tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23522785.post5764995929138903782..comments2023-09-25T08:07:19.567-07:00Comments on tangocherie in Los Angeles: Last Dance in Havana Part 3tangocheriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10012220622641996877noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23522785.post-48295517687475369252007-09-20T06:23:00.000-07:002007-09-20T06:23:00.000-07:00Hola Cherie, Miriam just sent me your website and ...Hola Cherie,<BR/> <BR/>Miriam just sent me your website and I read much of your Buenos Aires writing and all of your Havana writing. It blew me away. Loved the pictures of Miriam and of Cuba, made me sososososo homesick.<BR/> <BR/>Abrazos, and thank you so much,<BR/>ChristyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23522785.post-87848332753058039842007-09-19T06:13:00.000-07:002007-09-19T06:13:00.000-07:00Mike,Yup, that's San Miguel, the diagonal. I think...Mike,<BR/>Yup, that's San Miguel, the diagonal. I think that's a great neighborhood to stay in because you can literally walk to wherever you want to go. I don't think it was open when you were there, but a second Casa de Musica opened in an old theatre just a couple of blocks away, so I didn't have to travel far to hear Los Van Van, Azucker, many fabulous bands every night. And then afterwards a hike down to the Malecon with a pitstop for a bottle of rum...<BR/><BR/>You know, this story has stirred up so many memories of my own that I might have to post more real soon about Cuba and the Cubans.tangocheriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10012220622641996877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23522785.post-51343829313457974052007-09-18T17:29:00.000-07:002007-09-18T17:29:00.000-07:00sheesh.What lousy links ...you'd think I'd know be...sheesh.<BR/><BR/>What lousy links ...you'd think I'd know better.<BR/><BR/>The satellite foto:<BR/><A>http://fotos.yanquimike.com.ar/habana.jpg</A><BR/><BR/>The map:<BR/><A>http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/cuba/havana-map.gif</A>yanqui mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02004779143396958441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23522785.post-19063656277839811942007-09-18T15:00:00.000-07:002007-09-18T15:00:00.000-07:00I googled it: Neptuno y ConsuladoHere's a map:foto...I googled it: Neptuno y Consulado<BR/><BR/><A>Here's a map:<BR/>fotos.yanquimike.com.ar/habana.jpg</A><BR/><BR/>Inlaid in the marble at the doorstep was "Hotel Pullman"<BR/><BR/>You could tell that it had been magnificent in it's day.<BR/><BR/>BUT IT'S STRANGE THAT YOU MENTION IT! There was a little angle street that sort of chopped off a corner of that intersection ...for some reason you can't see it in the foto ...but you can see in on <A>this map: http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/cuba/havana-map.gif</A><BR/><BR/>I think that street is San Miguel! My place was sort of at the intersection of all 3 streets!yanqui mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02004779143396958441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23522785.post-26787164985145437242007-09-16T10:19:00.000-07:002007-09-16T10:19:00.000-07:00Hey Mike,Maybe we stayed in the same apartment!Any...Hey Mike,<BR/>Maybe we stayed in the same apartment!<BR/>Any chance it was on Calle San Miguel?tangocheriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10012220622641996877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23522785.post-66145994609690868412007-09-14T00:31:00.000-07:002007-09-14T00:31:00.000-07:00Hee hee... I used the word "normal" but I really m...Hee hee... I used the word "normal" but I really meant average.<BR/><BR/>The places I stayed didn't have A/C nor running water ...hot or otherwise.<BR/><BR/>It had to be brought up several flights of stair in buckets. If you wanted hot water it would have to be boiled on the stove. If you wanted a hot shower ...it would be brought off the stove and poured into a 55 gal barrel braced inside the traditional Cuban tall ceiling about 6 feet above the floor. It warmed the water, I guess. But if you can't take a cold shower in Havana you can't take a cold shower anywhere.<BR/><BR/>There was electricity ...but the very tall ceilings allow for cutting the rooms into "2 stories" for each floor. That of course cutoff all the ventilation that those fine old buildings provided, keeping things cool even in pre A/C days.<BR/><BR/>This was 1 1/2 blocks behind the Hotel Inglaterra.<BR/><BR/>Tremendous good people...<BR/><BR/>I still remember dancing to Beny Moré from a '40's jukebox in a waterfront bar...<BR/><BR/>Unforgettable and indescribable to someone who's never been there.