OnCuba | 48 HAVANA BY DAYLIGHT AND MOONLIGHT. All-inclusive, round-trip cruises from Miami and Orlando to Cuba with an overnight in Havana. By foot or vintage car, discover something new in Old Havana, including the Savor incredible moments on board, from nightly entertainment Spend your night ashore strolling Old Havana. Take in the baroque iconic Capitol, the former Cuban congress. Visit where Hemingway penned to a variety of delicious cuisine. cathedral, historic Fountain of the Lions and more, just steps away The Old Man and the Sea. And try your hand at cigar rolling. from your ship. Cruise from Havana to cabana at our private island in the Bahamas, Great Stirrup Cay. Snorkel in crystal-blue waters, kayak along the shore or simply float in a sheltered lagoon. Experience the sultry rhythms, weathered beauty and rich traditions of Cuba on an unforgettable cruise with Norwegian Cruise Line. Spend the night in Havana and immerse yourself in the people and culture of this fascinating island nation. Marvel at contemporary Cuban art from the 19th and 20th centuries. Then enjoy a sunset stroll in historic Old Havana at your leisure, thanks to no fi xed dining times or pre-assigned seating. As you cruise from Cuba to our private island in the Bahamas, Great Stirrup Cay, savor incredible moments on board from a variety of delicious cuisine to amazing entertainment to Free Unlimited Open Bar. It’s all-inclusive — and all yours to discover. CALL YOUR TRAVEL PROFESSIONAL OR 1.888.NCL.CRUISE OR VISIT NCL.COM Norwegian offers OFAC-compliant cruises and shore excursions with Another round of mojitos? Yes, please. Enjoy Free Unlimited Open Bar on Norwegian is the only cruise line offering 4-day round-trip cruises from ©2017 NCL Corporation Ships’ Registry: BAHAMAS and USA 35298 9/17 so many opportunities to immerse yourself in the rich culture of Cuba. board Norwegian Sun and Norwegian Sky and on shore while relaxing at Miami and Orlando with an overnight in Havana. Great Stirrup Cay. EDITOR´S LETTER Cubans and Their Music It was September 20, 2009, it was Havana, it was Revolution Square, it was 2:00 pm…. We had gotten dressed in a white T-shirt, just like other thousands of persons, and we had been waiting for hours for the concert to start, in that Square that I had never seen so full before. PRESIDENT HUGO CANCIO All ages, colors, lineages, languages and origins were there, and when [email protected] the music started my daughters moved to the same rhythm as that grey-haired man who only a few minutes ago looked like he was going to faint, exhausted by the heat, sitting by the sidewalk; and I moved and sang the same song as the lady who before looked so circumspect, so EDITORIAL DIRECTOR TAHIMI ARBOLEYA whitely dressed, trying to not stain her wardrobe, all the time watching [email protected] out for that, until the strains of that music were heard. What a strange thing! I thought, for a few minutes we had something in common. After two hours, Juanes, Olga Tañón, Los Orishas, Silvio Rodríguez, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ARIEL MACHADO Luis Eduardo Aute, Miguel Bosé, Síntesis…and others had passed by [email protected] there. Two hours from the concert, with the September heat among that indescribable multitude, no one was wearing anything that was completely white, and the feet didn’t resist. There was a deathly silence, and my daughters begged that we already leave, their nine and 10 years SALES DIRECTOR JORGE RUIZ couldn’t withstand more. We advanced a few steps, a voice was heard [email protected] and afterwards an unmistakable “tumbao”. The two of them stopped dead and turned around, I thought they had recognized the band and asked them: what does it sound like? “It sounds like Cuba, that sounds like Cuba,” they told me in the midst of the euphoria of thousands who DESIGN & LAYOUT PATRICIO HERRERA VEGA turned around and jumped like us when Los Van Van started playing “Dale con el corazón, muévete, muévete.” PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR OTMARO RODRÍGUEZ We didn’t stop dancing until all those musicians (from here and there) finished singing Compay Segundo’s “Chan Chan” and José Martí’s Simple Verses in the style of Los Van Van, together with thousands of COPYEDITING CHARO GUERRA others. Some didn’t have the slightest idea what they were dancing and they hummed along, but continued dancing nonstop. “For a single Cuban family”! was the last thing I was able to hear. TRANSLATION MERCEDES GUILLOT * The “Paz sin fronteras” (Peace Without Borders) concert, organized by Juanes WEB EDITOR CUBA MÓNICA RIVERO in Havana on September 20, 2009, brought together 1.15 million persons, half of Havana’s population at the time. It is considered the third biggest