Monthly Archives: December 2015

Slang not in the guidebook

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It is great that you have studied Spanish before arriving in Cuba – it will help you to understand what´s going on, and to connect with the locals…. but, it´s not enough! You will find much common vocabulary which is not in your Latin American phrasebook…it is Cuban slang.

Remember that Cubans believe that everyone in Cuba has African blood in them, “Si no tienes del Congo, tienes de Karabali” i.e. If you´re not from the Congo, you are from Karabali (another area in west Africa from which slaves were taken). So it´s no surprise to find lots of Cuban slang with African roots, and given the long domination by the USA, there are also many words adapted from English. Here are some that came from English:

  • Béisbol : baseball (from English)
  • Bisne, Bisnero : business (from English), businessman
  • Blumer : knickers (from English “bloomers”)
  • Carro : car (from the English “car”)
  • Chebi : collective taxi  ( from Chevrolet, Chevvie)
  • Chopin or shopin : shopping ( tourist shop “shopping”)
  • Clóset: closet, cupboard
  • Jonrón : home run
  • Kiosko : little shop
  • Moni : money
  • Nylon: plastic bag
  • Pulover : T-shirt (from “pullover”)
  • Queik : cake
  • Short : shorts
  • Show: performance, spectacular, show
  • Sidicá : Sidecar, motorbike and passenger
  • Suéter : sweater
  • Tenis : sneakers, training shoes, sports shoes
  • Yin : (blue) jeans (from the English “jeans”)
  • Yuma : white foreigner (“3.10 to Yuma” cowboy film)

…and here are a few from African languages

  • acere: friend, mate
  • bembé: drumming ceremony, Santería
  • Babaloa: Santería priest
  • Cambute: herbal grass
  • Changó: god or Afro-Cuban saint of masculinity
  • Elegguá: god or Afro-Cuban saint of opening the way
  • Orisha: Santería saint, or god or goddess
  • qué bolá hacere: greeting in western Cuba
  • qué bolá compay: greeting in eastern Cuba
  • Yemayá: goddess or Afro-Cuban saint of the sea

Five great days in Havana

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An Australian friend, travelling with a small group, recently asked me how to spend five great days in Havana! There are infinite posibilities, but I put together the following itinerary and advice.

Firstly, try to ensure that you have a full weekend in Havana, as there are more things happening then. I would always advise staying in private houses (casas particulares) rather than hotels, but for a group of more than 4, a hotel makes sense. While not the best in the world, customer service is looking up, especially in some of the classier hotels, such as the Hotel Nacional in Vedado on avenida 21 and calle O) – a national historic monument; Hotel Presidente, on Avenida Presidentes (also known as Avenida G) which is only a block or so from the Malecon, the waterfront boulevard that connects all Havana; Hotel Habana Libre in the heart of Vedado, on Avenida 23 and calle L; Hotel Mercure Sevilla in Old Havana, on El Paseo de Martí (or Paseo del Prado) and Trocadero; and Iberostar Parque Central in Old Havana on Neptuno and El Paseo de Martí.

The reason for normally recommending casas particulares ahead of hotels is that the families who take you in, have a personal interest is ensuring that you have a great time, are safe and well cared for, so that you will recommend them to others, and maybe come back again… or just because they are Cubans and Cubans are warm, hospitable and want you to enjoy their country.

Day 1

After getting a taxi from the airport to your hotel ($US25), and checking in, you could go for a stroll along the Malecon on your first evening and get your bearings. Whether you are staying in Old Havana, Central Havana or Vedado, nowhere is far from the Malecon. For most of the week, especially the weekends, the Malecon is a lot of fun. If you reach the Hotel Nacional, pop in for a beer, mojito or coffee. It is a peaceful oasis in the frenetic, hot bustle of Havana.

