was the anniversary of

#am$n %randa 49

the e'ecution of Cuban medical students by the pan- ishduring the struggle for independence. y the way ? have


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many panish friends and understand that pain has comethrough its; own terrible history and they are alwayswelcome as friends. :e have a history in common.

? continued on my way and a few miles on ? saw anopen-air mar8et and decided to have a loo8. ? did not getmy loo8 because ? ran into :ilbert instead and invited him

to Hoin me for a coffee and a mineral water. :e went intothe cafe4club surrounded by a high wooden fence we werestanding ne't to. :e chatted for about half an hour ormaybe more. 6e dran8 the coffee but 8ept the bottle ofwater unopened and eventually too8 it with him. ? did notas8. :ilbert had thrown himself to the sea as a rafter buthad been unsuccessful. 6e was in some despair and this is

a common condition among people on the island andparticularly for the young. 6e spo8e only panish and 8newne't to nothing of the outside world. 6is training was in therepair of industrial eMuipment and he was soon to graduate.? saw that my words were welcome so ? gave him a few tipson how to get a Hob at one of the hotels. Ay owne'periences are limited, his 5ero, but ? have received

much good advice on these matters from successfulpeople, and so ? did what "scar :ilde suggested one dowith good advice and passed it on. :ilbert had not 8nownhow to apply for a Hob and had not considered it apossibility.


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&he 2ofa of 6avana


but very clean. 3n unrelated couple with their twodaughters lived with !ulu and cared for her in lieu of rent.

&hi i d ll h t i


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&his is a common and usually humane arrangement inCuba but of course, everyone has his or her own story. ?could tell that the couple too8 good care of her even if theirmanners and education were in a condition that ? wouldconsider severe shortage, Hust li8e electricity and water, but ?was grateful to them. ?n my family !ulu had a reputation formalice, haughty behavior and never car- ing for others.

+onetheless, those same relatives when as8ed by one ofher remaining sisters for money in order to bring !ulu to the.. all payed up immediately.

"n my first visit, ? saw none of that. he repeated inwonder 7s mi familia.R

6er face glowed and later she confessed that she had beena beauty pageant Sueen in Pinar del #io. he was one often sisters, no brothers, and her father died in hisF);s - what a house. !ulu was a pageant winner whomarried a demanding husband with a life in the Capi- tol. ?can see the sources of many rivalries and misunder-standings. ? said only sweet things to her and caressed her

hand and face while telling her that she was very pretty.he was born to far more than her end would indicate.

&he husband of the couple had something he was proud ofand wanted to show us. :e followed. &he house is

#am$n %randa 53

long and narrow and all three interior sides open up to asmall courtyard that is short paces away from any one

section ?n a cage in the courtyard were two pigs that they


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section. ?n a cage in the courtyard were two pigs that theywere raising as food. ? suppose ? was shoc8ed. ?t becamea common phenomenon in 6avana after the collapse of theoviet 7mpire and the C"A7C"+ trad- ing system to raisea pig or some chic8ens in courtyards or bac8yards. ? 8nowbecause ? was telling the story to another relative at his house in iboney when ? noticed that he

had three. ? shut up.

?n any case, the shoc8 of it did not really hit me until laterwhen ? was bac8 in "ld 6avana and sitting at a table withfriends. &hey were discussing normal things but ? could nothear them. ? felt a distant roar around my head. ? e'cusedmyself from the table and wal8ed, bac8 straight, across a

par8 and the avenue to an iso- lated part of 7l Aalec$n. ?then doubled over in anguish and cried. ometimes nomatter how much you care, nor how much you try, you haveto accept that it is Hust not enough.

:hen ? returned ? gave no e'planations but my Cu- banfriend understood and had me accompany him to pic8 up

his daughters from school and then too8 me to his verysmall apartment. :e sat in the living room and from ades8 in a converted closet that was his own9sanctum sanctorum; he pulled out a bottle of cotch. :edran8 and tal8ed as friends.


+ot all was fear, rage, anguish and class pride. &here was

more to the story and it continues ? am luc8y in my friends


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more to the story and it continues. ? am luc8y in my friendsbecause they understand what is genuine much better than ?do but when ? am being scared, priggish, and moralistic,they tell me. ? was not interested in meeting foreigners andparticularly not interested in meeting businessmen. Ayfriend told me that ? should meet everyone, thin8 and Hudgefor myself and have the information with which to do it, as

? am a writer. &herefore, ? did.

:e were invited to the birthday party of a foreign e'- ecutive at the house, which he occupies in a secured area ofiboney, formerly iltmore. 3mado entered and introduced

me by saying,

O #am$n did not want to come. 6e only wants tobe with Cuban people.R

3s it happened most of the few people there were Cu- ban."ur host had not arrived, as it was a surprise party

organi5ed by his nephew and another younger relative,!inda the & producer from !ondon. ? was still dodging theinterview. "ne of the Cuban men said that my attitudewas the right one. 6is name was 6errera.

