Recreating the Life of the Condesa de Merlin - Havana, Madrid, Paris
What can one say about Cuban music? The island’s rhythms are as closely identified with Cuba as are its sugar, rum, cigars and palm trees. This play list is based on some of the songs which formed an inspiring soundtrack for chronicling Mercedes’ Havana days. While some of these songs are quite well known, I […]
Mercedes and her sister Pepita loved to dance, sing and play Spanish dances and songs. They learned the traditional music, including the popular fandangos, seguidillas and boleros. The sisters happily played piano, flashed their castanets and dressed up as typical majas to do their dances. Mercedes never lost her love for these Spanish airs, and […]
So much of Havana’s history is linked with its old churches – it is sometimes astounding. After seeing the Santa Clara convent, my cousin Luly, an architect from Matanzas and Jorge, a Habanero with a passion for his city’s history, helped me continue my little quest along calle Cuba – seeking out two more churches: Espiritu Santo and Nuestra Senora de La Merced (La Merced). […]
The center of Old Havana is a microcosm of old restored palaces and houses now converted into hotels, museums and shops as well as oddly perfect cobbled streets. Walking away from the tourist bustle, along calle Cuba one slowly begins to see less shiny streets and refurbished palaces while stumbling […]
This past January 2011 I went back to Cuba for the first time in 27 years. Everywhere I went, Cubans I met were amazed that I hadn’t been back in so long. But along with seeing my aunt and various cousins, this was also a voyage of discovery to walk in Mercedes’ footsteps. La Habana […]
This is the best explanation of the whole “biography process” that I have read. She really captures the ups and downs of the process and how one gets lost in the subject’s world! Her new book Cleopatra is on my Christmas list!! Stacy Schiff Shares Advice for Aspiring Biographers – GalleyCat
Last Saturday, I had to go to Bristol, England for the day. Bristol, for those outside the UK, is on England’s southwest coast, lying just south of Wales and north of Cornwall. It was also once one of the main ports for the Caribbean trade; slaves, sugar and rum all came through here. In fact, my […]
The last couple of months involved trying to finish the proposal for this project…now back to research and writing. Combining so called business with pleasure, my children and I have come to another tropical island not far from Cuba: Key Biscayne, off Miami. Here, I can find inspiration among the palm trees, ocean and of […]