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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 6, 2017 4:18:35 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 6, 2017 4:29:18 GMT
I love that shot of Teatro America at night! Also, you got the crucial shot I missed -- the filling of the endless daiquiri glasses.
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Post by mickthecactus on Dec 6, 2017 8:30:30 GMT
The Bacardi building and the theater are stunning, and look to have both been well taken care of. Yay! Aren't they just! |
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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 6, 2017 10:53:32 GMT
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Post by tod2 on Dec 6, 2017 16:29:54 GMT
FANTASTIC! Just wonderful you two. It doesn't take much for me to swoon over Art Deco. Those were some superb examples. Lucky you were not with me...When it comes to cocktails I have been known to throw caution to the wind  Is that why I ended up sitting inside the glass? ( A famous comedy sketch professed "The Devil made me do it") My cocktail glasses are enormous - you would really like them. The white liquid being poured into those numerous glasses looks a little thick but that is probably only the photo. |
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 7, 2017 21:34:53 GMT
The white liquid being poured into those numerous glasses looks a little thick but that is probably only the photo. We actually went into the tourist-packed interior one night, but passed on the $6 blender daiquiris |
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 7, 2017 22:25:11 GMT
We showed the very grand Teatro Alicia Alonso on the previous page, but here is a night photo and some history ~ |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2017 0:22:32 GMT
"Grand" indeed!!! Great shot!!!
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Post by tod2 on Dec 8, 2017 6:17:37 GMT
So I was half right in spotting the thicker liquid in those daiquiris! Couldn't help looking up the recipe as it was the first time I have heard of a blended daiquiri.
"Blend ice, rum, lime juice, triple sec, and 1 teaspoon sugar in a blender on the highest setting until smooth, 15 to 20 seconds. Pour into glass.
Spread 2 tablespoons sugar in a thin layer onto a small plate. Rub lime wedge around the rim of a glass. Dip glass rim in sugar to coat."
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 10, 2017 21:49:51 GMT
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Post by bjd on Dec 11, 2017 7:56:12 GMT
Oh! Interesting! I remember reading about these informal real estate gatherings when the economy opened up a few years ago.
What do you think "4/4 naturales" means? On the 4th floor of 4?
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 11, 2017 17:00:53 GMT
Thanks, Bjd! Yeah, it was so interesting to see that in the 21st century. Note that in the penultimate picture there is an ad for a classified paper which charges 5 MN for an ad. That is moneda nacional, i.e. the "people's peso", which is only worth 4 cents usd. I have puzzled over that 4/4 and am guessing it might be louvered shutters, but that is only a guess. I'm also guessing that "piezas grandes" might be stove and fridge, but don't know. You asked Kerouac, I think in the Impressions thread, if those were water tanks on the roof. That was something that intrigued me, since we had ample water in the apartment & were not instructed to be careful about using it. Because of where I live, I well know about being slave to the municipal pipes' water delivery schedule and the capacity of a roof water tank. I'm assuming it's the same in Havana because of all the roof tanks and also because I saw one of those large water delivery trucks. So in the 4/4 house, the fact that it has a cisterna con motor (ground cistern with pump) would be a big plus. This really belongs in the Impressions thread, but since it shows a water truck ........  |
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Post by bjd on Dec 11, 2017 17:56:57 GMT
There are cisterns on the roofs, as well as water delivery trucks, on the Caribbean coast of Colombia.
