The District Magazine Vol. 2 Issue 3, Fall 2017 | Page 45

CUBA
R
A
N
T
S & R
A V E
S
A place
that captured
my heart.
By Jon Michaels
It took me a little while to remember the origin
of my Cuba fascination. Wim Wenders’ 1999
documentary “Buena Vista Social Club” was it.
The sounds and images never left me. Since then,
photographs of the ocean crashing over the iconic
Malecon seawall, shining classic cars against a
backdrop of grand old buildings of unimaginable
colors, barefoot kids playing stickball in city
streets, and the sultry, addictive rhythms of the
island’s music kept Cuba ever in my subconscious.
As I sit here anticipating the trip, I realize why…
Having grown up in inner-city Brooklyn, something
about Ha vana resonated. It struck me from afar
as raw, gritty, unabashedly itself. Colorful, ethnic,
proud and masterful at adapting to hardship, I
knew Havana would strike familiar chords. Those
time-worn urban streetscapes and the self-
confident, roguish faces reminded me of home
while hinting at something more exotic. It turned
out to be a matter of time and politics before this
Brooklyn boy would roam those Havana streets.
American travel to post-Castro Cuba is a relatively new
proposition and not a well-worn trail; raising a host of
concerns and questions. How difficult will Immigration
and Customs be? How do I choose the right visa
“category”? Is toilet paper readily available? Will I
encounter anti-American sentiment? Which cigar is my
Publisher going to like? Most important can I order a
Mojito without worrying about contracting dysentery?
With an unusual combination of trepidation and
excitement, I pack, choosing to let go my concerns.
My first clue this was not to be an ordinary excursion
came directly after the short flight. Things started the
usual way with a walk down the modern air-conditioned
jetway in Tampa International, the typical trappings of a
short international flight. Peanuts and a cocktail? Sure,
it’s 7 am why not.
When the plane door opened onto Jose Marti Airport,
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THE DISTRICT - TAMPA’S URBAN DWELLING MAGAZINE
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