You may be able to book for dinner at Porto Habana, a nice place to eat on the 11th floor of a pre-revolution apartment block, overlooking the city and the sea. (on the corner of calle E and Linea i.e. ‪Calle E No 158B piso 11 entre Calzada y 9, Vedado (phone: 78331425). You may need to book a few days in advance as it has become popular.  An alternative for a good meal, is La Roca, on the corner of 21 and M in Vedado – just about 400 metres from the entrance to the Hotel Nacional.

You might as well start the trip with a bang – get a taxi from your hotel to the FAC (Fabrica del Arte Cubana, calle 26, Vedado, Havana). Entry is $2 after about 8.30 and it stays open till 2, 3 or 4 am. There is a cafe and snack bar, and drinks, and live music – jazz, pop, salsa, reggaeton etc.). It is a great place to see the groovy folk of Havana having a good time.

Day 2

If the weather looks good, you could organise at the Hotel to get a car or cars to take you to the beach – Playas del Este, viz. Playa Santa Maria del Mar near the Hotel Tropicoco. It is always fun, and is where Cubans love to go. You can buy drinks and rum there, and hire beach beds and sun umbrellas. Not expensive (maybe $US3 for the day each). The car/taxi should be about $12-15 each way i.e. $US30 return, but shared between the passengers, normally 5 passengers in an American 1950s Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge or Cadillac!

You could return to Havana in time to walk around the old walled city, Havana Vieja – heaps to see there and at 7.30 pm get a car to take you to the historic Spanish fort, “La Cabaña” which overlooks Havana. You can watch the sunset over the city, and at 9 pm every night is the Cañonazo (firing of a cannon to tell the good citizens to close the gates of the walled city – a tradition dating from the 1700s). The soldiers that enact this ritual every night are dressed in period uniforms… it´s a good show.

From there you could wander the streets of Old Havana again—always lots of bars and live music in Obispo, the pedestrian shopping mall in the heart of the city.

Day 3

Time to really explore Old Havana (Habana Vieja). Get a car from the hotel to take you to Parque Central (Central Park) – the entry point to Old Havana. From there you can head in any direction. Opposite you is the Gran Teatro (Grand Theatre) which may now have re-opened after years of renovations. – a great place to see live music and dance and orchestras etc. Check it out to see if there is a live program on. While it has been closed for renovations, the centre for the arts has been Teatro Nacional  – alongside the Plaza de la Revolucion, near the huge monument for José Martí.

In Old Havana, I recommend having a look at the Museum of the Revolution in the former President´s Palace, and behind that is my favourite attraction, the National Art Museum (for Cuban art – which is spectacular). Not far away is the elegant Hotel Seville and a newly re-opened and renovated bar “Sloppy Joe´s Bar ” (Agramonte, La Habana, Cuba) which was popular with American sailors before 1959.

There are 5 great plazas, squares, in Old Havana – make sure you see them all: Plaza  de la Catedral (and the nearby best restaurant in Havana, Doña Eutimia); Plaza de Armas (book markets and street theatre and the former Spanish Governor´s residence); Plaza San Francisco, near the docks, (often great live music in the adjacent Basilica San Francisco, and nearby the Jardin del Oriente – a good value eatery); Plaza Vieja (the most beautiful, with Café El Escorial on one corner opposite a microbrewery with great beer); and Plaza del Cristo (was being renovated last year… and on one side is a great Uni student hangout, the bohemian El Chanchullero).

Any night, but especially Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, check out the live music scene – at any of the Casas de La Musica (big bands), or Salon Rosado Benny Morey – home of black Cuban music, or many of the bars along Obispo, the pedestrian mall in Old Havana. There are also several excellent jazz venues in Vedado, such as Jazz Café, at the corner of Paseo and Avenida 3, Vedado), and La Zorra y el Cuervo, on La Rampa, Avenida 23, Vedado.