#am$n %randa 55

? was later told that he was eMuivalent to ice-Ainister fortourism. &his can mean a lot or it can mean nothing. 3s he

said nothing and was reserved ? suspect it meant


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said nothing and was reserved, ? suspect it meantsomething. :e chatted cordially and he as8ed about mytrip, so ? told him, heart thumping but voice level

O ? did not come to impose my views on anyonebut as ? consider myself to be a 9hombre libre; if ? am as8edfor my views ? will give them in as honest a manner as ?

can.R

6e loo8ed at me steadily but in the bac8 of his eyes wassomething and then he mentioned,

O Iou 8now, my father did business with yourgrandfather. :e are from %uaneR a town in Pinar del #io

sometime rival to Aantua. Ay maternal grandfather is fromthere.

:e chatted some more and he e'pressed the wish totravel with me to the province. 6e did not. Perhaps someday he might. &he party progressed as such things do andapart from Carlos being up to his usual mischief there was

only one other incident to report. ? mistoo8 a security agent,official liaison from the Cuban government to the tradingfamily, for my host and than8ed him for his hospitality. 6emisunderstood me as well and as we were sitting ne't toeach other, he put his arm around my shoulder as a friendlygesture. ? thought the


gesture e'cessive for a simple than8 you but as ? am polite,said nothing for the minute or two that the gesture lasted.

o enemies meet


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o enemies meet.

? did the & interview. ? got a tip from a businesspersonwho told me that ? could set ground rules and so ? did. ?could not be as8ed about anyone by name. &he in- terviewhad to be conducted in some place that was neutral. +ohouse should be shown in the picture. ? was concerned that

the focus be on my words and not on other issues and veryconcerned that any repercussions not fall on anyone elseand be limited to me. &hey met the rules and at a table in agarden with no building visible, the deed was done. ? am abit dull-witted so ? figured out beforehand e'actly what ?wanted to say. ?t was my first and thus far only interviewand ? was very nervous before and afterwards but not too

much during. Carlos, sly mon8ey that he is, gave me a glassof wine for the nerves and eventually ? polished off the bottleand smo8ed throughout. &he report aired in Canada andin various 7uropean countries. ? have a copy of the reportand of the unedited interview. &hough ? pic8 my ris8s, ? dospea8 in the same way in Cuba and in Aiami. ? am a freeman.

?t was a great relief and that aturday night ? accom- paniedmy friend 3mado as he entertained potential investors. "neof them was a %erman4panish aristo- crat who gave methe tip about the ground rules and ?

#am$n %randa 57

learned a great deal about my country by seeing it from hisperspective. 7ventually we ended up at a dance hall

called 9!a Casa de la AVsica; where the crowd was at least/)W C b f ll t b t tl bl 8 &h l l


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called !a Casa de la AVsica where the crowd was at least/)W Cuban of all tones but mostly blac8. &he energy levelwas astounding. ? rela'ed, dran8, and was sweaty. ? wentto Hoin a group of dancing girls and spo8e to one whom ? willcall 9!a ella %ladys;. ? loo8 li8e everyone else and she didnot believe me that ? was from outside and accused me ofbeing a guaHiro from Pinar del #ioR. 7cstasy, Hoy, bliss. 3

level playing field and ? was being Hudged on merit. ?danced with wild abandon. +% !a anda is the best and hottest salsa band ? have evere'peri- enced and when the girls dance 9&embleMue; theman is dead who does not respond. ? have never in all mylife been as happy as when ? was called a guaHiro fromPinar del #ioR in 6avana on a aturday night.

3ll of my family in Aiami had been firmly opposed to mygoing to Cuba. "n the other hand, ? have never receivedso many calls from them as when ? was in 6a- vana. Aymother and brother who support me in everything ? dowould call me directly. Ay aunts and cousins from myfather;s side would call my brother for news and then he

would conference call me . Ayfamily all had reMuests for people and property ? should see.? complied with all reMuests as regards the living."ne of my cousins as8ed me to go see Bulia Airanda,


an elderly blac8 woman who had been the coo8 in my auntand uncle;s house. Ay cousin also told me that Bulia did

not 8now of the deaths of my father, grandfather, aunt,l d th d th t h ld l it t


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y , g , ,uncles and others and that she would leave it to mydiscretion as to whether and how to inform her.

Bulia lives in #egla and to get there is a lot of fun. ? wentoften. ?t is a wor8ing-class district on the other side of thebay of 6avana. Iou have to ta8e a waterbus similar to the

aporetto of enice, from the port on the "ld 6a- vana sideto get there. ?t is always crowded. ? noticed that there wereusually two or three dogs thatregularly commuted from #egla, where they lived, to6avana where they pursued their living and attended totheir respective affairs in the city. &he dogs 8new their turn.&hey boarded the ferry after the people on foot and before

the people with bicycles. +o one else seemed to notice butthey were always allowed their place.

