An Exciting New Book Coming on Cuban Culture 04/22/2011
The exposure for turistas in Cuba is almost entirely of two forms; Cubans met working on resorts and Cubans hustling on the street to survive in cities. Almost all the Cubans we meet are entirely, or mostly Spanish. Because lighter skinned people are given more opportunities than blacks especially working in tourist areas. What we don't get to see is the cultural and religious lives of black Cubans (note - Chen just sent me a note that the book is about Cubans of . Chen Lizra is promising us a spectacular introduction to life of Cubans behind the "stage". BLF Here's is an excerpt:"My Seductive Cuba - A unique travel guide"by Chen Lizra Link to Site I just finished writing the story about my best friend in Cuba, Yerilu, getting possessed by an old dead spirit in a Santeria ceremony, and me ending up in the ceremony. I was unprepared for anything like this, and was terrified of Yerilu while she was this old nasty man. Wait till you'll hear the whole crazy story. Here is a sneak preview from the chapter "Getting Possessed." "At one point the possessed guy turned to a man and asked him if he had any money. The guy checked his wallet and said no, prompting the possessed man to scream that he was lying. Sure enough, the man had a big banknote but was afraid he’d never see his money again, so he preferred to lie. While the possessed guy was setting him straight, the unfortunate man was scrambling to borrow a smaller bill from someone else. The possessed guy, looking as if he were some African god delivering the ultimate truth, chattered on in Yoruba. It had to do with the money, but I had no idea what. I noticed that by now, six hours of singing, dancing, cigars, rum, sweat and heat had gone by — and I was thirsty. Unfortunately, I didn’t think of bringing water, nor could I drink theirs. Cuban tap water is terrible. But my throat was getting extremely dry, and I was so tired I could barely understand Spanish anymore, let alone Yoruba. I needed to break the intensity that was holding me tight in the throat. I decided to drag myself upstairs to the bedroom to escape for a second. Things had gotten so intense I could hardly breathe or focus my thoughts. Once upstairs, I sat on the floor, knowing that Yeri didn’t want anyone on her bed, even though I was dying to put my head down and fall asleep on her pillow. I leaned back against the bed, let my head drop back on the mattress, and finally closed my eyes. It felt so nice to let my body and brain relax. I took in a big breath to calm myself down, then started breathing slowly as if meditating. Just when all the chaos began drifting away peacefully, I suddenly heard a voice calling “Chen, Chen, Chen!” I opened my eyes, still a bit slow to grasp what was going on. I heard “Chen” being called again from downstairs and answered faintly, “Yes, I’m here.” I was told to come down. My stomach clenched. I got up slowly, my head spinning wildly. One step at a time, I carefully descended the staircase, maneuvering myself past the people sitting on every step. Nearing the bottom, I was told the possessed man wanted to see me. I panicked and wanted to run — but all the attention was focused on me now, and as soon as my foot touched the ground, a path suddenly opened for me to walk toward him. As I got closer, the amoeba sealed around us — locking the two of us in the center. I was shaking." With permission from the Author - Chen Lizra (c) 2011 Chen Lizra CommentsLeave a Reply |
