City Living

Was in Havana and NYC recently, still get overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the buildings in both cities. You need to 'escape' to smaller pockets (and avoid weekends if possible) in order to breath and enjoy what are still amazing cities.

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a just review of Isabel's Allende's Island Beneath the Sea.

New Yorkers Jazz - David Lopez Ximeno (in Spanish) - poetry that dives into the writer's relationship with both NYC and Cuba.

Poesia de la Ciudad de La Habana - Angel Augier


[Déja Vu]
Incendie - excellent film based on the play by Wajdi Mouawad.

W - although watching the Bush family for 2hrs is torture, James Brolin does a good job.

Marie and Bruce - surprise find about the breakdown of a marriage based on a play.

[Yum via NYC]
Luckily on a late Monday night, a local gal pointed us to Meme in the West Village

On Tuesday,
Lunch in Harlem at the Society Cafe -excellent meal and good vibe.

For diner decided to re-visit Brown Cafe - which I like because they focus on organic, seasonal menu that changes weekly. And who knew! 1/2 price on all wine tues-thurs (a now more common practise in the city - yay). They also have a great private dinner space next door.

Wednesday - Lucked out again at Bianca in NoHo - a small albeit loud Italian restaurant that has locals buzzing. Incredible value for deliscious regional dishes. Afterward (if you can move) check out Von next door, a wine/beer bar.

Next time - an annual event called "choice eats" curated by Village Voice food critic Robert Sietsma: food from more than trendy 'ethnic' and obscure restaurants. Tix were only $30 incl. drinks and sold out :-)

8 days in Havana

Havana in one word: layers. Socially, politically, the infrastructure, music, art - so many ways to see and consider how things are presented and acted out in a given day. I spent all my time in Havana, will take another trip someday to explore the coasts, there was definitely enough going on to fill the days and nights without rushing it (which is impossible anyway since the pace is much slower :-).

Here's my take with pics and notes below:

Cuba is heavily dependent on tourism which can make for a less 'authentic' view of the country/city. It's hard to sit for 5 minutes without being approached with a song, picture, offer of a dance or club partner, tourist guide etc. Prostitution is increasing, thanks to foreign men who take advantage of the desperate economic situation. Although funds from some tourism channels do actually get funneled back into the Cuban economy, it's not enough to support the people living there. The gov't funds restoration, social and art projects, but it's not clear how the quality of life and environment are being supported. From the current economic climate, the general guess is not well.

Once you know that doctors take second jobs (as taxi drivers etc.), imagine what life is like for the chambermaid of any given hotel next time you think the convertible peso is 'on par' with the cdn dollar. I bought two books of poetry that should have come to about $20 (which is still inexpensive) but as the prices were in pesos (and not convertibles), the price came to the equivalent of a cdn $1. It was a tough moment and raises some interesting and difficult questions around value in general and commodification of art (still working on it :-). Other bookstores charge in convertibles so it seems more reasonable - no idea how/if the writers see any money in either case.

Galleries/Studios
Visual art was a highlight of this trip - the work is incredible and the spaces are very accessible.

Taller Experimental de Grafica - fantastic stuff in this art workshop where engraving is a focus they offer classes which I would go back for.

Wilfredo Lam gallery of contemp art - mostly donated prints non-cuban painters

As part of the Museum of Fine art, the Cuban contemp art collection is one of the best I have ever seen in one setting. There's a reason so many people recommend it, creatively it's a revealing depiction of Cuban life.

A personal surprise was the Ceramic gallery featuring work of Cuba's leading artists. Beyond bowls and mugs, some really cool installation pieces and sculpture.

Artists
Overall artelista.com is a great ref site, these were two indy galleries I came across while walking around:
http://campillo.artelista.com/
http://oliva.artelista.com/

Best use of space
Toured the cathedrals/churches which like everything in Havana are very large in scale, in one string musicians practise/play - was lucky enough to happen upon a session.

The people you meet (travellers)
A former contemporary dancer who is now a massotherapist and studying to be an osteopath. Visiting her boyfriend who is learning Spanish in Havanna to work on humanitarian projects, she gave me some recommendations for projects in Guatemala, Peru and Bolivia (this must have been fate!)

Met a Turkish couple from Izmir. They spend winters travelling and go home to Turkey for the summer to spend time on their boat. They have travelled extensively, were very interesting and kind - hopefully will meet them again someday in Turkey.

A dancer from Germany, she was just off to Santiago for a couple of weeks but we spent a few hours over a good coffee (not easy to find) chatting about Cuba as she's spent a fair amount of time there and also dances. We discussed the easiest places to go dancing and not get overly-hassled :-)

Two teachers - one from Finland, the other Saskatoon - they've been teachers at an "international" school in Cuba for about 5 yrs.

So thank you Cuba - the pics show the sights and will always help tell more stories :-)