? met the old warm, wonderful, and beautifulwoman that is Bulia Airanda. :e cried over our dead,spo8e long and told stories. ? even e'pressed sympathywhen she declared her outrage that beans were selling at

1= pesos a pound. 6er granddaughter was anunemployed accountant and ? got her a little Hob inter- viewin 6avana.

Bulia;s father was born a slave into a branch of my pa-


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Bulia Airanda


ternal grandmother;s family, the Gustes-Airanda. lav- erywas abolished in 11. Grom 1F1, .. slave-owners

wanted to anne' Cuba and some Cuban slave-ownersresponded warmly &his and the legacy of slavery taint


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responded warmly. &his and the legacy of slavery taint..-Cuban relations to this day. ? remember as a childe'pressing some racist views and being corrected by myfather and grandfather.

Bulia told me stories about my grandparents. he went into

their house when she was a child of about 11. 3c- cordingto her, my grandfather #am$n used to say that he had fourdaughters. &hree X Bulia. "ne was an 9a5a- bache;, amultifaceted blac8 stone that is given or received withlove. ?t is a talisman found on any Cuban baby;s charmbracelet or nec8lace. :hat he would buy for one, he wouldbuy for four. Ay father and grandfather supported atista,

who became a dictator and this was plainly wrong andbrought tragic conseMuences. 6owever atista was a man ofcolor and so the charge of racism leveled against hisgovernment and its; members was plainly false. &hesociety did have problems and continued to do so both inCuba and in e'ile. ?t is true that atista as dictator was notallowed to Hoin the 6avana Iacht Club because of his color.

6e was mu- latto and indigenous Cuban. &here were smallpoc8ets of survivors in the 7ast where his family was from.

"urs is an essentially 7uropean culture set to the pound- inglyricism of the 3fro-Cuban in music and art. "ur


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!a !anchita de #egla


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!anchita ??

#am$n %randa 0*

people are 3fricanN Ioruba and Congo. 3ll Cubans eatIoruba food, spea8 Ioruba words, and dance to Ioruba

rhythms. &his is Cuba. Pre-revolutionary racism wasrestricted to social clubs and beaches but did not apply as


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pp yforcefully to government, business, press, or the arts. ?t istrue that /)W of all Cuban e'iles are white but in the 1/0);s,blac8s would not have been welcome in the nited tatesnor anywhere else they would have wanted to go. y theway the #evolutionary government people have all been

almost e'clusively lily-white and from the landowning classor upper bourgeoisie. %o figure. ? 8now because we are allrelated. &he right wing Congressman from Aiami, !incolnDia5-alart is the nephew of Gidel Castro and the son ofthe leader of the atista Congress after the coup in 1/=2,brother- in-law to Gidel at the time. Perhaps they should allgo on "prah and resolve their family sMuabble. ?;ll go with

mine.

? heard from !inda, the & producer, one more time. hewas furious with Carlos and their host was appalled. 3nimportant person had been to dinner. ?n Cuba that can onlymean one of two people and it turned out to beU2, #aul Castro, head of the 3rmed Gorces. 7vidently,

Carlos got drun8, berated U2 for his treatment of Cubanveterans of the 7thiopian and 3ngolan campaigns, in- sultedhim for human rights abuses, and then went out dancing in6avana. Carlos is always interesting. &hat is what ? hadwritten while he was alive.

0F 3 isit to #eality

Iears afterward, his faced popped up on the & screen

while a 90) Ainutes; reporter informed that their pro- ducerwas dead. Carlos was 8illed on the 3fghan bor- der. !ater,


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gassassins posing as Hournalists 8illed %eneral 3hmad hah-Aassoud. ?t was in preparation for the at- tac8s thatunfolded on /411. Carlos was beautiful. 6e will linger foryou as he does for me.


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66 66


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3 Pathway in ?sabel Aaria


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CuyagualeHe #iver


105/262

Gield of %reen - Pinar del #io


#oad &rip. eer, %as, %oK ? got a lift to the district. Ayfriend would drop me off. ? would spend five or si' days

there and then figure my own way bac8. ?t went this way.? had as8ed Bulito if he could drop me off. &he an- swer wasyes and then he in turn as8ed if Camilo could come along


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yes and then he in turn as8ed if Camilo could come alongas a second so that Bulito would not be alone on the waybac8. ure. &hen &ony Hoined us because it loo8ed li8efun and he wanted to buy some food in the country. GourCuban guys on a road trip, three from 6avana dropping off

one from the province. +ormal. 7'cept we are all childrenof conflicts that began long before we were born and, as ?write these words, ? will turn * years old in five days time.&hen, as ? review these words from my first trip, ten moreyears have passed.

