The movie was Havana Nights — a sequel to the Patrick Swayze-starrer Dirty Dancing . It was a disaster on all accounts, compared to the prequel, but nevertheless had an all-consuming impact with its setting in quaint old Havana, Cuba (Koo-bah).
I was determined to visit someday.
At last, many years later the dream came true. Byond Travel designed a trip specifically for a group of salsa dancers, all and friends and students from my dance school, Lourd Vijay’s Dance Studio. As soon as our Air France flight landed in Havana we headed to hotel – Copacabana, a half an hour drive from the airport. The quaint hotel reminded me of Woodlands in Bengaluru, except it had a spectacular view of the Caribbean Sea.
Day One
We hit Casa de la Musica in central Havana, with a young high-energy band playing some salsa, reggaeton and Cuban pop music. I had my first Cuba libre made of Havana Club, which along with the Santiago are some of my favourite rums.
Day Two
Our tour bus took us to the Almendares parque and river , where we were treated to deliciously fresh piña coladas. Later, we visited the Revolution Square, and enroute to old Havana, we were educated about what the Cubans insist are the best cigars in the world — Cohiba Esplendidos smoked by Fidel Castro,
Lunch was at Cafe Taberna at Plaza Vieja with a beautiful salsa band playing. We got dressed up to experience the marvel of the iconic Buena Vista Social Club with 30 of Havana’s most popular musicians performing live. Later, we hit a local club, which by far, was one of the craziest parties I have been to in ages.
Day Three
We took a bus ride to Viñales to visit to a liqueur factory, then halted at an organic farm for lunch. We also caught a panoramic view of the Valley of Viñales and took a boat ride in Cueva del Indio. A mandatory stop at a tobacco farmer’s house revealed the secrets of the prized Cuban cigars.
Day Four
My friends and I drove a beautiful Marine blue Ford Mercury 65 across town. We began with a visit to the Malecon strip in Miramar, then drove to the Afro-Cuban Religious Street featuring street art by Salvador Gonzales. The convoy of classics dropped us off at the fully-restored house and boat of Nobel laureate Ernest Hemingway. From there, our tour bus took us to the magnificent statue of Cristo De La Habana at Castillo Del Morro. At a time, when Cuba as a country lost out to the world, people in Cuba gained something important — self-reliance, making the best of the worst. More importantly, they seem to have learnt how to be happy in times of adversity and apathy, or at least fake it convincingly. Perhaps the lack of exposure helped maintain the sanctity and innocence of the people of Cuba. I stake this claim from experiencing the country’s old-world charm.
Cubans have evolved into intuitive,engineers; a simple example is how they havefi found ingenious ways to make crude automobile spares and keep 60-70-year-old cars in fully running condition.
After having walked around old Havana, we attended a salsa workshop conducted by a local instructor, between sipping mojitos.
Day Five
We set out on a six-hour drive to Trinidad, with a stopover at Cienfuegos. In Trinidad, we were treated to a local cocktail, canchanchara, made with sugarcane juice. We checked into the beachside resort Costa Sur, late in the evening, and called it a day.
Day Six
We woke up to the most stunning view of the Caribbean Sea just outside our beach bungalows.
We drove to Topes de Collantes, a Nature reserve in the Escambray Mountain range, and trekked to a beautiful waterfall for a dip in its chilly waters. At night, we had a memorable experience dancing salsa under the stars at Casa de la Musica, where the line-up of bands seemed unending, after which we hit a unique night club in Trinidad set in a natural cave called Disco Ayala.
Day Seven
We drove back to Havana via Santa Clara, visiting the Che memorial and museum. We checked into Copacabana and headed out to have dinner and daiquiris at Floridita, frequented by Hemingway. There’s even a a daiquiri named after him here.
A visit to Fabrica de Arte Cubano (FAC), an arts complex by day and an eclectic tasteful night club by night, was next.
I ended my last day in Havana by getting a haircut by Ban Ki-moon’s hairstylist Josephita. The best compliment I recieved on the trip? I was told “dance like a Cuban with a lot of soul.”
You can train hard to be an LA or NY-style salsa dancer, but to dance like a Cuban, you got to be born Cuban
