dominos till dawn

my second week in havana was spent in what they call 'a casa particular', that is a private residence that is given a permit by the state to let out rooms at modest prices (at the time approx $25 a night). in my opinion this is the only way to see havana. living in the "muck", with the noise and the splendor of gritty central havana. i cant say all would enjoy this step down in comfort, for example mom and dad, you wouldn't find the accommodations as fantastic as i, dad would say "i cant sleep in the bed, it is too soft (cause it is)" he certainly wouldn't be woken up by the clamour of urban havana life but mom definitely would. you, and probably so would he (that is present day dad, not the guy would tramped around the world) would be very uneasy in the streets after dark. there are no street lights to speak of and there are many a cuban loitering about at all hours of the day, either playing dominos, debating baseball, drinking or most often doing all three. i call these streets home now and corners my hood (i don't use that term but it really seemed to fit). once you learn to politely ignore or joke with the constant barrage of "hey, 'scuse me, where u from? you want to buy cigar, monte cristo? special bottle havana club?(the local rum which is actually distilled in the original bacardi tanks that were left here at the time of the revolution)" you can find the charm beneath hard facade.

one of our first nights in central havana, when Isa (my flight attendant friend who joined me for a few days while in havana) and I were walking home from a family's home (a mother, yuri, and her 2 year old son, harlan, i had all but adopted since arriving there, a family i continue to correspond and assist today) who had prepared an amazing feast for us (this really touched me, people with NOTHING material sharing all that they had with two comparatively rich people from canada. this is not restricted to cuba, all my travels that have taken me through developing countries i am continually amazed and touched as the poorest of poor families invite me into their home and share all that they have with me. in indonesia i think i almost ended up with a young bride, but i digress) let me set the scene, it was around 12:30 and we were walking through the streets with confidence and purpose believing to be in no real danger (later in the week i heard more than a few stories of backpackers getting rolled late at night in that very neighbourhood!). as we walked though the streets i hear the familiar, "hey where you from?" there were 8 or so cubans on the dark corner, playing dominos (of course).
me: "canada"
them: "oh canada! toronto?"
me: "nope"
them: "montreal?"
me: "nope" suffice to say i would normally be a bit more congenial but we were both tired after a very long day and were keen to arrive back to our casa, a mere 2 blocks away.
them: "vancouver?" it is also worth noting that the more knowledge they have the countries people visit from the more likely they are to get money from them.
me: "nope" isa is quietly asking me to shut up and stop encouraging them, remember it is very dark out.
them: "ok, ok, where you from?"
me: "ottawa" to that i hear,
them: "damon?"
wtf!, with this i turn around and walk closer for a better look and wouldn't you know it there is a guy, esslay, i met earlier in the week while out shooting (pictures). we had struck up a conversation about some sexy dutch girls near by and soon after we were sharing a bottle of rum and a couple of monte cristos on the malecon.
his gang of friends called us over and two gave up their seats so now we were playing too! not knowing how to play it must have been rather comedic to watch as we both had "coaches" who were quite literally selecting which blocks to play, i with the help of Havana Club ($3 a bottle, me and isa were glad to pick up a few bottles for the game) i was not catching on that fast apparently there are odds and other confusing factors that impeded my ability play, that coupled with my extremely limited knowledge of spanish, had me placing the pre-chosen blocks on the wrong part of the board with much animation. my coach's english was about as good as my spanish and kept repeating "take it easy, take it easy" and "eat it" (i think he meant block but i can't be sure), my response, "taking it easy, taking it easy". after two poor showings if i managed to play all my blocks, in my usual boisterous manner i jumped up careful not to knock over the board which was resting on our four respective knees. the hours passed, the rum was plentiful and laughs abound! the party continued from some time until just before 5:30 am actually when Isa could contain her bladder no longer and was unwilling to walk up the dark street and relieve herself in the doorway as my drunk and jolly (i use that word as she was round lady) domino partner had done twice since we joined their game. the first time it happened or the first time i noticed, i couldn't quite identify this noise close behind me, as my curious nature demands i turned around to see, much to my surprise/dismay i saw a large woman squatting some 6 feet up the road for me, she had not opted to find a doorway rather she was contently relieving herself on the sidewalk and happily i was slightly uphill! so we said our goodbyes but our new crew wouldn't let us walk back to the casa alone for fear of robberies, this really made me question my earlier decisions to walk around havana after dark unburdened by fear or even apprehension. oh well, live and learn.

luckily for me that was just the beginning of my time with my new friends. after going out i could always find them playing dominos and i was always invited to sit and play. those early hours of the day were some of the most lively and interesting of my trip. i was blown away on my last day while waiting for my taxi to the airport, the crew showed up to my casa and gave me a set of old dominos which i still have today.