Captivating Cuba

Having read Jasna's blog post about Remedios, I thought I'd carry it further and tell you about the rest of the island!

In an effort to make up for that, I've brought together some helpful info to get you into the Christmassy mood that grabs the island at this time of year. It's funny to say, but Christmas has only really 'taken off' in recent years. Before that, celebrating Christmas was a criminal offence! However, when the Pope at the time visited in 1998, Christmas was decriminalised, and since then the country's really been making up for lost time, and it's great to see and be a part of.

Since it's almost been rediscovered in Cuba, the excitement of Christmas is even more acute than elsewhere in the world. It's like someone telling you for the first time that you have a birthday and every year you'll celebrate it. There's a really great atmosphere to the whole thing. Jasna's already written about the Remedios festival, and you can learn more about it here. But incredible as Remedios is, I want to go back for more than just that.

Revellers at Christmas, Cuba.
Image courtesy of Flickr under creative commons licence.

There are festivals in almost all the areas of Cuba at this time of year. Remedios has one, and so does Bejucal. While I like the two, I.ve always had a bias towards the Charangas de Bejucal, simply because I like the longer running festival - more fun for everyone! During the Charangas de Bejucal , singing and dancing are incorporated into parades of festival floats, brass band music and friendly rivalry born from a tradition of Christmas parades by both Christians and local religions. Today revelers can choose a side - red or blue - and join in the fun which runs from the 24th to the 26th, and also has a one off day on the 1st January.

I'm already missing the build up of advent towards celebrations over the holiday. Even if you're not Christian there's a great feeling of togetherness on Christmas eve during midnight mass in Revolution square. The bells start to ring at midnight and a great cheer goes up. It's amazing to be a part of. Christmas is still fairly taboo with the Cuban authorities, but in the face of religious pressure and tourist demand, the celebrations have started to bloom.

I can see myself now, sitting in the Casa de la Troba, kicking back, relaxing with a drink and listening to the amazing music on Christmas day, after a Christmas Eve full of reveling and joyous partying. *sigh*

Oh well. Next year is a definite.
See you al later,
Peter.

posted at: 17:25 | path: /peter | permanent link to this entry | 0 comments