? am the son of the late, great, playboy-politician of the

atista 7ra, ugar Candy de Aantua, #amonin %randa,35VcarK 3 great dancer, a man of tremendous vitality, asource of Hoy that provided a river of Hobs and money to hispeople, then a stream, then a rivulet, then a few drops andthen he died. Ay father, ? loved him so. Ay words are truebut not the whole truth, ? 8now, but 8indly allow this momentfor a son to present his father for the first time.

Bulito was a military man and is the son and nephew of#evolutionary Ainisters of government. Camilo is alawyer, marine biologist, enthusiast of Cuban music

#am$n %randa 0/

and is the son of the #evolutionary ?con, 7rnesto 9Che;%uevara. &ony is an electrician and a fun guy. Bulito,

Camilo, and &ony grew up together and were friends. :eall went on a road trip because ? wanted to meet the familythat ? had not 8nown e'isted


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that ? had not 8nown e'isted.

:e left 6avana at around 1)*) in the morning after firststopping to fill the tan8 with gas, drin8 our first beer of theday, and bring a few more for the road. Bulito and Camilo

argued about the music, called each other stubborn andthen Camilo Hammed some hot Cuban music. 6e e'plainedto me that it was called 9charan- ga;. &ony and ? settled infor the trip. ? was in the front seat. &hey 8new ? wanted tosee everything. Bulito was driving the old, small, gas-gu55ling, red !ada with heart. ? 8now what you are thin8ingand to argue political cor- rectness is to misunderstand.

Camilo is garrulous, of stoc8y build and with a heartyCuban manner that may mislead for he is very smart. 6eand Bulito bic8ered Hust as 3mado and ? do. &ony waslaconic and very funny. "nce we got going, we settled intoa rhythm. :e told stories, dran8, laughed, and stoppedperiodically to get out of the car, stretch and then piss by the

side of the road. ery satisfying.

&hey tal8ed about their lives at school and military ser- vicein the countryside.:e had to e'plain controversies aboutmusic to each other for otherwise they were in-


comprehensible. 7vidently, in Cuba it was once a veryserious issue on whether or not you would listen to the

music of Bose


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well but not someone to get e'cited about. &he story goesthat Geliciano once played for a right wing audience in a!atin 3merican country and for this reason, the Cubanauthorities banned his music. ? threw no stones for in myown glass house of Aiami ? have had to witness the

banning of a Puerto #ican alsa singer for even less withthe additional insult of bomb threats placed against him andany establishment that would host him. &he ire and banningwas for befriending a Cu- ban salsa singer whose politicsfew in Aiami care for or in Cuba for that matter.Gurthermore, there was a real bomb placed at Buanito;sCentro asco, a club4res- taurant that subseMuently closed.

Buanito had always been a real friend to everyone. &hebomb was merely for showcasing an aging Cuban actressfrom the island. ? respect and indeed defend the right ofanyone to thin8 and spea8 for themselves but sometimes itis merely good manners on my part and nothing else. ythe way, %loria 7stefan, :illy Chirino, and Celia Cru5 are allvery popular in Cuba though the general view is that :illy

and Celia are more Cuban and thus better. 3ny- way, on tose'.

:e told stories about the general level of horniness in ourrespective schools and they told me anecdotes


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!a Carreta


about recruits. &he 6avana boys all displayed the usualpreHudice and fear of city people for country people. &hey

thought and told me emphatically that ? was cra5y to begoing to a place ? did not 8now, to meet people ? did not8now, on my own and without an assured means of getting


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, y g gbac8 and with little money. 3hh, what do they 8nowQ6owever, they did ma8e me a little nervous. &herefore, ?dran8 less and 8ept my wits. :e all howled with laughter atstories about recruits and guaHiros hav- ing se' with

chic8ens, pigs, mares, and whatever else was available.&hey are old stories and Ho8es. ? had heard the same frommy father and his friends.

3t some point on the highway between 6avana and theprovincial capital of Pinar del #io my view of them changed. &hey

were friends. ? felt compassion for Camilo. 6is father washunted down and 8illed in olivia when Cami- lo was a verysmall child. 6e never 8new himN at least ? 8new mine. 3s? write these words, ? also remember that Camilo;s father;smen e'ecuted the father of my lifelong friend, Carolina Puig,when she also was a very small child. ? felt that atistasupporters spar8ed these conflicts. ? will never be in

sympathy with the political values and actions of Che%uevara for ? believe that if he had control of the missilesduring the crisis, he would have launched them. ? alsorecogni5e that he is part of our history and that he hasbeen dead for more than*) years. Camilo and ? did not discuss these things but

#am$n %randa *

perhaps some day we might as friends.

:e too8 a brea8 and stopped at the Pinar del #io 6otel. ?t isat the entrance to the town and across from the niversity.:e went to the poolside to chec8 out the local action.


