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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 24, 2017 8:07:52 GMT
First of all, I must say that we did not do this place justice, because the walk to go there turned out to be about five times longer than we originally thought. However, there are no regrets about the walk because it provided countless photo ops. It just prevented us from feeling like doing much exploring once we finally arrived. When we reached the University of Havana, it seemed like it could not be much farther since we had already crossed most of the city. The area was less and less pedestrian friendly, so we began to wonder about the possibility of taking a bus. Bixa stopped a friendly woman lugging bags of groceries, and said she was going right by there. All we had to do was follow her. Considering what she was carrying, it couldn't be much farther. Wrong! On and on we went, and at long last we arrived at the back gate of the cemetery. It had a lock and chain on it, but it had long outlived its utility and it was easy to walk right through, right past the sign saying that entrance was forbidden and that tourists must go around to the main entrance to pay the visitor fee. We thanked the woman and entered with confidence, then with a little less confidence when we saw a sort of guard standing near the entrance to keep an eye on things. But she just said hello and we stumbled along.
Frankly, our first impression was "just another cemetery."
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s19.postimg.cc/v5oggi00z/Cuba_404.jpg
This was the newer section in the back, so there were relatively few crosses on graves but quite a bit of military and revolutionary glory.
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s19.postimg.cc/4xdbr65nn/Cuba_406.jpg
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 25, 2017 0:29:14 GMT
First, I want to say how much I love Kerouac's second photo and that he did not exaggerate the walk to the cemetery. It was a hot day, but after a previous abortive attempt to reach this place of Borges-like elusiveness, we were determined to visit it. At first it was a fun stroll, with tons of stuff to draw our attention and lots of pictures to snap -- pictures you all have seen or will be seeing later in other threads. I believe we set off noonish. Just before 12:40 I paused to take this picture ~ We realized we were being called and beckoned to, so turned around to chat with the restaurant's owner ~ He kept urging us to have some lunch, despite our protestations that we'd already eaten. Then pictures were proposed, with the smiling son(?) and the owner -- who wanted the pictures -- consistently stone-faced. There are others, including two of Kerouac with that kill-me-now look in his eyes. I don't ever want to see the ones of me. We finally tore ourselves away, after repeatedly refusing the chance to enjoy many mojitos. Those mojitos, indeed anything in a tall glass with ice, loomed large in our parched imaginations as the trek wore on. At around 1 o'clock, this church tower appeared in the distance. We slogged toward it, sinking gratefully onto the curb of a busy intersection on reaching the church. There the guidebook was consulted and, reassured, we marched onward. Once we got into the university area, there were few people around but lots of foliage. Indeed, it was rather jungly. My hands were too sweaty to bother with pictures, although I got this one of an interesting property we passed at 1:22 pm. The jungle thinned out and we found ourselves on a wide boulevard. We kept going, but were stymied when the road split into two highway arteries. It was at that point that the grocery-toting angel delivered us. Even after the sore feet and the threat of heat stroke, I have to say that my only regret about this difficult hike was that I took no pictures of the neighborhood through which we passed to get to the cemetery. There were people about, and it seemed rude to be snapping pictures of their home ground. Suffice to say that it reminded me very much of Key West in the early 70s, in the areas where the Cubans had settled. Kerouac has related how we finally entered the cemetery. We were at the back, where it's less fancy and we rested our weary bones on some hot tombs in the bright heat. I note that my first cemetery picture was taken at 2:15 p.m. Whew! ~ More to come ~
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Post by lagatta on Dec 25, 2017 1:47:03 GMT
What an evocative thread. Don't suppose you got back to father and son restaurant...
