It is impossible to be indifferent to Havana; the former gateway to the New World still has the almost mystical enchantment of being the window on a whole new universe of humanity and its heritage, seducing those who are looking for more than sun and sand.<\/p>\n
For those of us who come from \u201cthe provinces,\u201d or other corners of the world, entering the Villa de San Crist\u00f3bal de La Habana (the Cuban capital\u2019s colonial name) is like docking at a port where everyday marvels leap to our view, or lie in wait to be discovered during an urban excursion or in the frank speech of its people.<\/p>\n
People say, and rightly so, that Havana is the mecca of magical realism. Strolling down its streets, you discover a city of multiple colors, nuances and history, autos that should be in a museum and not on the road at all hours, and architecture that stands purely on the basis of columns and imagination.<\/p>\n
For foreigners, Havana is an ideal starting point to learn about the country. One reason is that in the \u201ccapital of all Cubans,\u201d as it is known, Havana natives live side by side with people from the provinces who come in search of new horizons, bringing their culture, religion, and customs and merging them with local ones.<\/p>\n
Beyond its historic district\u2014the Havana that lies within colonial-era walls\u2014this city grows, with its traditions, codes, and characters, faithful to neighborhoods that are separated by borders both imaginary and geographic, such as the River Almendares, Havana Bay, and the greenness of Havanas\u2019s Bosque\u2014its Forest.<\/p>\n
Abounding in museums, galleries, and thematic spaces to be discovered during the day, Havana at night is also legendary and rich in possibilities: from bars, theaters and \u201cpaladars,\u201d to nightclubs that fuse exciting musical vanguards with more traditional styles, including vintage, and dancing \u2018til dawn, if that is on the agenda.<\/p>\n
In addition to its own particular urban trails, Havana prides itself on its Malec\u00f3n, or seawall\u2014where this writer spent so many student nights as an aspiring Don Juan; its baseball team, Industriales, loved and hated with equal fervor; and its communities with longstanding marine traditions, such as Coj\u00edmar, whose nooks and crannies are haunted by the ghost of Hemingway.<\/p>\n
Like that legendary writer, yours truly was also seduced by this city, which I found to be a wonder long before it was described as such in an international contest. In this city, I have grown as a professional, lived in its most disparate neighborhoods, and rambled more than Eusebio Leal, its historian. While not always affectionate, Havana has never stopped giving me reason to love her.<\/p>\n
The latest reason, by the way, is my little boy Carlitos, a budding pitcher. I\u2019ve even become an Industriales fan because of him\u2026or might that be another excuse to \u201cpretend\u201d like I\u2019m a Havana native?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It is impossible to be indifferent to Havana; the former gateway to the New World still has the almost mystical enchantment of being the window on a whole new universe of humanity and its heritage, seducing those who are looking for more than sun and sand. For those of us who come from \u201cthe provinces,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1726,"featured_media":41981,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13932],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[33630,6898],"class_list":["post-41980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cocktail"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n