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&here was not much. &here was a couple of billiard tablesne't to the bar, a few men were playing, a few others werewatching without much interest and a few others weremilling about. Ausic came from a Hu8ebo' and a scratchyP3 system. ? had another beer. "ne fellow recogni5edCamilo and Bulito from their schooldays together.

?t turned out he had been stuc8 in Pinar del #io for sev- eraldays. 6e had been driving some visitors when a partfailed in his car. &he visitors moved on with someone elseand he was left with a bro8en car, no visitors, and thus nowor8. ?t is a common occurrence and in this crowd,everyday is an adventure, a struggle, for the way in whichthey, the companion from school and others li8e him, earntheir living, has tacit but not legal approval. &here are lawsfor everything. ometimes the laws are changed to permitthe activity and sometimes the laws are enforced. urvivalstrictly within the rules and strictly within the system is notpossible. +ot even communist party members can do itwithout living in misery. &his is, of course, Hust myimpression based on my observations at the time ? wasthere. ?t is an indication of the dynamics involved inchange. Ay understanding


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!a #eal street - Pinar del #io


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3braham Pere5 6ouse


is that the situation is changing greatly every si' months orso and that this has been going on for some years but is

speeding up now.

:e left the hotel, made a couple of wrong turns, and as8edl l f di ti t f t d f th d t


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several people for directions out of town and for the road toAantua. "n one occasion, ? as8ed half- heartedly andsheepishly for a neighborhood in Pinar del #io namedafter my great-grandfather 3braham Pere5, but the person

did not 8now. Camilo said,O 3s8 the older ones.R

? did not but it was 8ind of him to suggest it. :e stopped ata clean, new Cupet gas station - pay in dollars. ? boughtsome bumper stic8ers because they were funny, 9? !ove

Pinar del #io;.:e were driving through the heart of tobacco country andpassing through town after town li8e an Buan y Aartine5that ? had heard of but only remembered by seeing thename. :e were 5ipping along on a high, country road.&he deep ditches down the sides are covered in AarabVscrubs that have 2 and *-inch thorns that can shred tires.&he "' was une'pected.

%reenery flashing, side roll left, bump, bump, bump downand through the ditch thin8ing vaguely 9hey, this is Hust li8ethe wiesen;. +o one was hurt but we were

#am$n %randa

stuc8 in a si'-foot deep ditch. &he "' loo8ed at us with anindifference that bordered on contempt and then movedaway. 3 bus came along, the only one of its 8ind that ?saw in Cuba, stopped, people piled out, of- fered us a ropeand with some sweat, a push from us, a pull from the busand presto we were out Airaculously the tires were


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and presto, we were out. Airaculously, the tires wereundamaged. &ony drove for a while.

3t **) in the afternoon or so, we pulled up to my desti-nation, the 9&erminal de "mnibus; in Aantua, a station butno buses. ? had the name of a ta'i-driver, BoaMuin, who%ilberto the barber told me could sometimes be found there.&he ta'i-driver lived in Dimas, a village in the district, andusually wor8ed in 6avana. &here was no one there. Ayfriends tried to convince me to go bac8 with them and ?said,

O +oR. &hey thought ? was cra5y but insisted onstaying at least until the ta'i-driver was found.

O "..R

:e found a countrywoman in the station. "ddly enough,her last name was Airanda and my friends teased me thatshe was my cousin. he may well have been for, as ? waslater to learn from a local historian, the Airandas have beenlandowners in the district since before 1=, a legaldocument of that year mentions the heirs of GlorencioAiranda. ? am a descendant of


his and ? suspect that in one way or another half thedistrict is as well. &otal population of the district is about2=,))).

o Cousin Airanda gets on the country grapevine andBoaMuin the ta'i driver is found par8ed in front of the


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BoaMuin the ta'i-driver is found par8ed in front of thehospital - wherever that is, informed and in due time heshowed up. Ay friends were still a bit wary about myadventure and before ? had a chance to e'plain mybusiness, they Humped to it for me, harangued the ta'i-driver, and told him that they would hold him respon- sible ifanything happened to me. Country people are stubborn anddo not li8e to be told their business but under Muestioning ?suspect that he got flustered and mentioned that he had togo to 6avana on unday andinadvertently Muoted a fare ofTF) dollars. &hat too8 care of that problem. &he rideta8es F to = hours and he later tried to raise the fare toT/) dollars but with no success. 6e may have been the onlydriver in the district but ? was the only customer.

:hen my friends left, ? dic8ered with BoaMuin on prices ande'plained what ? 8new of my family. &he illama- rins weredistant relations and lived in Dimas. ? wanted to seelanca, the sister of my ncle !uria . ? also wanted to meet the whole Gustes clan whoare close relations but ? had no idea where they were orwho they were. BoaMuin 8new. 6e drove


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us 2tation in Aantua


to a house in Aantua and as8ed the people sitting on thefront porch if they 8new where Aiguel Gustes was . &hey said he was in the country athis brother;s place in the village of AacuriHe. 3t the time, ?thought that was funny because the district is remote butevidently even people in the boonies have places that they


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evidently, even people in the boonies have places that theyconsider to be the boonies. ? said nothing.

