6/30/2014
The day began with visiting a
local farmer’s market. While only a small section of the market was open today,
it was still a colorful and interesting scene. One of the most interesting
parts of the market area was seeing that the price for one pound of rice in the
ration market was the equivalent of $0.01 in American cents. Of course there
was a limited implemented of pounds per person that varied according to age. We
also saw an extravagant house that, though now government owned, once belonged
to a rich lady. The house was built with bricks of the sands of the Sahara
desert. After this, we saw a statue of John Lennon in a park (which was in fact
John Lennon and not Vladimir Lenin as many had suspected on hearing “Lennon
statue”). After returning from this short walking tour of parts of Havana, we
visited a Havana music school. Students at the school were of ages
approximately 10-15 performed for us. They were extraordinarily talented and
impressed with performances on the piano, clarinet, bongos and other
instruments. A few members of our band even jammed with these students during a
couple of their jazzier numbers. Afterwards, Soul Sauce took the stage and
several of the students of the school including a very talented saxophonist and
a few percussionists jammed with us to some of our songs. From the music school
we went to an instrument repair shop. Here we were offered some insight into
the musical scene in Havana, and in return Ms. Lanier donated violin strings
which were happily received. We had lunch in an Italian restaurant called San
Dominica. Afterwards we were treated to a walking tour of Old Havana, which
featured fascinating statues, architecture, and long wall mural of figures of
history who were important to Havana. This was a predominantly white group due
to prevalent racism at the time. On this tour we also witnessed a cathedral
that at one point held the ashes of Christopher Columbus. The ashes were
subsequently removed when the Spanish lost control of the city due to the
revolution. The day was capped off by dinner at the hotel.
7/1/2014
This morning began with a
fascinating discussion with a former Cuban-European Union diplomat who
explained the fractured relations between Cuba and the United States down the
years. He provided valuable insight into some of the barriers between the two
nations and the political ideological frictions that prevent the current
embargo from being removed any time soon. After this discussion, we went on a
bus tour of Havana in which we had several photo opportunities in areas such as
the obelisk and the main square in Havana. These stops produced several
excellent shots of us posing in front of buildings with the faces of Che
Guavarra (spelling questionable) and Fidel Castro sprawled down entire sides. Highlights
of the bus tour include passing several groovy cars (Cuban vehicles never cease
to amaze) and the Capitol building, a design based off of the one in Washington,
DC. After a short stop at the hotel to don decently formal clothes, we visited
the highly sophisticated and secure American Intersection in Havana. From here
we filed into a well-cooled bar with a small stage in the corner, and were treated
to a half lecture, half performance on a brief history of music on the Cuban
island from the 15th century to today. We learned about African and European
influences on Cuban music, with demonstrations performed by our highly talented
hosts. On the conclusion of this, we rehearsed whilst keeping an eye on our
national soccer team competing against Belgium. Our concert was even delayed as
everyone at the bar (which as usual consisted mainly of supporters of whatever
team was playing against Los Estados Unidos) held their breaths to the final
whistle as USA tragically crashed out of the competition. With sadness in our
hearts we somehow managed to deliver what was probably our best performance of
the trip so far. After a dinner in which the pizzas would not stop arriving at
our table, we visited an old Spanish fort in the dimming twilight to witness a
widely popular spectacle. In colonial times a cannon was sounded at 8:00 every
evening to announce the changing of the guard. Although now merely a tourist
attraction, the cannon is fired every evening at 9pm. The Spanish fort is a
fantastic scene in the night and has a mystical feel when lit up by the torch
of the flame bearer. After a long drawn out procession filled with much
anticipation, and a sea of tourist phone and camera screens, the cannon was
finally fired to end a very full day for us.
Fin
Paul Lopez’17 & Zahin Das
’16 responsible for the last two entries
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