Havana update-
A quick postcard from Havana (as dial-up internet in random hotel lobby is very, very slow. plus I am without my urban odyssey notes for this very special city).
Probably one of the more interesting cities Nova has visited (as I write this, a young Cubano is asking me for a peso, now reading this over my shoulder asking me questions- telling me how bonita I am, then pointing to the hole in his shoe, asking me for a peso again… he is what, 7?)
It is as if time has stopped here in the 1950s for anything material (buildings, cars, equipment, furniture) except it still decays. People here, though, are vibrant, alive- with music, singing, life pouring out “from every crack” as LL put it to me.
For Americans it is hard to grasp- what is life like without (much) commericialism? without much “private property” (or at least to the extreme degree back at home?) What if branding didn’t exisit? What constitutes pleasure and human happiness?
Ok, I should be off to enjoy the city more- stories for us to all reflect on when we get back.
Viva la Cuba.