I just tried googling the 4/4 naturales but don't get anything useful.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 29, 2017 3:57:23 GMT
It's been a while since we added to this thread, but that is because there are other highlights that need their own threads. Accordingly, so far Callejón de Hamel has been featured in the Maritime Museum and the Necrópolis de Cristóbal Colón here in the Cuba sub-board. But that's not it for the highlights of Havana, not by a long shot. We'll continue making reports on some of the exceptional things we saw and also showing some of them here. For instance, we visited the Museum of the Revolution, which will be getting its own illustrated thread. Upon leaving the museum that day, we strolled through the wide expanse of the 13 de Marzo park, resting on a bench there and enjoying the sea breezes. |
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 2, 2018 3:54:42 GMT
Leaving the wide open spaces shown above, we meandered on. Entering a small alley, we were greeted by this tethered feathered fellow ~    We had entered the Callejón de los Peluqueros ~    We felt drawn in the direction of the water ~  ojelfer ~   A kiddy park with an admission charge and insanely loud music ~  |
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Post by fumobici on Jan 2, 2018 4:06:05 GMT
More sweet Cuban eye candy! You've got a great eye, keep 'em coming please.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 2, 2018 17:48:39 GMT
Very kind, Fumobici ~ thank you! Moving on past the kiddy park, this statue commanded attention:  It was approached by an attractive Japanese-inspired stepping stone arrangement. I'm hoping Kerouac got pictures of that. I failed to do so, instead recording the information on the base. *sigh* Much more information here.     Walking on, we saw that a monster cruise ship was in port -- details. This thing holds up to 2,679 passengers and has approximately 728 crew members, so you can see where it's a boon to the local economy ~   It does draw the eye!  |
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Post by kerouac2 on Jan 2, 2018 22:34:04 GMT
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Post by bjd on Jan 3, 2018 7:26:18 GMT
That tree looks rather like a baobab!
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Post by kerouac2 on Jan 3, 2018 10:40:32 GMT
We did see a few baobabs in Cuba, but I think that is just a relative of a baobab.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 3, 2018 15:39:46 GMT
Those are ceiba trees and indeed reminded the first Africans brought to Cuba of the baobab. sourceSome more (slightly garbled) information here, and scroll to the bottom of this site for a picture of a famous Havana ceiba. |
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Post by bjd on Jan 3, 2018 16:53:53 GMT
Thanks a lot, Bixa. In a Colombian book I read, they mentioned ceibas and I had to look up the word. I knew it was a tree but didn't know what it looked like.
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Post by lugg on Jan 3, 2018 18:20:29 GMT
I had read about the Ceiba but did not know what it looked like either. I did wonder if the tree at the beginning of the post was one - now I can see it is most likely not. Really enjoying this guys , thank you . Fabulous read and a feast for my eyes especially the theatres and art deco .
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 3, 2018 20:32:23 GMT
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Post by bjd on Jan 4, 2018 7:29:52 GMT
I'm surprised than an official atheist (because communist) government has allowed such Catholic places to exist and even the name of the square to remain. I too like the clay quails.
I imagine too that the building in disrepair owes part of its poor condition to the climate, not just to neglect.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 4, 2018 16:04:05 GMT
Bjd, from what I've read religious restrictions were never as strict in Cuba as in other communist countries. We certainly saw much evidence of Santería, churches were open, and I even saw one of those "Este hogar es Católico" signs. (They're popular in Mexico to keep Jehovah's Witnesses off the doorstep.) I'm poised to start a thread about the building situation in Havana, including such details as I can gather about preservation in service of history and tourism. In the meantime, the Wikipedia entry on religion in Cuba is extremely interesting: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Cuba |
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Post by bjd on Jan 4, 2018 16:38:51 GMT
At the photojournalism exhibition I went to in Perpignan in September, one of the exhibits was about Wahabi-type converts to Islam in Cuba. The mosques are pretty small and private. One guy who managed to convert some others won a trip to Saudi Arabia and came back with a bunch of Korans.
The photos were often of the converts, but also with commentary by them and their families. Mostly, the families couldn't understand why their child or sibling had converted. And one young woman said that wearing the robes was extremely difficult in the Cuban climate but was doing it for the faith.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 5, 2018 4:09:18 GMT
That is interesting, Bjd! It's understandable that young people, who are often in the process of searching, might be converted, but intriguingly mysterious as to how Islamic proselytizers decided that Cuba might be fertile ground for converts. Well, I believe I may have come to the end of the photographs earmarked for this particular report. That is not at all to say that it is the end of the highlights experienced while in Havana. But those highlights merit separate threads, all of which will be linked here once completed. Last looks out the windows on the last morning there ~   Standing in front of Edificio America, taking a last look at Calle Galiano ~  Upstairs at the airport ~  ¡Hasta la vista, Habana!  |
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Post by mossie on Jan 6, 2018 15:02:48 GMT
A very interesting report. The first two pictures of the town in the last post are excellent, the lighting was just right.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 7, 2018 4:31:17 GMT
Very kind, Mossie -- thank you! And I particularly treasure the photo compliment, coming as it does from our resident expert photographer.  |
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