:e drove to an apartment building, a post-revolutionaryconcrete structure on the outs8irts of Aantua. BoaMuinwanted to change, shower at his sister-in-law;s beforemoving on. ? did not mind, as everything was interesting tome. :e went. 9!a Prieta; a handsome woman in her late=);s, was moved when she found out who ? was. hemade me some coffee and her 2)-year-old son 8eptgrinning at me as he hauled up sac8s of rice with a pulleyup to the balcony and then stac8ed them in another room.:hen 9!a Prieta; heard me say,

O Cuba es bellaR, tears formed in her eyes andshe handed me the coffee with great tenderness.

? found out in Aiami that she had been a sweetheart of myfather;s, if ? had 8nown at the time ? would have given her ahug and made her cry for real but as it was ? did give her a8iss on the chee8 when ? said goodbye. ? thin8 ? was still a bittipsy. :ithout undue haste, BoaMuin finished his 9toilette; asbefits a man of his station and

#am$n %randa 81

indicated that he was willing to leave. 6e gave instruc- tionsto his nephew to put gas in the car. &he young man wentand did as told by emptying two plastic =- gallon containersof fuel into the vehicle. efore we left, he gave me one lastgrin and ? waved.


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&he district, 9Aunicipio; in panish, is eMuivalent to a ruralcounty in the nited tates. Aantua is the county seat witha pop. 1)-1=,))), Dimas is a village by the sea pop- ulation1=)) about *)-F) 8ilometers to the northwest of the maintown, and AacuriHe is a small village pop. =)), a further 1)8ilometers to the north4northeast of Dimas.

?t was still daylight. "nce we were underway BoaMuinsuggested that we continue past Dimas and go first toAacuriHe, meet the Gustes there and then return to Dimas tostay at lanca;s house . ? agreed.

Ay perceptions of BoaMuin the ta'i-driver were many,varied, colored by sincere emotions as well as fear anddistrust. Ay view evolved during my short trip and con-tinued to do so over these many months since. 6e is acommunist and droned on about how people did notunderstand 9the special period;, the changes brought aboutin Cuba by the disappearance of the socialist bloc8, andthe grand scheme of the authorities in deal- ing with it. ? lethim spea8 and then as some comment


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#esidential street in Aantua

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seemed to be reMuired from me, ? mentioned that ? hadrespect for any who had sincere values and applied thembut ? had and have only contempt for those who sang onetune in Cuba and then an altogether different one inAiami. &here are many. &his ended the political discussionand we were Muiet for a while.


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Periodically he would stop in the road, individuals wouldcome up to whisper in his ear, and at one time, he stoppedto give a lift to a mother and child. 6e e'- plained thathe could not do it for everyone but if it was someone close,he did. ? li8ed him for that but disli8ed him for the other.6e was deferred to in a way that only comes from politicalpower. BoaMuin was stoc8y, heavyset, had a slow,deliberate manner, dar8 hair and light eyes. 6e drove ine'actly the manner that ? li8e. 6e adHusted to the terrain thathe 8new well and provided a smooth, steady progress. 6ewas =2 years old when ? met him and thus would have been1= years old at the time of the #evolution. 6e was a mineof information about my family and we conversed.

3 short while after the for8 in the road, left goes to Dimas,we continued on the right side and main road that goes toAacuriHe, BoaMuin pointed to a long row, it seemed8ilometers long, of pine trees on the left and said

O &hat;s aronaR. 9arona; was my grandfather;smain estate. 6e had two othersN a small one in AacuriHe


and a retreat in the hills called 9!a Bocuma;. ? believe ?understood BoaMuin to say that 9arona; had three 8i-lometers of beachfront. &he total acreage for all threeproperties was about ,))) acres.

?n conversation, no more lectures, BoaMuin spo8e of the


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things that he considered the #evolution had accom-plished. Gree access to health care was one and ? as8edwhat the system had been in my grandfather;s day. 6ee'plained that those who could not afford healthcare ontheir own had to apply to my grandfather for au-thori5ation. 6e would sign a slip of paper for medicine,doctor;s visits, or hospital stay. ? as8ed if my grandfatherhad ever refused anyone. ? wanted to 8now.

O +oR. Ay grandfather never refused anyone. 6esigned every reMuest and he had power for years.

