Pirates, Guayaba, and Esperanza

Today Chelsea, Danny, Honorio, Steph, Tara, and I went to the Callejón de Hamil to the see the Rumba dancing that takes place each Sunday afternoon. Callejón de Hamil is an alley covered with various paintings and sculptures by a man named Salvador. We had gone to see this the day before, and that was when we were told about the Rumba dancing.

Soon after getting there, a chipper Cuban lad approached me, and, as all Cubans do, began to chat. Notable moments of the conversation included how surprised he was that we learn Spanish in school, because no Cuban schools offer education in English. He claimed that no Cubans knew English, which isn't entirely correct, but that's okay. He certainly knew no English at all. We also were talking about our governments, how America has so much to improve upon with Obama entering office, and how the young people have such high hopes for a lot of change in the future. A lot of Cubans are hoping for changes, too, both in American policies, and the policies of their own government. "There are a lot of issues on the pueblo level," he was saying, "Pero tenemos esperanza." That's all we can have, right?

We decided that the presidents of the United States and Cuba are like little boys fighting with each other, and it's everyone else who deals with the consequences. He was really surprised hearing that people in America are fearful of Communism. "But that's only the government," he said. "That doesn't affect relationships between people."

This deep and thought-provoking conversation was halted when we decided to hit up the closest cafetería for some amazing, amazing pizza de cebolla, leaving my nameless Cuban friend in the crowd. (Need I mention that said pizza was only 10 pesos nacionales, which roughly translates to 5 cents?)

After getting pizza, we returned to rumba-ville. Most notably, I made a friend named Saule. Saule first captured my attention because of his pirate-like appearance. He looked almost exactly like Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean, only without the make-up and gold teeth. He even had the strange, drunken, exaggerated movements like Depp did. He also had on a wool sweater (in direct sun), a flannel shirt, and a stethoscope which was taped to a music player that he used as headphones in order to listen to music. Genius. He also was passing around a stick of deodorant with his friends, and they all applied some in turn. Later, he motioned me over to him, and we began to chat. He knew English which was an added bonus.
The conversation with Saule went as follows:

Saule: What's your name?
Me: Megan.
S: Meh-gahn?
M: Sí.
S: Would you like to meet my friend Uribe?
M: Sure.
S: This is Uribe. He's from Santiago.
M: Hi.
S: Uribe's from Santiago, so they say hello in a different way. They kiss to say hello. [Makes some sort of gesture kissing his wrist]
M: Oh, interesting.
S: Say hi to Uribe.
M: Hi.
S: No, say hi to Uribe the Santiago way. Kiss him.
M: Uhhh.
S: You don't want to meet my friend? We're friends, and I'm introducing you to my friend.
M: I don't even know your name.
S: My name's Saule.
M: SAH-ooh-lay?
S: Sí, Saule. I'm a crazy boy.
M: Hm.
S: I'm a boy prostitute! [Gestures toward his pants region, indicating location of said prostitution]
M: Hmm.
S: What are you doing in Cuba?
M: Studying.
S: What are you studying?
M: Culture, history, film.
S: Film?
M: Yep, film.
S: I want to be in your film! I can be the star of your first film!
[I then realize that he thinks I'm studying to make films, not studying films that are already made]
M: Oh yeah?
S: YES. But I will only star in your film if I play a stripper! [Begins to do an odd dance, presumably demonstrating his skills for such a part]
M: [Laughing at this point] Oh yeah?
S: Yes! We are friends now, right?
M: Absolutely. [I start to go with everyone leaving]
S: We are friends!
[Exeunt]

I only share this conversation because it is a prime example of the strange, fantastic craziness that is Cuba. Only in this country would you see Jack Sparrow dancing rumba with a stethoscope in his pocket, and end up chatting with him, only to find out that he's a "boy prostitute." This place is fantastic. (And, of course, I will add that not once did I feel unsafe whilst talking to him. My friends were all within a couple feet of me, and Saule was not in any way dangerous.)

We then went in search of an amazing bakery that Steph had seen a couple days before, and I gorged on some pasteles de guayaba that is like the food of the gods. Then we walked around the Capitolio, which is beautiful.

Here are some pictures of various parts of the day: