Description
Book Synopsis"Part memoir, part history and part travelogue, Havana without Makeup … take[s] you places you would never find in a guide book."Mimi Whitefield, Miami Herald "The story Portocarero weaves here is rich and fascinating, and vital to understanding an often mysterious place."Patrick Oppmann, CNN Havana Correspondent and Bureau Chief Havana without Makeup is the ultimate insider’s view of Havana, a wide-ranging exploration of its complex facets as seen by few. Its aim is to capture the soul of a city and a society that have evolved on their own terms at the moment before they face inevitable transformations. Opening on the eve of the announcement of reconciliation between the U.S. and Cuba, the book then looks back at the cultural, political, economic, and religious influences that led up to this historic moment and beyond. Readers are led by a brilliant renaissance man and writer who has been at the vanguard of the city’s struggles for more than twenty years. Portocarero’s anti-tourist guide to Havana examines the built environment of the most sensual ruin on the planet”: why are large parts of the city so neglected, and what changes may we see over the coming years? Examining all things Cubania--racial issues, la revolución, baseball, Hemingway, communism, synagogues, Santeria, Cimarron culture, and much more--Portocarero overturns every stone in his endeavor to bring us inside the city he loves. Illustrated with original photographs, this is a unique and essential account of Havana’s history, its present, and what its future may hold. Herman Portocarero is a Belgian-born writer and diplomat of Spanish and Portuguese descent. He has published more than twenty works of fiction and nonfiction, including the Hercule Poirot Prize-winning crime novel New Yorkse NachtenNew York Nights). Between 1995 and 2017, he was ambassador in Havana for his native country and later for the European Union, where he developed a deep professional and personal relationship with Cuba, Havana, and her people.
Trade Review“Passionate and provocative, Havana Without Makeup provides an uncommonly insightful and empathetic portrait of a city, country, and people steeped in eroticism, eccentricity and enigma.” Christopher P. Baker, author of Mi Moto Fidel: Motorcycling Through Castro’s Cuba and the National Geographic Traveler Cuba and Moon Cuba guidebooks
Table of ContentsContents 1. Walls of Illusion 3 2. Exceptional 6 3. Nocturnas (Havana-By-Night) 7 4. Afro Cuba 10 5. Havana in Black and White 12 6. Rumba 13 7. Santeria 14 8. Santeria and the Racial Divide 15 9. Communist Orishas? 16 10. Salsa! 19 11. Asia de Cuba 20 12. ‘Achinado’ 22 13. Sex & Cenesex 23 14. Tremenda Mariconada! 25 15. Havana’s Hour Zero 26 16. Proposal for a Controversial Monument 27 17. Good Money, Bad Money 29 18. The Economy as a Book and a Beast 30 19. Looking West – To Asia Again 32 20. La Mula Como Vaca De Leche 34 21. La Libreta 35 22. El Canonazo 37 23. The Last Salvo 39 24. A Defining Moment 40 25. It Takes (At Least) Two to Rumba 42 26. Sitting Down (And More) With Europe 44 27. Cuba No Soy (I Am Not Cuba) 47 28. Trafic Lights of History 48 29. Ghosts of Revolutions Past 50 30. Much Louder Ghosts 52 31. Napoleon in Cuba 53 32. The Orestes Ferrara Secret 55 33. The Cave at the End of the World 57 34. Conversation in Café del Oriente 60 35. Palacio de la Revolucion 63 36. Who’s the Terrorist? 64 37. Parque Lenin 66 38. Playas del este 67 39. Jardines de la Tropical 69 40. Two Shores of Art Deco 70 41. Rum and Cigar Wars 71 42. Waves Over the Walls 72 43. Patria es Humanidad es Patria 75 44. Havana’s Palestinians 76 45. Next Year in Havana / Jerusalem 78 46. Cantos de Ida y Vuelta 81 47. Mulatas de Rumba & Puellae Gaditanae 84 48. Alma Mater 85 49. God’s Crocodile 88 50. La Fabrica 90 51. Mercenaries 91 52. Bloggers Breakfast 93 53. Primero de Mayo 94 54. The Pen & the Sword 96 55. Prima Ballerina Assoluta 100 56. Le Parisien 102 57. Hatuey & Huracan 103 58. Todo el Mundo Canta 105 59. Who’s the Boss? 107 60. The Holy Spirit on the Plaza de la Revolucion 108 61. Winners and Losers 109 62. Jacobins & Dinosaurs 110 63. Other Churches, Other Gods 111 64. Misionero de la Misericordia 113 65. Mozart in Havana 115 66. Art & Politics 116 67. Pelota 117 68. The United Mobsters 120 69. Una Mal Criada 122 70. Hollywood Havana 123 71. Pirates of all Kinds 125 72. Elian 128 73. New York Connections 130 74. Music has no enemies? 131 75. El Paquete 133 76. Hemingway 134 77. Fuster 136 78. The Last Cimmaron 137 79. Fabelo 139 80. KCHO/STAINLESS/CUTY 140 81. Casa Verde 142 82. Rio Almendares 145 83. Havana and the Chocolate Factory 145 84. Tallapiedra (Havana High Line) 146 85. Radio Reloj & Radio Bemba 148 86. La Muerte 149 87. Apotheosis 150
