CUBA

READ

The setting for the book I chose for Cuba, Dancing to “Almendra,” by Mayra Montero, is the Cuba I recall from watching the movie The Godfather: Part II.  Casinos, extravagant entertainment, mafiosi, and corruption took center stage, while Castro’s revolution percolated in the background.

The book’s protagonist is a 22-year-old reporter named Joaquin Porrata, who is frustrated at being assigned to the entertainment beat when what he really wants to do is cover the mob bosses who have converged on Havana. He thinks he has found his chance when an employee at the Havana Zoo tells him that the escape and subsequent death of the zoo’s hippopotamus had been a warning to mobster Umberto Anastasia. Unfortunately, the message arrived too late, as Anastasia had been killed in a New York barbershop that same day.

Joaquin changes newspapers in order to be allowed to write about the mob, and his life becomes both more exciting and more dangerous. He develops an infatuation for a one-armed woman who may or may not have been the mistress of Mafia boss Santo Trafficante, gets beaten up by mob enforcers twice, and crosses paths with the American actor George Raft, part owner of the Capri hotel and casino.

The title of the book refers to a popular Cuban song called “Almendra.” It takes on significance for Joaquin when, as a teenager, he sees the mother of his best friend, a woman he’s had a crush on since childhood, dancing to “Almendra” with a man who figures prominently in the book.

I enjoyed learning more about the years and events leading up to the Cuban revolution. Now, though, I’d be interested in reading a novel by a Cuban author about life in Cuba since the revolution. Any suggestions?

COOK

When one of the early chapters in “Dancing to Almendra” described the meal of pink flamingos, turtles, crabs, and oysters that was being prepared for a group of mob bosses, I assumed I wouldn’t find any inspiration for a vegan dish in the book. Turns out I was wrong. On New Year’s Eve, Joaquin has dinner at the home of one-armed Yolanda, and she gives him white rice and black beans. I found a Vegetarian Times recipe for Cuban-style black beans with rice and plantains that looked pretty good, so I gave it a try. The recipe called for instant brown rice instead of white rice, and I added a little dollop of vegan sour cream for garnish. It was a very satisfying meal, and the sautéed plantains served on top of the beans were a nice touch.

GIVE

GlobalGiving’s website listed two projects for Cuba, both offering relief to Cubans affected by last year’s Hurricane Irma. I chose the project administered by Global Links, which is working to “deliver medical equipment and supplies that will support health services and hospitals damaged by Hurricane Irma.” These resources will help, not only in the short-term, but will “work to the strengthen the public health system to improve long term sustainability.” More information about Global Links’ Hurricane Irma relief work in Cuba is available at https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/hurricane-irma-recovery-in-cuba/.

NEXT STOP: CYPRUS

COLOMBIA REVISITED

I just returned from a trip to Medellin, Colombia, where my husband Phil and I went to visit our son and his family and celebrate the first birthday of our little grandson.

When I wrote my original blog post about Colombia, I donated to the E2E Foundation for the “Give” portion of the article. The E2E Foundation has a few different projects in Medellin, but the one that I chose was the Huertas Urbanas, which helps to create urban gardens in the impoverished Comuna 8 neighborhood. When I was planning my trip to Medellin, I asked Miranda at GlobalGiving whether it might be possible for me to visit the garden project. She kindly connected me with the good people at the E2E Foundation and I arranged to see some of the Comuna 8 gardens.

An enthusiastic volunteer named Stephanie met Phil and me at the San Antonio metro station and we took a light-rail train to Comuna 8. Our first stop was a garden called “Cerro de los Valores,” or “Hill of Values.” Stephanie called this a training garden that was started by members of the community and is now receiving assistance from the E2E Foundation. It was a gorgeous garden, full of colorful sculptures and both ornamental and edible plants. I would have loved to have wandered through the entire plot, but we had another stop to make.

The second stop was so much fun! We went to a local school, Vida para Todos, to do some gardening with a group of 11th grade students. Stephanie had a lively discussion with them and their wonderful teacher Jose about the hows and whys of planting vegetables, and then they got started on the school’s garden plot. After a little time spent preparing the soil and pulling weeds, Stephanie handed out zucchini seeds for the students to sow. I’m hoping to see pictures of thriving zucchini plants in the not-too-distant future!

The students could not have been any more delightful, even though Phil and I couldn’t speak much Spanish and the students didn’t know much English. The girls wanted before and after pictures of the group, one while they were still clean and one showing their dirty hands after working in the garden.

By encouraging the planting of vegetable gardens at schools and in the community, the E2E Foundation is hopeful that the people of Comuna 8 will be able to not only feed their families, but sell the excess to a local chef who has offered to serve the gardens’ bounty in his restaurant.

Donations to the Huertas Urbanas project help to pay for seeds, tools, and gardening classes, among other things. These gardens are bright spots in this low-income neighborhood, providing hope and a sense of community pride, in addition to healthy food and a source of income.

More information about the Huertas Urbanas project is available at https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/huertas-urbanas-medellin/

Regular blogging will resume soon with a post about Cuba.