Sort of Legal

Dreaming of Havana Nights but it’s not yet “go time” for your Cuba trip?  Here are some ideas to help pump you prepare and get excited about your trip.  Or for those of you who are still in the dreaming phase, to encourage you to take the leap and book your ticket!  (Caveat: Americans, learn about the law first.  You can check out my overview on that here.)   

READ

1. Lonely Planet: Cuba – Lonely Planet is one of the most recognized names in travel guides for a reason: they make good guides. I used the electronic version of this guide, which you can download on your computer (what I did), iPad, or phone.  If I did it over, I would have splurged on the hard-copy version.  I wasn’t carrying my laptop around Havana and because Internet was limited, we couldn’t easily google good restaurants, sites to check-out, or other information.

2. A Mario Conde Mystery – Writer Leondardo Padura is one of Cuba’s most well-known contemporary authors.  He came to international fame with his mystery series featuring the fictional detective Mario Conde and capturing the essence of Havana.  Pick one or read the whole series.  Throw in this this New Yorker article profiling Padura for good measure and deeper understanding of the limits Padura gently pushes in Cuba’s restrictive political environment.

3. 3. Havana Real: One Woman Fights to Tell the Truth About Cuba Today – Until I visited Cuba, I didn’t know that one of the worst periods for Cubans was the 1990s after the dissolution of the USSR.  Cuba was left an island alone without the support of its former communist ally, the USSR.  Yoani Sanchez’s book chronicles life during Cuba in this period and the those that followed.  I haven’t read it yet, but am looking forward to it.

WATCH

1. Buena Vista Social Club – The late 90s documentary that helped catapult the band (see below) into the limelight and create a frenzy for Cuban music and culture.

3. Four Seasons in Havana – This Netflix mini-series is based on Leonardo Padura’s well-known Mario Conde mysteries. The series is humorous and engaging at times, cheesy and slow at others.  Yet, if you are interested in visiting Havana, it is worth a watch.  It gives you a glimpse into what the city actually looks like and if you pay attention has a surprising number of governmental criticisms.  My dad and I watched two after our trip and enjoyed spotting places we recognized and reminiscing about the feel of the city that the series captures.

4. Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown: Cuba – Have to mention Bourdain. Season 6, Episode 1 of Parts Unknown features a visit by Bourdain to Cuba just after travel restrictions for Americans loosened.

LISTEN TO

1. Buena Vista Social Club – Listen to the band that inspired the documentary.  You may even recognize a few songs like “Chan-Chan,” which you will also definitely hear multiple times in Cuba. 
2. Los Van Van – Forty years later and this acclaimed Cuban band is still going strong with danceable upbeat tunes.  Try to listen and move along to the beat.  I dare you!
3. Conseula – Ok, Ok. Young Thug and his compadres are not Cuban artists and the video is set in Mexico BUT I really like this song and it feeeeels like it has a modern Cuban vibe to me and they reference “Guantanamera.”