Matador - cuba

Bum Data

novoarte — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 10:18:43 -0500

It's 3 in the morning. I've arranged our suitcases and carry-ons in a strategic pile around me: the most valuable items the closest, the least valuable on the permiter, there for the taking. I'm in Miami International Airport's Concourse J, trying to see if I can splay my body into a configuration...

Veradero Nights

Aly Coy — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:23:27 -0500

February 17th 2008

Just got back from Cuba yesterday. My hair is braided, back of legs burnt, suitcase in the hallway and new bongos sitting on the floor.

Those bongos almost got my luggage searched at the airport.. but that's getting ahead of ourselves.

I kept a travel...

The Road to Guantanamo...

novoarte — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 22:57:47 -0500

...is long and filled with red tape. And the end is never quite in sight.

Back in February, it occurred to me that I could apply for a press pass to visit the US prison and military base in Guantanamo, Cuba.

Though I wasn't under the illusion that I'd see or learn anything more than journalists...

Hard Times

novoarte — Wed, 21 May 2008 14:52:18 -0500

"hard times, hard times/come again no more."-eastmountainsouth

"I was in Spain and I was enjoying a delicious wine--how...

Technicolor Cuba

novoarte — Sun, 18 May 2008 22:17:47 -0500

Anyone I’ve ever known who’s gone to Cuba says that there’s something indescribable about the way you feel when you’re there. It's true, and there's not much more I can say about that; it really is beyond words.

But there's also something about the way you feel when you’re leaving...

Ni hao, companera

novoarte — Sat, 17 May 2008 15:10:09 -0500

Papa Tao crooked a finger at the waitress and barked, "Boligrafo!" He made a rough sketch--very rough--of the path to Casino Chung Wah and accompanied its production with overly complicated verbal directions. After four visits to Chung Wah--closed each time--I am finally able to speak with...

Mariel

novoarte — Thu, 15 May 2008 20:56:08 -0500

For Brayan

In my mother-in-law's version of the tale, Francisco came home the Friday before Mother's Day in 1980 and announced he was leaving: His girlfriend. His son. His mother and his sister. His country. They were the wake he left behind as The Green Girl pulled out of Mariel's harbor. His...

Are You Connected?

novoarte — Tue, 13 May 2008 10:06:22 -0500

Once a day, Brayan and I stop by Hotel Parque Central, one of the few places with wireless internet access in Havana. “Are you connected?” one man asked today as I twiddled my thumbs waiting for my inbox to open. “I’ve never been more connected,” I answered, and though we spoke to each other...

Felicidades, Mama

novoarte — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:02:54 -0500

The signs of the upcoming Mother’s Day celebration began last Tuesday. Men walked down the street with red and white checkered boxes adorned with Felicidades, Mama written in curlicued script, cakes carefully tucked inside, the pink icing trickling away in slow rivulets in the heat. Sidewalk vendors...

Cojimar

novoarte — Sat, 10 May 2008 13:57:03 -0500

We hitched a ride out of Central Havana to the seaside town made famous by Ernest Hemingway to research a couple of articles I’m working on. The driver barreled up a dusty road speckled with potholes, noting, “This is the best road in town,” and dropped us off on a forlorn corner, pointing...

Malcriada

novoarte — Thu, 8 May 2008 15:36:31 -0500

My 14 year old niece and I don’t have the best relationship. Even since the first time we met, we’ve circled each other with instinctive caution. For me, she’s a malcriada: her mom and grandmother let her get away with everything. She’s a picky eater, so they let her eat cake for dinner. She...

Two Pockets

novoarte — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 11:36:19 -0500

In Cuba, it´s good to have two pockets, especially if you´re a Cuban residing abroad who has come home to visit. At present, there are two currencies in Cuba...the convertible peso (CUC) which is the only money tourists are supposed to use, and the peso, which is the national currency and is the...

Old Cars

novoarte — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 11:32:43 -0500

Cuba, of course, is famous for its old cars and, specificially, the ingenuity of their owners who are able to keep 50 year old Fords and Chevys on the potholed roads. It´s so famous, in fact, that a documentary, ¨Yank Tanks," has been made on the subject. Even if you´re not interested in old cars...

Resolviendo

novoarte — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 11:24:10 -0500

This is my fifth trip to Cuba. Each time I´ve come, it´s not been as a tourist, but rather to spend time with Francisco´s family and bring them clothes, domestic goods, and other things they need. Every time I leave home, I go with a long list of things to do, and every time I come back, the list...

¨Muy Majadera

novoarte — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 11:17:36 -0500

Ïf you´re in Cuba for more than, oh, say, 20 minutes, there are a few stock phrases you´re sure to hear ¨

¨No es facil"¨ It´s not easy

¨Aqui, en la lucha" which, in response to the question, How are you, means Äh, here in the struggle"

¨Hay que hacer...

La Llegada and Cuentos Duros

novoarte — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 18:46:58 -0500

La Llegada

Havana

, September 22, 2007

The beginning of our trip was by no means auspicious, nor what either of us expected. The night before we’d had a disagreement, neither of us had slept, and our arrival at the airport...

Half and Half

novoarte — Sat, 1 Sep 2007 12:17:32 -0500

Half and Half….

In which ½ in English, ½ in Spanish,

we talk about ½ excitement, ½ ambivalence,

we, a “media cubana” y su “media naranja,”

The Immigrant’s Suitcase

novoarte — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 23:13:32 -0500

The subject today is… weight.

No, no, no, not my weight (though that does have relevance to any discussion of Cuba, a matter to which I will return in a future communiqué).

No, what I want to write about today is weight limits,...

What's up with the destination wedding?

deva — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 21:54:51 -0500

I got called in for an emergency 7am coffee date this morning by one of my closest friends - the boyfriend, it seems, has finally proposed, and she wanted to tell me in person before I fly to San Francisco tomorrow. After the obligatory squealing and jumping around and the exhibition of the ring (white...

Getting to Havana

justducky — Thu, 1 Feb 2007 14:41:47 -0600

The words “The End of the World” were engraved on the backs of my eyelids. I was so nervous. I never thought South Sacramento could be so damn far away. After being dropped of by the parents, I met up with Ashley to get a ride to Fresno. Her brother got into the driver’s seat.
“You wanna get...