#cubainsider

An afternoon strolling through the streets of Havana is sheer delight! Pictures are more attractive than word, so welcome to Havana and enjoy your walk along Carlos III Avenue:

Well, how can I write a simple article about the Gente de Zona Cuban Tour while I would like to write an entire book about this awesome experience?!?

Amazing, incredible, fantastic, wonderful, fun… Here are the best words to describe my feelings after this exceptional week!

For me everything began on a beautiful Saturday, when Gente de Zona’s manager called me to put some stickers on my car. I came, waited for two hours (as usual in Cuba) speaking with three great Cubans who worked there. While they were putting the enormous “Gente de Zona Ft. Havana Club” stickers, I realized that I was going to live something unique. We were just next to a street, everyone could see my car and everyone was surprised to see this big “Gente de Zona” on it. They asked me “Where is Alexander?”, “Could you please give my number to Randi??” (Alexander and Randi are the two singers of the band), “Are they really single?”, “Can I have an autograph?”, “donde se forma la Gozadera?” (Translate: Where is the Gozadera creating? Gonzadera is one of the last tubes of Gente de Zona), “Gente de Zonaaaaaaaaa” among many other comments. An exciting atmosphere was growing. I also met the manager of the band and two people from PMM, the producer of the tour. Everyone was very friendly and I felt I was already part of the Gente de Zona team.

On Sunday morning, we left Havana for Santa Clara; 4 hours driving on a deserted and peaceful road.

When we arrived in Santa Clara, where we organized the first concert of the tour, we first thought that we didn’t found the right place. We arrived around 3pm in a bad-smelling parking that was transformed into a food market for that day. “Papaya, goyava, piñaaaa”, “jabitas, barratas jabitas, jabaaaaas”, “pepino, tomate, ajo, cebollaaaaa” (papaya, goyava , pineaaaaapple, little bags, cheap bags, baaaaags, cucumber, tomato, garlic, oniooooon); all the market sellers were yelling the products they were selling. Actually, it was the place where Gente de Zona would do the concert on Monday. Not kidding! How to transform the rest of a food market in a great concert place in one single day? Cubans know how to realize the unrealizable, how to find the unfindable and more than that: how to laugh in this stressful step. Well, I skip the details because it’s very difficult to explain the magic of Cuba but we succeeded and on Monday afternoon the scene was perfect, the public place cleaned and secured and the team motived and happy!

It was 4pm, the concert started three hours later. Last step to be ready: find the staff tickets. Let’s go to the Santa Clara major place where the Gente de Zona manager hotel was staying: he had the tickets. Well, I’m not sure it was a good idea but definitely one of the funniest ideas. While we parked the two cars, a huge crowd was coming around us and we didn’t have the time to go out of our cars! We were blocked inside the cars! Everybody was thinking that we were with Alexander and Randi and asked for a picture or an autograph. It was difficult to go out and even more difficult to explain that we were not with the two stars. Even when they realized that we were just unknown people, they asked us to take a picture with them and to sign autographs! First time in my life that I lived this experience and I didn’t realized that it was going to be like this the whole week… ^^ I laugh again when I’m thinking about it!

7pm. The concert should have begun but we are in Cuba and the band haven’t appeared yet. Crowd movement, even on the staff area. Here they are! I finally discovered the cool and charming Alexander and Randi. Do you want to know the ritual of Gente de Zona before the beginning of a concert? A lot of laughs, a big hug with their friends, their families, all the members of the band, a few pictures and autographs with the guests and a toast with everybody in a good atmosphere.

Let’s get the party started! Drums, trumpets, piano… the famous “Bailando” song started (musical hit with Descemer Bueno & Enrique Iglesias) and Alexander and Randi appeared. The public was yelling and dancing at the same time from the beginning to the end of the concert. “Yo quiero más, tú quieres más” (Yo quiero feat Pitbull), “He llaradooo como un niñoooooo” (He Llorado Feat Juan Magan) and 10 other songs.

Cherry on the cake: Traidora with the original writer, the famous Leoni Torres who was the “special guest” of this Tour.

It’s impressive how Leoni, Alexander and Randi had a lot of energy on stage. They interacted a lot with their public, allowing the crowd to sing some parts of the songs, seducing pretty women in the public and selecting some lucky few people to go up on the scene to dance with them. What a very nice and friendly atmosphere! Time flied and the concert came to the end.