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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 25, 2017 4:32:35 GMT
No, I'm sure they're still waiting for our return because not many tourists pass through that area.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 25, 2017 6:06:21 GMT
Yay ~ Kerouac captured more of the scenes along the way, as well as the aerial roots of the ficus in the cemetery. An interesting note about this cemetery, established in 1876, is that its first occupant was its architect, who died before the project was completed. My heat-addled brain was nonplussed by some cemetery sights: Our Lady of Mount Carmel with a really big scapular and teamed with a hole in the ground ~ This one was promising to rise again, while all I wanted was to lie down ~ Dear Olga's loving parents probably didn't mean to immortalize her as Regan MacNeil ~ The column with the angel rises over everything else in the cemetery. That is not a fallen soldier, as you'd expect. More on that monument later ~ The cemetery is the home of some of Havana's exquisite Art Deco architecture ~ More traditional graveyard ornamentation ~
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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 25, 2017 23:10:04 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 26, 2017 1:08:01 GMT
I'm happy to see that we did not duplicate each other's pictures and that Kerouac nicely captured both the chapel and the arch over the front entrance. I got the chapel from further away ~ A veritable forest of wrought iron fences ~ A shot of Flash Gordon's tomb. It was surrounded by construction fences, so couldn't be seen up close ~ And now a closer look at the 75-foot high, very commanding monument. The uniform of the man being borne away is that of a fireman. This is a memorial to the 38 lives lost when a hardware store where explosives had been secretly stored caught fire, then exploded as the blaze was being fought. You can read a contemporary account of the tragedy here: cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=LAH18900519.2.9
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Post by lagatta on Dec 26, 2017 1:31:02 GMT
Thanks. We remember our firefighters.
Public toilets are important for many of us when travelling. I confess I was thinking of that during the trek you show here. I don't mind a long walk, but...
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Post by bjd on Dec 26, 2017 12:54:18 GMT
I wonder what the symbolism of the nun with the pelican is.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 26, 2017 16:10:13 GMT
LaGatta, I believe we perspired too much to need to wee-wee. Bjd, a pelican is the symbol of self-sacrifice, since it was believed that the pelican pierced its own breast in order to feed its young. I have this nugget of knowledge because a pelican in the same pose as that of the cemetery statue is featured on the state flag of Louisiana. The nun is a Sister of Charity, as in faith, hope, & charity/love. (had to look that up) So, loving self-sacrifice. I think the flowers she is holding are lilies, also fraught with symbolism.
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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 26, 2017 16:20:04 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 26, 2017 19:51:39 GMT
Yes, your nun's sky is bluer, but do you think it's nice to say na na na na-na right after a discussion of kindness and charity? Kidding aside, charitable blessings upon you for capturing the front entrance, complete with the parking area where we secured a cab for the ride home. We started our transit of the cemetery in the back, where the less imposing graves are. You can see how close together they are. A friend of mine visited this cemetery around twenty years ago. She said that she came upon crumbling clay boxes which could be opened to reveal bones. We didn't come across anything like that, but did see quite a few charmingly hand-written tributes.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 28, 2017 21:23:58 GMT
Time to wrap up this funerary foray. Some more fancy memorials ~ The chapel was a respite from the sun, but the last judgment painting would hardly alleviate grief ~ We made a beeline for the oasis of $1 beers, obviously popular with the locals as well ~ We've mentioned the robotic indifference of workers in government-owned businesses, and this place was no different. What was different was the courtly self-appointed maître d'hôtel who showed me to my table and returned to his post ~ And that, my quick little friends, concludes our visit to the city of the dead. Momento mori!
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Post by lagatta on Dec 28, 2017 22:59:07 GMT
Scary Last Judgements aside, the little Maria aka BVM is very sweet.
I see that one fellow brought along something much stronger than beer... And indeed I remember walking all day in Italy with nary a need to pee, though I was much younger.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Dec 30, 2017 19:46:57 GMT
The long walk in the hot sun would have melted me...well one both. It was worth it. The sharp contrast of the heavenly blue sky to the cold pale stone lends a certain gravitas to the tombs. Astonishing sculptures altho I agree that Olga's portrait is 'unusual'
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Post by fumobici on Dec 31, 2017 2:35:04 GMT
Beautiful report, a lot of layers of stuff. Havana was obviously wealthy once--or at least there were a lot of wealthy people, not the same. I wasn't aware that Cubans fought in Vietnam. Interesting!
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 31, 2017 20:20:30 GMT
Many thanks to all of you for your attention and feedback. Fumobici, we'll be exploring more of the former grandeur of Havana in another thread. I didn't know about the Cubans in Vietnam, either. Someone recently (Kerouac?) pointed out to me that during the time of the Soviet support of Cuba, the Cuban military was often sent in to places where the Soviets did not want to send their own troops. Looking stuff up about Cuba is an interesting study in separating the wheat from the chaff in terms of truth vs. propaganda from one side or another. This article, at least, makes the point that Cuba was not necessarily dancing to the Soviet tune all the time: www.investigaction.net/en/in-fighting-against-apartheid-cuba-defended-the-most-beautiful-cause-of-mankind/
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