Cuba

When the new Porto’s bakery opened in West Covina last year, Gladys, Lidia, Ed, Clark, and I waited in that insanely long line and then ate all those amazing pastries on that beautiful new patio. On the way out, the owner happened to be by the door and Gladys not only found the chance to complement her, but also engaged in a nice conversation about her mother founding Porto’s with only five items (I remember that the potato balls and the guava pastries were on that list).

Many, many of us who live in the Los Angeles area have been visiting Cuba virtually for years by going to Porto’s. Porto’s is so popular that the year I posted a birthday picture of my daughter Kristen at a picnic at Griffith Park, that post garnered more comments on the Porto’s box beside her than birthday greetings to Kristen. If you haven’t been to Porto’s, they have five locations and they ship nationwide to bake at home. https://www.portosbakery.com/

Porto’s wasn’t my first Cuban food. Since my family and I often go to San Diego for the zoo, my friend Hifo recommended Embargo Grill. I had never eaten Cuban sandwiches before and they are amazing! Side story, one year a Cuban sandwich place in Seattle was the top-rated restaurant on Yelp. Hifo and her husband Braden tried it when they were up there for a family event and I tried it while I was up there for work. It just goes to show how far we will travel for a Cuban sandwich!

So having eaten at Cuban bakeries and Cuban sandwich places, I went to my first sit down Cuban restaurant, Havanazucar in Hesperia, with my friend Karina. I had the Bistec de Pollo (grilled chicken breast with orange, lemon and garlic sauce marinade and grilled onions). Karina had the Bistec de Palomilla (grilled sirloin steak marinated with mojo sauce, grilled onions and chimichurri sauce). Both plates came with white rice and black beans as well as either sweet plantains or tostones. We had quava in syrup with cream cheese for dessert. I don't think I've ever had whole quava before. Everything was good and I can honestly recommend every kind of Cuban food I’ve had.

I may have only encountered Cuban food as an adult, but as long as I remember, there was some Cuban influence in my life. I grew up hearing Cuban music from band leader Desi Arnaz on I Love Lucy (available at https://www.cbs.com/shows/i_love_lucy/). I was assigned to read The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway in high school (available in many formats including here https://gutenberg.ca/ebooks/hemingwaye-oldmanandthesea/hemingwaye-oldmanandthesea-00-h.html). I learned about the Cuban revolution in my Spanish classes (by the way, there are free Spanish classes online https://www.edx.org/learn/spanish). My book group read Waiting for Snow in Havana by Carlos Eire years ago. (The book is available in many formats. An NPR interview with the author is available online at https://www.npr.org/books/titles/137963482/waiting-for-snow-in-havana-confessions-of-a-cuban-boy.) All these things gave me some understanding of the island a little more than one hundred miles from the United States but with travel restrictions for our citizens.

Trying to dig deeper and learn more about Cuba for this blog, I watched and enjoyed the following:

Free:

· Black in Latin America with Henry Louis Gates Jr: Cuba: The Next Revolution: I’m a big fan of Henry Louis Gates Jr., a professor at Harvard, for his thoughtful analysis. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7p30a4auyA

· A Tuba to Cuba: Like the jazz played in this video, it’s long and sometimes slow, but if you enjoy meeting and hanging out with jazz musicians, and you appreciate their rhythm, meeting those from Cuba is beautiful. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7svmpn

· No Reservations: Cuba: I think what I like best about Anthony Bourdain is that he acknowledges what is difficult while appreciating what is good, then puts them together in a thoughtful way. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5wyvx0

· There is more. Add any of the many movies and documentaries that you’ll find by signing up through your library card and then searching for Cuba on https://www.kanopy.com/

Pay Per View:

· Thirteen Days: The story of the Cuban Missile Crisis from the perspective of the Kennedys. On Amazon or YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1TSj_J6Ims

· The Mambo Kings: Based on a novel about two Cuban brothers, musicians in New York, with differing dreams. On Amazon or Vudu https://www.vudu.com/content/movies/details/The-Mambo-Kings/10414

Subscription

· Wasp Network: A Netflix movie based on a true story in which Cuban spies infiltrate Cuban American terrorist organizations in Miami in the 1990s (based upon the book The Last Soldiers of the Cold War by Fernando Morais)

I will be watching for two Cuban festivals when we have festivals in Southern California again:

· The Cuban American Music Festival in Los Angeles in May

· Havana Nights in Downey in October

In the meantime, if you want to get active, there is a series of Mambo lessons on YouTube starting here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJOfFyKdsCk

If you are planning an actual trip to Cuba, which I am with my daughter Kaitlin and her friend (my bonus daughter) Andrea, here is a list of great places to see https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-things-cuba/. Definitely check in with your local travel advisor because the United States has strict rules for those going to Cuba. Shout out to my favorite travel advisor, Kaitlin Darnell at Laura's Travel in Redlands. May the travel industry survive and thrive - may we all survive, thrive, recognize our mutual humanity, learn to deal with our conflicts, and allow peace and health to flourish in Cuba and throughout the world.

Photo Credit: Alexander Kunze https://unsplash.com/photos/uLh71gTmZ4g