Tuesday. I wake up realizing that my dream was my actual last evening! I’m a part of the Gente de Zona band for a week! How lucky I am! Let’s the adventure continued, let’s go to Camaguey! This time, we created a real Gente de Zona caravan, with five “Gente de Zona Ft. Havana Club” and “PMM” customized cars. How to look invisible like this? This is part of the Tour: taking picture with the crowd when we had a break on the road. We just did one break, a 10-minutes stop to eat the well-known and much-appreciated regional dessert: goyava and cheese.

A few miles from Camaguey, we had the honor to be escorted by the police in the city, with sirens and flashing lights, what a sensational entrance!!! Good evening Camaguey and thank you for this exceptional welcoming! Wednesday. We went to the major and central place of Camaguey, where the concert will occur this evening. It was perfect, the place was huge and safe and the scene was already installed as we wished. It was too perfect to be real.

Was it hiding something? Well, we’ll see... Let’s the concert begin!

The public was in fury and Gente de Zona succeeded in giving them what they were expected: a great and dynamic concert! Ho!!!! Wait!!!! What’s happening? No more light? … Wait! No more music??? « Un apagon! » (Power failure). As I said, it was too perfect to be true! But again, in Cuba nothing is a big deal and we took it easy: Randi explained to his public the problem and asked them to keep calm and wait for a solution, and... it worked! Actually, after 10 minutes the staff found a solution and the concert went on as if nothing happened. Could you imagine it in a Western country? People would have been crazy... And Randi and Alexander continued singing and dancing, playing and making jokes, giving 100% of their energy. They conveyed their strength and enthusiasm to the audience that was positively euphoric. Such a great evening!

After the concert, we decided to improvise a party closed to the hotel with all the Gente de Zona team. We made a toast to the success of the concert and to the great team we created, with Gente de Zona, PMM and Havana Club!

Music again, let’s dance now! During the concert, the musicians played music, the photographs took pictures, the organization team took care of everything… but now it was time to relax and dance! So I danced, or I tried to… Everyone tried to teach me how to move my “cintura” (my hips) but it was so difficult for the cold French I am… Unfortunately, it’s not in my DNA!

Thursday was a road day, we woke up late and it was a long road to go to Santiago. Friday was a Day Off. We took the opportunity to be in Santiago to visit the area surrounding the city. It was as if we were on holidays with some friends. We talked about this and that, the travels we did, our works, etc. It was very relaxing and the organization was just perfect. Santiago region is very beautiful and the people we met very great.

On Saturday we’ve been to the major place of Santiago to check that everything was ok with the scene, we made an interview with Andi and Alexander (soon available on http://havana-cultura.com/) and it wasn't long before it came time to start the concert.

The show began with a sketch of Robertico Comediante, a famous Cuban humorist. Very funny show. Perfect atmosphere to start the last concert of this Tour.

Once again, good public, excellent musicians and singers. Perfect evening. During the concert, Alexander’s mum call him and his manager gave him his cell-phone. He sang a song with his mum over the phone. How cute he is! The public loves the band as they love the public and everyone enjoyed being here!

At the end of the concert, Randi and alexander invited all the Tour team, including us, Havana Club and PMM, to go on the scene. It was the first (and probably the last!) time of my life that I live it!!! Being in front of 300 000 people (policy number, I don’t know about the syndicate number!)… Wow, impressive! And I danced with the team on the scene singing “en Venezuela se dice Chavo, en Puerto

Rico ay mama… y en Cuba: QUE BOLA, y en Cuba QUE BOLAAA” (“how are you?” in Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Cuba). What a beautiful experience! After the concert, it was time to close this great event, all the team raised their glasses to this and other future successes of our collaboration! One more day please, I don’t want to stop this Tour!

We had to come back to Havana to be prepared for other great events. It wasn’t too difficult to come back at the end. It seems that Havana is very trendy nowadays, how lucky I am!

Well, I really want to thank everyone I met during this week for these unforgettable moments I spent. I know that I will see some of you again in Havana!

Zapata Swamp, knowed as Ciénaga de Zapata, is a beautiful desert area located just to 20 minutes boat ride from the coast (North of Playa Larga).

There is just one hotel with private wood bungalows. 

It’s has become a major stop on the tourist road these days, since Cuba is now a trendy destination. Nevertheless there is still a room to feel alone on this peaceful landscape with various species of birds and reptiles. Don’t be afraid, the crocodiles have been hiding for some time.

I recommend you a one hour boat tour at sunrise to observe the beautiful colors of the swamp and the tranquility of the animals.

