Cannons and Cemetaries

One of the to-do attractions here in Havana is the Cañonazo. This happens at the Fortaleza Cabana, where the bookfair was as well. Basically, it’s a holdover from the times that this was a Spanish colony and there was a nightly curfew at 9 PM. A cannon at the fort was fired to let people know that the city gates were closing. This seemed like a romantic idea, so Whitney and I, Yohandy, Jose, Honorio, and Richard all went this past week. We arrived, but before entering, a guard warned us that it would cost 12CUC a person to enter, BUT, if we just paid him and his friend 5 CUC per American, they would sneak us in the back entrance. Ok, we thought, better take this deal, although I had premointions of fishiness. We follow the friend all the way through this field outside the forts, and we’re walking for a good five or ten minutes. We finally arrive at the back gates and have to cross the moat, which was a little frightening. Then we entered the back just in time to see a bunch of fellows in colonial dress doing a little drum and marching routine. They march all the way up to the cannon and after about 5 more minutes of commands and drumming, the cannon was lit and finally goes off. And that’s it. 5 CUC? Really? Not gonna lie, most of the night I kept thinking that it was probably free or 1 or 2 CUC at most to enter. Good news is, though, I just checked Meg's guidebook, and it would have been 6 CUC a person, plus 2 more to bring a camera. So while the guides lied to us, at the same time, it was cheaper than it should have been. The whole experience was very Cuba, either way.

The other main attraction this past week was going to the Cementario de Colon, which is an old cementary here in Havana. It was gorgeous, and basically this beauty was the result of a bunch of rich people competing to have better tombs (hence the pyramid, one fellow thought, hey, Egyptian kings were buried in pyramids so I too will be like a king if I'm buried in a pyramid, and I'll be the best in the cemetary). Our guide was very intense and dramatic, so it made the day rather amusing. Definitely worth the visit.