BoaMuin then spo8e of the e'pansion of the nationalelectrical grid to include places li8e Dimas and Aac- uriHe.&his was true but he did not mention the outages or the factthat my grandfather first brought electricity to those places.6e did so by installing small electrical plants that servicedthe respective communities on a continuing basis.hortages are so common now that many villagers havereplaced their old electrical coo8- ing ranges with even oldercharcoal burning stoves. ?n the country, nothing is thrownaway. &hey were stored in barns. &he charcoal they ma8ethemselves. &he man


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Gustes 6ouse in AacuriHe


who replaced us tried another tac8. 3s we were ap-proaching our destination, we stopped again for some- oneto whisper in his ear. ?t was BoaMuin;s cousin. 6e is adoctor in the village. &here is a small, new clinic. ?t is cleanand well run but supplies are e'tremely short. BoaMuinpointed out that education was free which is not true as you

it i i d th t it 8 f th t


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repay it in service, and that it was a mar8 of progress thathis cousin, a peasant, could become adoctor . ? never argued but ? did chec8 up. &he otherdoctor in the village was e'cellent but BoaMuin;s cousin wasa scruffy, unshaven, peasant who felt protected and thegeneral view in the village was that to fall into his hands wasto fall into danger.

&he doctor who too8 care of us in Aiami when ? wasgrowing up was put through niversity by my grandfather.Dr. Gernande5, as a sign of his gratitude, never evercharged us. Ay grandfather;s lifelong best friend was aDoctor from the countryside, Dr. &errada.

Ay displeasure with BoaMuin built up slowly. ? renouncedany claim ? might have had to my grandfather;s prop- ertywhen ? was an adolescent. ? did so first, in order to have alife enHoying the opportunities of a wider world, and then forpeace. ? spea8 only for myself.

? do not give it much importance and so if anyone as8s ? amunbothered to say it and may well have mentioned it toBoaMuin during the ride. ? did feel a tinge of some-

#am$n %randa

thing as we passed it though. ?t is beautiful. 6e alsopointed out many sites and houses and gave me a goodfeel for the history of the place.

:e pulled up to a house on the remains of a paveddriveway ne't to a short stretch of sidewal8 built in moreoptimistic times &he house was a bit ramshac8le in ap


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optimistic times. &he house was a bit ramshac8le in ap-pearance, wood frame with galvani5ed metal roof but wellcared for and set on a high, concrete foundation with stepsleading up to a porch enclosed by a balus- trade. Palmsand crocus bushes were planted in front. ? stepped bac8 tothe road to ta8e a picture and caught by chance my cousinAiguel as he was wal8ing at a distance towards me fromthe bac8 of the house. ? did not 8now anyone so ? wasletting BoaMuin do the an- nouncing.

Aiguel Gustes was in his late 0);s with a gaunt face, long

bones, lan8y frame and when he grinned , he wasdelightful. &here was some momentary confusion as to myidentity. :hen it was clear, his face e'ploded with Hoy andwe were in the fierce, warm embrace of family. %ood newsis shared and soon there were people around me beingintroduced. Aiguel wanted me to stay there but ? said ?already had obligations in Dimas . :e did however ma8e plans and then carried themout. &hat :ednes- day night ? would spend in Dimas. ?twas December


F, 1//0. &he ne't day and part of Griday in AacuriHe.&hen Aantua for two nights. unday ? would return to6avana.

3s it was getting dar8, we did not stay long and were soonon the road to Dimas. BoaMuin had suggested that wema8e an arrangement for him to stay with me throughout


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ma8e an arrangement for him to stay with me throughoutbut ? declined because ? wanted neither the e'pense nor thebother and opted instead for contract- ing short hauls at settimes.

:e arrived in Dimas at night. &he illamarin house is thefirst on the right as you enter the very small town. ?t isbuilt on traditional country linesN wood frame and with ahigh roof of interwoven and overlapping palm fronds. Iouenter into the living room, bedrooms to the sides, thentowards the bac8 is the dining room and furthest away,often in a separate section, is the 8itchen. 9o- hLos; are apre-Columbian style. &hey are a legacy of the people whowere before.

BoaMuin had to go to another house and get someone elseto be intermediary and announce me as he once had a flingwith a daughter of the house. +ow in herF);s. lanca, in her );s, does not allow him to enter. :ehad already agreed that he would pic8 me up the ne'tmorning at *) a.m., and drop me off in AacuriHe.

lanca too8 me right in without hesitation and in the


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Dimas


most natural manner. he ascertained that ? had noteaten. he pointed out where ? could wash up outside whileshe prepared some food for me. ?t was a simple meal. ?was grateful for it. he even apologi5ed for the simplicity,imagine, and let me 8now that this was due to the late hour. "ne of the sons Hoined me for the meal. 6e was ashy curious rustic at least a foot and a half shorter than me


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shy, curious, rustic at least a foot and a half shorter than me.6owever, he was very strong and with the surprisinglycommon blue eyes of the district. 3fterwards, we all retiredto roc8ing chairs in the par- lor and conversation. 3sword spread, people would come in and others would driftout. :e were never less than four or more than seven.

