Yo te enseño Lola

My wife and I went to Cuba last week with four of our best friends.  Cuba is a great place.  The people are swell, the sun is hot, the cities are chill and the beach is fine. The week went by in a beautiful haze of laughter, sun, music and beer.

Clothes are a waste of precious earthen material that should be used to continue cleaning the air we breathe. Instead they're stuck covering our bodies from supposedly harsh environments. That's the best thing about the south, clothing optional.

My feet are raw from barefootedness (word?). I feel my most Alpha-male when I have not worn shoes for any longer than a day. My veins course with testosterone and omega 3 oils (which my naturopathic doctor tells me to take every day).

Now for a healthy dose of propaganda:

This is Compay Segundo's Chan Chan, performed by Buena Vista Social Club.

Although my friend Adam and I are decidedly not musical soulmates, we share a deep appreciation of Cuban music. We realized it when I showed him the album by pianist Ruben Gonzalez I bought on our second day there.

I first fell for Ruben Gonzalez in India. I bought an album in China and dragged it on my back for two months and four countries before listening to it thoroughly. Those are two months of my life I will never get back.

Cuba's air smells like music. In fact, you end up associating everything there with a song. For example, the heat of the sun or the feeling of your buddy Dave driving home a high five after he's had over fifteen "Tigers con ron". For some reason he insisted on giving me a high five when he finished fifteen drinks of any kind. My hand is sore.

If you want a quick rundown of classical Cuban music, listen to any 10 songs performed by the Buena Vista Social Club. BVSC is similar to Broken Social Scene, both all-star lineups of some of their country's greatest musical performers. Sadly, the dream ended in 2009.

The only drawback to the trip was being there with my friend Mark. He was always staggering about with a beer or rum in his hand, swearing at all the children.

The guy is so white that I would stand beside him for the extra sun rays reflecting off his skin.

The above video is extra appropriate as my next post will give you the lowdown on 'indoctrinart' (term hereby coined).

Until next time, keep it classy Havana.