concert in [email protected] history, after the two held in Rio de Janeiro, the first by the Rolling Stones and the second by Rod Stuart. ON THE COVER: Gian Carlos Fonst, almost three, at home in the barrio of Jesús María, Havana, December 24, 2016 / Photo: David Garten Articles may be reproduced, in whole or in part, as long as the source is cited. Reproduction of photographs without the editor’s permission is prohibited. Any views or opinions expressed Tahimi Arboleya are those of the articles’ authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of OnCuba. Editorial Director > OnCuba and the OnCuba logo are registered® trademarks of Fuego Enterprises, Inc., its subsidiaries or divisions. > OnCuba Travel is a trademark™ of Fuego Enterprises, Inc., its subsidiaries or divisions. > Oncuba Travel a publication of Fuego Media Group, a division of Fuego Enterprises, Inc., a publicly traded company (FUGI). > OnCuba © 2012 by Fuego Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved. CUBA BY CHRISTOPHER BAKER CUBA’S ESCUELAS DE ARTE Cuba’s unique Escuelas de Arte have produced some of the country’s finest CONTENTS musicians—from virtuoso violinists to top jazz impresarios—while giving every ONCUBA TRAVEL MAGAZINE child island-wide a chance to fulfill his or her musical dream. 24 48 COVER LIGHTS AND SHADOWS Cuban Music Obsession Leonel López-Nussa: JOAQUÍN BORGES-TRIANA Innately Indispensable Cuban popular music has reflected the daily events of this country and through the lyrics of its melodies it has left testimony of the history that as a nation we ESTRELLA DÍAZ have lived. Leonel López-Nussa deserves not only admiration for the density and depth of his plastic and literary work but also a greater study of his work that also goes through 12 his way of interpreting life. The following phrase is only an advance, an invitation, to approach the certainties of this maestro: “I am not frightened of the world, it’s just that the world is frightening. As it has always been, and increasingly more. That’s why I try to counteract the frightening, making horribly beautiful things.” 30 PHOTO FEATURE CUBAN PEOPLE David Garten Teacher Lazo Rhythm Under the Skin MILENA RECIO A Cuban teacher is shaking the social media and giving a lesson on love. His TAHIMI ARBOLEYA name is Carlos Lazo and he teaches Spanish in a high school in There are persons who vibrate, who carry music within them, Seattle, in the state of Washington. His students learn more than a language; who, instead of words, tears or laughter, bring out music. David Carlos teaches them to be better human beings. Garten has taken pictures of them. 36 18 ECONOMY & BUSINESS ONCUBA RECOMMENDS Trump Measures Have A Different PaZillo Affected the Very Cubans He CECILIA CRESPO This site is not just any corridor, it is the only private bar in Havana where good Meant to Benefit live music can be enjoyed and in addition taste 23 flavors of “fixed” rums, plus 150 cocktails and 50 combinations of hamburgers. RAFAEL BETANCOURT When Trump announced his new Cuba policy last summer he said that his objective was 56 to bypass “the military and the government to help the Cuban people themselves form businesses and pursue much better lives.” Actually, what happened was the contrary. I recommend that you read this article that explains why. 40 BEYOND BORDERS Made in Cuba Welcome to an Unexpected Ketty Fresneda, the Cuban in Exchange: U.S. Students in MasterChef Spain Cuba MILENA RECIO A Cuban reached the finals of the famous MasterChef program in its Spanish ALFREDO PRIETO version and won second place. She surprised everyone with her style and her What I most like about traveling is the welcome to the unexpected and the fall of force. She confesses she got to Spain because she fell in love with a Galician and stereotypes. To say it in the terms of a well-known Cuban psychologist, because dreams with having her own restaurant, in Miami, Madrid or Havana, where there of that and other things, in my opinion traveling is worthwhile. wouldn’t be a lack of avocados or bananas. 46 60 IN THE MIX GASTRONOMIC REVIEW Mantilla, Leonardo Padura’s Ajiaco Café Circle and Cycle ALICIA GARCÍA Congratulations!!! We have initiated the gastronomic review section in OnCuba. CYNTHIA DE LA CANTERA TORANZO With a trustworthy and serious analysis, we will offer information that will provide Leonardo Padura Fuentes, probably the contemporary Cuban novelist most the right references to visitors and will guide them during their trip through read outside Cuba, 2012 National Literature Prize and Princess of Asturias Award the flavor of Cuban food. We are starting off with a restaurant we classify as for Literature in 2015, recommends those places where not only his life has EXCELLENT.