Trinidad - Cuba April 2017 Tour
Read More
I am a photographer and I described this point of view to one of our travelers as a "money shot." It does a nice job being an ambassador for this fun town. Behind me is a cathedral which will figure prominently in a few photos. And off to the right, out of the frame, a pleasant tower.
I have observed Easter in many countries in Europe, Latin America, and Asia. In many cultures, Easter is celebrated by processions carrying statues and representations of Christ, Mary, and the patron saints of the town. Here, too. These are heavy enough to have 6-8 strong men carrying them in a fashion like a sedan chair. It's heavy, hot work best done in the cool of the evening.
I found these old ledgers both interesting and photogenic. This one dates from May 1925. To use a modern term to refer to an historical artifact, this was a data base containing "big data" for the times. Not very accessible and subject to being eaten by rats.
Starting with discarded wooden shutters and a photo, he carves their likeness in relief into the wood leaving a border that serves as a frame.
On the way from Trinidad back to Havana we stopped at a private farm growing coffee. We met and talked with the farmer and his family. They grow from 1 - 3 tons of coffee in a year ... closer to one now with the drought ... for export. This calendar was hanging on the wall of the farmhouse. The revolution is very real and very current for Cubans. There is political art all over saying, "Fidel is always among us." Well it's in Spanish but you get the idea. The American Revolution against Britain was fought between 1776 and 1783. Imagine living in 1835 with the war still firm in the minds of people who could remember the war in their living memory. It would be personal, more vivid, more "among us," I think. maybe this is what it's like in Cuba to remember Castro and the revolution.
Here's the tower I mentioned in the prior photo. On our right the facade of the Cathedral.
"As we entered Trinidad, we stopped at the shop of a well known local potter. He had the entire operation; making clay, spinning pots, painting and firing. We watched him spin some pieces. He had electric old appliance motors hooked up to spin the wheels with a simple foot controlled throttle and clutch. "Near the kiln there was a pile of local clay-rich dirt that had been dumped by a truck. Obviously freshly dug, it was full of vegetation, sticks, stones and cigarette butts. A young man took a wheel barrow of the raw clay to a shed with two shaded 5 x 8 foot concrete water troughs and two 8 x 8 rubberized canvas squares, probably part of an old conveyor belt, on the flat ground in the sun. The. squares had corners folded up within a wood frame so they would hold water about a foot deep. "Four wheel barrows of raw clay were shoveled into a trough with water about 18” deep. The wet raw clay was mixed with a stick and shovel. Debris was picked out into a box suspended over the trough. "The mud was mixed and cleaned until it was a smooth mud of uniform consistency. When mud was evaporated enough to transfer with a shovel, it was moved into the canvas tray and smoothed to a thickness of about 4 inches. It was again covered with water four to six inches deep and left to settle. When the water had properly evaporated, after approximately four days, the mud was cut into roughly 18 inch squares, like cutting a pan of brownies. When the squares could be lifted, they were formed into round loaves, weighting about fifteen kilos; and transferred to a canvas in the shade where they were kept moist. "When the potter was finished with one of his wheels, the young man cleaned the wheel, wetted it and mounted a loaf of clay on the wheel for the potter to spin. Pots were spun off the top of the loaf until all the clay was used. Remnants of clay and imperfect pots were thrown on the pile of raw clay." - Bob Totten
The finished work is extraordinary, unlike anything I've ever seen. His display is sophisticated with halogen lights shining down from the ceiling, the shadows accentuate the detail of the relief. Some are subsequently painted and some left natural.
We stopped for lunch at a paladar about halfway back to Havana. The food was good but the view was more interesting. This forest was just across the road.
In many ways, Trinidad was my favorite stop on our tour. I was beginning to get my Spanish sea legs under me. The town was small, approachable, and ultimately very walkable. Nestled between mountains and the sea, it appeared to suffer less from the drought. A really pleasant place to spend a few days. They won't be deducted from my lifespan, I think.
We went on to Soledad, a little sugar mill village and museum .... The museum was the plantation house of the mill owner. It was very old and in disrepair but was very interesting. We walked through part of the village, very interesting. Public transportation was a large horse cart. A barber was cutting hair outside a small house with customers lounging about.
We saw pots, wind chimes, botijos ... just about anything that could be made from clay. My wife bought a little botijo similar except smaller
"We began our tour of the Historic core of Trinidad by walking to a nearby Biblíoteca, library. This photo was of the bookshelf near where I was standing. "There we met a young Santera who discussed the impact and influence of Santería, as well as other African religions in modern Cuba. [Santeria is an odd fusion of Christianity and many other voodoo-like religions coming from Africa. They observe many of the Catholic traditions and holy days, but also believe in reincarnation.] "In the past days we have learned that [our guide] Janet is an Iyawó, an aspiring Santera and is undergoing a year-long initiation. Male followers are known as Santeros. The high priesthood is reserved for men. "Perhaps the most interesting assertion of the lecture was that Santería is the dominant religion in Cuba with approximately 70% of the population practicing. "Santeria is also practiced in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Colombia, and in some parts of the US." - Bob Totten
While we were eating, these two trucks pulled up loaded with a tourist group of about 20 ... say, 10 in each truck. I believe they were European (but I could be misremembering) and generally considerably younger than ours. These are soviet military trucks converted to convey tourists in hard metal seats welded in the truck bed. Presumably super reliable but also super loud, super diesel dirty, and probably short on comfort. Might be a hoot for a short while. As they arrived, it began to rain hard. they mostly got soaked going from the truck to the restaurant and mostly soaked going from the restaurant back to our Yuotong Chinese-made bus, as comfortable as any tour bus I've ever ridden.
I count myself lucky to have been here from Good Friday through Easter. Friday night the people were in the streets beginning their celebration of Easter. There were very few tourist among the crowd and it gave us a chance too see a large number of Cubans in a setting where they were largely unaware of us. A bit of a candid camera moment.
I found these old ledgers both interesting and photogenic.
Dinner tonight was at Trinidad's Jazz Café, a privately owned paladar restaurant which offered a diversity of successful offerings of not only home style cooking of shredded beef and seafood, but nicely displayed dishes of chicken, lasagna and more, all in a very nice setting, reminiscent of a jazz café. Main courses ranged from 6 to 9 CUC (USD7 - USD10) for the most part, There was a much appreciated live band, and indeed Cuba seems to be a country of music. I cannot recall more than one restaurant that didn't have live music at dinner.
Not really a botanical gardens fan but but if I were to convert, it would be because of this one. It was designated a national monument in 1989 and is under stress this year due to drought. They had hundreds of interesting plants like this Elephant Tree. Super entertaining way to spend a hot day walking.
I have observed Easter in many countries in Europe, Latin America, and Asia. In many cultures, Easter is celebrated by processions carrying statues and representations of Christ, Mary, and the patron saints of the town. Here, too.
I found these old ledgers both interesting and photogenic.
We walked to the home and studio of Lázaro Niebla, a reverse wood sculptor. HIs magnificent work is on display at lazaroniebla.com. His art is interesting. He takes his inspiration from photos of mostly elderly Cubans and tries to capture their spirit or essence.
Here's the "flower" of the Elephant Tree in the last photo.