Captivating Cuba

¡Hola!

¿Qué tal, compadres?

Today I thought to give you a lesson in jerga Cubana, that is to say Cuban Slang.

I have not yet met a Cuban who does not love to talk, but for a character flaw, this is a good one, no? You know that in Cuba we are very famous for our accent, but what I want to tell you of today is how we express ourselves. When I think of the things we say in our Cuban castellano I see how strange they appear to my ears in English! Maybe some of these will make you smile, I don't know...

Es un arroz con mango (It is a 'Rice with Mango') - It is a very complicated thing.

Este huevo quiere sal (This egg wants salt) - What does he / she want?

Pedro cantó el manicero (Peter 'sang the peanut-vendor') - Peter died.

Strange, no? But in English you say that 'the fat lady sings' when something is finished, so maybe it is not so different!

If you want to be witty about your friends, and every Cuban does, here are my favourite phrases that we use:

Tiene la cabeza llena de humo (He / She has a head full of smoke) - He / She is an airhead.

Es bueno cuando esta dormiendo (He / She is good when they are sleeping) - He / She is only good when they're sleeping.

Me importa tres pepinos (I care three cucumbers) - I don't care at all.

No tiene dos dedos de frente (He / She doesn't have two fingers of forehead) - He/she has no intelligence at all.

Es la pata del diablo (He / She is the leg of the devil) - He / She likes to play pranks.

Sigue dormiendo de ese lado (Keep sleeping on that side) - Keep on waiting?

Ok, unless you are a very charming person I would recommend waiting until you are good friends with somebody before telling them these things!

¡Mucha suerte!

Hector Gonzales

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Che Part 1, the recent biopic of the legendary Che Guevara, seemed to wow, baffle and frustrate the critics in equal measure. I found myself alternating between all three emotions as I watched it!

Now Part 2 is out, chronicling the failed attempt to start a revolution in Bolivia that eventually led to his capture and execution.

In almost documentary style detail, the process of the revolution is charted from the beginning to the bitter end. Che sneaks into Bolivia on a false passport, heads into the mountains and begins training a small band of guerrillas to try and overthrow the oppressive government. But something is wrong - all the steps that led to glory and success in the Cuban revolution misfire terribly the second time around. It is the story of a slow, painful defeat.

Dozens of little setbacks pile up. The leader of the Bolivian Communist Party refuses to support Che and his guerrillas. The radio breaks down. The local villagers react with fear rather than support for the guerrillas who have come to improve their lives, and repeatedly sell them out to the army. Disease and illness weakens the fighters, discipline breaks down, and many of them desert. Picked off one by one, with ammunition and hope dwindling, the guerrillas are finally cornered, captured and killed.

If you didn't like the first film, you won't like the second - it's as simple as that. The strange, unconventional storytelling won't be everyone's cup of tea, and there is no attempt at revealing Che Guevara's real motivations. But so long as you come into the cinema expecting to learn about the Bolivian revolution rather than about Che himself, you won't be disappointed. I can't remember the last time I saw a film that was so dedicated to the study of a failure - it'll either be fascinating or deathly dull depending on your taste!

It's divided the Captivating Cuba office, and it has also divided the blogosphere as well; some people think it is good, others bad, some just found it...boring.

What did you think?

Peter

posted at: 11:43 | path: /peter | permanent link to this entry | 0 comments

Hello all!

As I'm feeling particularly hungry today I thought I'd tell you a little something about Cuban food. I thought about letting Hector, our man in Havana, do this for me, but he'd just tell you it's all fantastic without question!

The fact is I'm going to tell you it's all fantastic too, but that's beside the point.

The secret of this fantastic-ness lies in the diversity of the influences. In every mouthful of Cuban food you'll taste Spanish, African, Caribbean and even Chinese influences. And if anyone questions whether diversity of flavour makes for good cooking I'd like to remind them what British food was like before the influx of French, Italian, Greek and Pan-Asian chefs began to make a difference.

The basic ingredients of Cuban cooking are: rice, beans (the two together, as pictured above, is known as Moros y Cristianos, or 'Moor and Christians'), eggs, tomatoes, lettuce, chicken, beef and pork. You'll also come across the rather more unusual Yucca, or cassava, and Malanga, a delicious root vegetable.

A real highlight is Ajiaco, a sumptuous stew made with meat, plenty of garlic and a slew of fresh vegetables.

There's a lot of love in Cuban cooking and you'll find yourself glowing with satisfaction after a typical meal, especially if you've topped it off with some strong, ultra-sweet Cuban coffee. Mmmmm?..

Hope that informs and delights a little. See you all soon!

Jasna

posted at: 17:04 | path: /jasna | permanent link to this entry | 0 comments