LA
NOCHE DE LA HABANA
HAVANA
NIGHTS
It
was to be a gathering of friends, colleagues of good standing with each other.
The
guest of honour was the newly arrived Malaysian Ambassador who charmed the
Cubans with his openness and friendliness.
The
people with whom I am associated with, are the best of the Cuban society, hard
working professionals with love for their country, despite facing economic
difficulties at certain levels.
My
landlady is extremely generous and wanted to throw a dinner party for my
friends, fifteen of them in this instance. She would scour the food scene in
Havana and procure all the ingredients and would prepare a delicious Cuban Home
cooked dinner! She said. At a time there is a shortage of flour, she would look
for a cake to celebrate the birthday of one of my friends. When I saw the
repast, I could understand that she had toiled over the dinner over a couple of
days: salads, bread rolls with filling, chicken croquetas, friend chicken with
rice in soya sauce, pork for those who wanted this perennial Cuban taste, fresh
fillet of pargo (snapper), congri (brown rice and beans), a huge cake.
My
own part was rather simple Four Bottles of wine that I could bring without
paying duty: A Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc from NZ, two bottles of Lindeman’s
Shiraz, one bottle of Malbec from Trapiche in Argentina. I bought three extra
bottles locally, usually mediocre quality wine sold at high prices by people
who have no idea about wine, sauvignon blanch/chardonnay from Chile, one bottle
was given to me, a Spanish red, and a bottle of whiskey. My own contribution to
the feast amounted to less than 100 dollars, mostly in wines.
The
first person to arrive was my mother, who handed me a piece of paper with the
telephone number of a well-known Cuban writer. I was happy about that. Slowly
one by one or in groups friends gathered. Wine and appetizers were aplenty.
Malaysian Ambassador and his aide arrived and they joined in the merriment.
Something
very special about this night, most of us had known each other for a while and
the friendly ambiance continued through the delicious dinner. Was it perhaps our shared destinies or our
desire to touch each other at a special spiritual level? No one was complaining
about the economic situation or the political threats from the North.
Nice
dinner
Nice
company
And
this was the night in Havana