? have a blood type that attracts mosMuitoes. ? was sitting ina roc8ing chair made of thin rubber tubes stretchedhori5ontally. ? was wearing a light shirt. &he nature of thechair turned my lower bac8 into long, buffet lines of all you

can eat, for what felt li8e, every mosMuito in Di- mas. +o-seeums Hoined in, 9HeHEn; in panish. ? said nothing andconversed on other matters. Gor two hours. Gi- nally, it wasvery late, there were few people left, and my bac8 was inagony. &he welts lasted for wee8s. ? e'cused myself bysaying ? wanted to ta8e a wal8 and smo8e a cigarette. Aydinner companion Hoined me as tour guide.

&he nights in Cuba are ama5ing. :e wal8ed carefully downthe very long, main street of the little town by the

#am$n %randa 91

sea. 3t the 9bodega; , a few men were sit- tingaround, drin8ing, playing chess, and tal8ing horses, sports,and women. &he small area around the bodega had lights

and made an attractive scene in the pitch- blac8 night andunder the canopy of stars. :e passed unperceived in thedar8. Ay companion, a distant rela- tion but familynonetheless, pointed out sites to me that ? had e'pressed


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, p pinterest in and wanted to photograph the ne't day. :e hada pleasant, Muiet time together and then returned to thehouse. 3 bed had been prepared and ? slept for the first

time under a mosMuito net. ?t is the norm in the countryside.&he moment ? touched the pillow ? fell into a deep sleep andwo8e up the ne't day at dawn. ?t was 0)) a.m. 3nd ? wasthe last one up.

? have morning habits. Cuban coffee first . ? wal8 barefoot in the house, a

habit that in 6avana was viewed as strange but in thecountryside, it was viewed with horror. ? adHusted but inDimas, the slippers were half the si5e of my foot - pictureand laugh. ? bathe in the morning. ?n Cuba, the norm is tobathe at the end of the day and before the eve- ning meal.?t is healthier and more hygienic. ?t was very cold. ?showered in the country shower located outside, made of

wood, and divided into two sections one for men and theother for women. &he doors cover the tor- so. &he smallspigot is connected to a tan8 of rainwater and gravityprovides the only pressure. ? have anoth-


er morning habitN coffee, cigarette and toilet. ilenceplease and respect for the procedure. ? got one loo8 at theouthouse and the neatly cut sMuares of %ranma newspaper,

unofficial motto - the paper that irritates you twice, oncewhen you read it and once when you wipe, and loc8ed upli8e a ban8 vault. +o doubt, this contributed, politics aside,to my annoyance with Boa- Muin for he showed up an hour


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y y M pearly, hon8ing his horn, and wanting me to rush. &hat doesnot wor8 for me. ? had the message conveyed that we hadcontracted for *) a.m. 3nd not before. ?n addition, ?

wanted to ta8e photographs. ? would do so on foot sotherefore his services were not reMuired. 6e could 8indlyreturn at the appointed time. 6e accepted. &he family ralliednicely to this firm stand. ? had arrived as a stranger butwas leaving as a champion of family honor.

? finished dressing and then raced to get everything done.

3t the entrance to the town, ? too8 a photograph of the sign,house in bac8ground and herd of goats in foreground.&hen street scene of downtown DimasN houses, morninglight, o'-cart hauling refuse, old man in suit and straw hatand people going to wor8. &he ocial Circle, acommunity center built by my grandfather. Ay aunt builtthe Church. Ay grandfather built the two-story school. ? did

not ma8e it to the port and was not able to see orphotograph the houses built by my grandfather for thefishermen. ? did not ma8e it to the cemetery. ? returned tothe house, managed a last

#am$n %randa 93

family portrait, and then was ready and waiting at pre- cisely*) a.m. :e traveled on the road built by my uncle, withcontract arranged by my father. "nwards to AacuriHe. ?

have subseMuently learned that the school ? too8 pictures ofwas post-revolutionary and replaced an earlier structure. Ayimpression that it was built by my grandfather was mista8en.&he stories of what was built by whom and when are


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sometimes ha5y memories of stories heard in childhood.


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Dimas by the ea


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Dimas school


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lanca and family

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hortly after my arrival in AacuriHe the word Muic8ly spreadthat, the son of #amonin %randa had arrived to reclaim

family lands. :hen they found out it was not true even the#evolutionaries loo8ed a bit disappoint- ed. Cousin Aiguelwanted us to ride horses and thus give me a tour of thearea but unfortunately, ? do not ride. ? 8now, but ? can snows8i o instead we wal8ed a couple of houses over to meet


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s8i. o instead, we wal8ed a couple of houses over, to meethis nephew , my cousin Aanolin Gustes, whowas polite to me and formal. :e spo8e for a few minutes

but something was bothering him and finally he told me.

O :e;re family,R he said.O 6ow come no one has contacted us for all theseyearsQ &hat;s not right. :e are family.R

6e had a point but ? e'plained that the two remaining

relatives, my elderly aunts, had

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1 GRANDA Avisittoreality21_print Allowed_97_2003