<BR/><BR/>Mikeyanqui mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02004779143396958441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23522785.post-58898503467971321862007-09-05T19:25:00.000-07:002007-09-05T19:25:00.000-07:00Mike, thank you so much for your wonderful comment...Mike, thank you so much for your wonderful comments, they mean a lot to me.<BR/><BR/>I wish I could share with the whole world the amazing moments--good and bad--that I had in Cuba.<BR/><BR/>My last trip of only a week was from here in 2005 and things had really changed by then. It was VERY difficult for my friends to manage.<BR/><BR/>You speak of "normal" homes and "normal" meals, but my experience was that the people who had enough space to rent out were "rich," and the meals that Cubans sell to tourists were far and above what normal Habaneros could manage for themselves. My favorite beach, Santa Maria, isn't "normal" if you go there with Cubans--the uniformed police stationed there on the sand are ever alert for fraternization.<BR/><BR/>My best Cuban friend, Miriam, is a bilingual journalist who lives with her son without electricity or hot water. My last visit there disheartened me so that I don't know if I can return--and with the rise in prices for foreigners, I probably can't...at least until things change there.tangocheriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10012220622641996877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23522785.post-63350707254214725292007-09-05T17:07:00.000-07:002007-09-05T17:07:00.000-07:00Tremendous series, cherie.I've been to La Habana 3...Tremendous series, cherie.<BR/><BR/>I've been to La Habana 3 times... all before 2000...all illegally thru Cancún. When I came back the first time, my friends all asked me how it was. Still shaking my head as if dazed I told them that I really didn't think there was anyplace else on earth to go!<BR/><BR/>Seeing the side of life that normal habeneros live wasn't difficult, at least then. I stayed in normal apartments with normal people, ate normal food, went to the beaches that normal people went to, and drank normal drinks except for having a daiquirí in La Floridita and trying to corner the market on mojitos in every good neighborhood joint I could find.<BR/><BR/>The people are just downright special. I've met friendly people all over the world but the cubanos have something...more. More genuine, more deep, more real... I don't what it is.<BR/><BR/>Whew! Sorry to babble. You got my memory machine goin'. I'm sure that you understand.<BR/><BR/>Great post. Thank you.<BR/><BR/>Mikeyanqui mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02004779143396958441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23522785.post-1373773543235909422007-09-04T14:51:00.000-07:002007-09-04T14:51:00.000-07:00Elizabeth,I can't tell you what my "Cuban experien...Elizabeth,<BR/>I can't tell you what my "Cuban experiences" have meant to me.<BR/><BR/>I only wish everyone could experience the same amazing adventure--and learning opportunity!<BR/><BR/>I will always love Cuba and the Cuban people and the time I've spent there.<BR/><BR/>I will never, never, never forget.tangocheriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10012220622641996877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23522785.post-28768673812834347142007-09-04T10:07:00.000-07:002007-09-04T10:07:00.000-07:00Cherie, I loved this entry about your travels in C...Cherie, I loved this entry about your travels in Cuba. The idea of a Californian teaching a latin dance to Cubans...it is a perfect and modern cultural exchange! <BR/><BR/>These connections creeate hope for a better world. <BR/><BR/>Thanks for sharing your interesting adventure.Elizabeth Brintonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13814965814308408209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23522785.post-2548272026826354862007-09-03T17:57:00.000-07:002007-09-03T17:57:00.000-07:00Caroline, this was my first trip to Cuba in 2000; ...Caroline, this was my first trip to Cuba in 2000; subsequently I returned 5 more times. I was able to get a License from the U.S. Treasury Department to teach tango and to learn salsa, and so I took several groups with me. It was fabulous!tangocheriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10012220622641996877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23522785.post-57432325631572795912007-09-03T06:36:00.000-07:002007-09-03T06:36:00.000-07:00What a beautiful story. I was able to see a collag...What a beautiful story. I was able to see a collage of Cuba coming to life through your words.<BR/>Whem was this trip to Cuba?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com