Day 4

It may be time to relax and recuperate, spending the day alongside and in one of the many hotel swimming pools available. For example, you could go to the pools at Hotel Nacional, Hotel Habana Libre or Hotel Sevilla – or go to my favourite, Hotel Riviera, corner of Paseo and Avenida 3. You pay $US10 entry for the day, and that includes $8 credit at the bar-restaurant. So you can consume $8 worth of food and drink, and your day at the art deco 1950s pool costs you just $2.

Alternatively, you may feel like an outing for the day in an air-conditioned bus to Viñales  – about 2 hours to the west of Havana. The karst scenery of the best tobacco growing area of Cuba is spectacular. Another option could see you could go by bus for the day to the most famous Cuban beach resort at Varadero. It is popular with tourists, but you won´t see many Cubans there.

In the evening, check out some more live music – the quality is amazingly good – or go to any dance shows, such as the famous Tropicana Club cabaret show ( 72 A, La Habana, Cuba; phone 7 2671717).

Day 5

Perhaps time for a walking expedition with a sun-hat, drink and cut lunch, leaving early to beat the midday heat. Havana is a great city to walk around, being fairly flat, not very big and very safe. There are heaps to see and do in Old Havana, Central Havana, Vedado and Miramar, not to mention numerous other suburbs. For example, you can get a ferry (la lancha or lancheta) to take you from Old Havana, across the port to Regla, and the beautiful, historic maritime church built as a sanctuary to house the black Virgin of Regla – a Roman Catholic saint who is simultaneously revered as Yemaya, one of the most powerful of the Afro-Cuban orishas (saints or gods). Another outing, perhaps by car, can take you to the old “barrio” of Guanabacoa – a part of Old Havana first settled by freed slaves, and site of an interesting Museum of Slavery and Afro-Cuban Religions.

For those Ernest Hemingway devotees, half of the bars in Havana claim that “Hemingway frequented this establishment”, especially the famous Bodeguito del Medio, at Empedrado and San Ignacio in Old Havana. Well worth the effort is getting a car to take you to Hemingway´s house, Finca Vigia, on the outskirts of southeastern Havana.

I hope that is a start to your great 5 days in Cuba. You will get lots more suggestions from the people you meet along the way. It is worth being open and friendly to Cubans – sure, many are on the make, but not dangerous – and they have little access to money, except from tourists – so a friendly smile, a sense of humour, and “gracias” (which means “NO”) goes a long way.

Remember, an up to date promotion of what´s on when you are there is available at www.cubaabsolutely.com/ and LaHabana.com – Cuba’s digital destination  (What´s on in Havana)

Discover Cuban food

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Not so long ago, less than 10 years in fact, Cuban food and cuisine were considered something of a joke, a bad joke. Considering the variety of spicy Mexican dishes, such as burritos and tacos, or exciting Peruvian specialties like ceviche, tourists to Cuba were confronted with little choice and bland, unappetising food, presented in Government-run restaurants notable for appalling customer service. There was also a lack of available fresh fruit and vegetables.

There were a few private restaurants called “paladars”, operating from suburban homes. To get to them usually involved being approached on the street by a hustler who, with little English, could lead you there. He was rewarded by the business, while the tourist was furtively offered lobster, which at that time was illegal, or shrimps, or beef – all things unavailable to the average Cuban. These meals while better than Government restaurants, were ridiculously expensive and not as good as meals in private homes.

The best food to be had was in a private house, or casa particular (Government-registered bed and breakfast accommodation). Here, home-cooking at its best would result in a delicious traditional Cuban meal, of a mixed salad, white rice, boiled root vegetables, black beans and a choice of either fresh fish, pork or chicken. Beef (“carne de res”), mysteriously, was not available to either Cubans and tourists.

Yuca con mojo - a national dish

Yuca con mojo is one of Cuba´s national dishes, here presented with fish, brown beans, fried sweet banana and a great salad (and somewhere there would be white rice)

The local markets generally offered little choice of fresh fruit and vegetables, and what was available was of poor quality and poorly presented. Most tourists to Cuba would have gone away with a dismal impression of Cuban food, cuisine and service. But, how things have changed!

A salad with love

The decoration of the fresh salads that accompany the rice, root vegetables and meat (fish here), can be a feature of the meal.. here we have a salad with love!

Since elevation of the younger brother of Fidel Castro to the top job in Cuba in 2008, there have been many many changes to enable Cubans to operate their own businesses, including farm cooperatives, markets, cafeterías and restaurants. There are now both government and private markets and the diversity of available food is much greater, being sourced from both Government and private farms. Also, different markets stock different ítems. For example you can buy fresh ginger and chillies in the market on the corner of B and 19 in Vedado, while the Agropecuario market on 17 and K is the best place to look for spices – it is also usually a good place to find rice and eggs, and a wide range of fruit and vegetables in season. For fresh meat including beef steak and mince, chicken and pork, go to the butchery on the corner of Galiano and San Miguel in Central Havana, or the shopping centre on the corner of Neptuno and Consulado on the edge of Old Havana.

There are also western-style supermarkets around Havana. Some of the bigger supermarkets are under the FOCSA building on the corner of 17 and N in Vedado; in Plaza Carlos III on Avenida Carlos III in Central Havana; at La Puntilla in Miramar; and at the corner of 70 and Avenida 3rd  in Miramar. While the situation has improved, the supply chain is not reliable, and at times you still need to ask around, and walk around, to find basic ítems like rice and eggs.

Arroz con gris, cerdo, aquacate y boniato frito

Arroz con gris (rice and black beans), pork, avocado and fried sweet potato (boniato)

But why cook for yourself at home, when there are now great and diverse eateries and cafés around the city? Havana now has an impressive range of both. One of the best, called Doña Eutimia, is in a lane off the Cathedral Plaza in Old Havana. It provides excellent service and a great menu. For a spectacular view of Havana from the 11th floor of a glamorous, pre-revolutionary high-rise in Vedado, Porto Habana also has excellent food, friendly service and unsurpassed views. A great place to watch the sunset over the Florida Straits is from a table on the balcony. The restaurant occupies part of the spacious apartment of a charming, gay couple, Jonathon and Diego, both Cuban nationals.

Porto Habana Restaurant

A great place to watch the sunset over the Florida Straits, and Vedado, while enjoying a tasty meal.

In Vedado, a Government-operated restaurant called La Roca is a hospitality training institution and the service, food and value are usually outstanding. Decameron offers excellent food and service and is handily located near the corner of Linea (calle 9) and Paseo in Vedado; while Starbien offers good quality dining experiences in Vedado at number 278, calle 15, between J and I.

New, fun and different places are opening all the time. Opposite the Hotel Havana Libre, on the corner of 25 and L, is “Snack Restaurant Waooh!”, a classy, different gastronomic experience in Havana. A Canadian businessman and his Cuban wife have opened a retro Soviet-themed restaurant on the Malecon; and not faraway a popular restaurant occupies the apartment where the gay character “David” lived in the film “Fresa y Chocolate” (“Strawberry and Chocolate”).

In Old Havana, around the Plaza Vieja (Old Plaza) are a few places of interest – such as “El Escorial Café”, where you can eat snacks and great cakes and chose from the variety of coffee on the menu. Across the plaza is a famous micro-brewery that serves everything from hamburgers to full meals, with, of course, a range of tasty light and dark beers – all brewed on the premises. Not far away on Plaza del Cristo, and well worth the visit, is a little bohemian flavoured bar-restaurant called “El Chanchullero”, often packed with a younger, groovy crowd – and with a blackboard sign at the door that boasts “Ernest Hemingway never drank here”.

So, Cuba is no longer just a target for travellers who love music and dance and Afro-Cuban culture. Increasingly, and perhaps amazingly, it is a place worth visiting for the pleasure of experiencing the distinctive, tasty and healthy cuisine available, and to familiarise yourself with the regional differences as you travel around this wonderful, tropical island.