Have you ever heard about the Versus 1900, a new trendy restaurant in Vedado (Havana district)? Did you know that there is an ecological spa in Havana? I learnt it a few days ago and many thanks to Lien for telling us more about it!

The story began in December 2013. Lien wanted to change her life doing something that makes sense, something with passion. She asked herself, “what kind of job do I really like?”. Doing something from the heart was obviously involving her husband. “What can we do together that makes sense?”.

 Lien and his husband

She loves architecture, design and decoration, he is keen about food and cooking. Why not creating a restaurant? Speaking with their friends they found the perfect place in Vedado: an old colonial house, built in 1900: it gave the name of the restaurant Versus 1900. She totally fell in love and decided to restore it. She studied Art History and had plenty of ideas to make her dream house. In March 2014 the project started. She obtained all the required licenses in September, made various works during more than six months with Raul Mancina, a great architect. They respected all the original construction.  The floor is still the original one, they refreshed the woods and the doors. They created a new modern rooftop with mattresses that creates a cosy and trendy atmosphere; which is quite rare in Cuba. The restaurant has been open since October 2015.

The pictures often tell more than the words. I let you discover this amazing restaurant:

And what about the food? I had the pleasure to eat at the Versus 1900 and to meet the Chef Vladimir Febles Fuentes, in his kitchen. Now I can say: yes, it’s so good!!!! Vladimir made cooking studies in Cuba and started his career working for a Mediterranean Cruise. For twelve years he has been inspired by Italian, French and Spanish cooking styles. When he came back to Cuba he worked successively at La Guarida and La Fontana, two of the best restaurants in Havana.

Vladimir and his team

 Because a good idea never comes alone, Lien decided to create a healthy spa at the same time. Why? She wanted to change her life because she was sick, she had an endometriosis and needed to be closer to the natural world, rejecting all the chemical products. Her friend convinced her to launch the first ecological spa in Cuba and she accepted the challenge! In September 2014 they found the local and opened it at the end of October 2014. They didn’t have many things to restore. It was a very modern place. They painted it, put the air-conditioned, decorated it and it was ready to start! The spa is called Lien Martinez, it’s a very relaxing area with a pure white and fresh atmosphere (which is very positive in Cuba!). This beauty center offers services of manicure, massages, peelings, fitness treatment, depilation, etc. all with 100% natural products.

 “Changes are important. I’m always creating something, watching what is missing to try to make something better. There are too many things to do in Cuba!” said Lien.

What are the next steps in Lien’s entrepreneur life? Well, in summer she plans to change the decoration of the rooftop in a marine’s theme. Oh, and did I told you that she opened another restaurant during the last Art Biennial, in June 2015? It’s a French-Cuban fusion restaurant, called Los Naranjos, in Vedado too. And did I told you that Lien was a model? She loves fashion. Why not organizing a defile? She also likes traditional music, ballet, art, photography. I’m sure it’s just the beginning of the story! She has the passion to create.

“I’m very curious and I always want to learn more about many things. I wish I can study communication in September.” she confessed me.

As Lien said, “Cuba is changing a lot. A modern Havana is growing with new technology, new way of thinking and new mentalities. Nowadays there are thousands of people with great new ideas who want to do something. The history has to be written by the Cubans.”

 Thank you Lien and good luck for your future projects.

 If you are passing by Havana don’t forget to have a break there:

Versus 1900, Calle Linea e/ D e E, +537 835 18 52

Lien Martinez, centro estético: Calle Calzada #307 e/ H e I, Vedado, +537 832 81 77

Today I’m very pleased to introduce you to Juan-Luis Santana, a cofounder of an offline app called “Ke Hay Pa’ hoy” (translated: what’s on today). More than a very positive attitude, this 23 year-old Cuban impresses me with his motivation, his entrepreneurial spirit and his passion for his work.

Juan-Luis, cofounder of “Ke hay Pa’ hoy”

 What is “Ke Hay Pa’ Hoy” about? How does it work? How can Juan-Luis manage to develop this kind of app in Cuba? Let him explain_ us!

“Ke Hay Pa’ Hoy is a project that offers services of cultural promotion to keep people informed about what is happening in Havana today and it will soon be in other provinces. If you want to know what’s happening today, tonight or tomorrow, you just have to open this app to find information. You can search by events, by kind of arts: music, cinema, theatre, dance, etc. or choosing your favorite artists, your favorite places, etc.

The App: Ke Hay Pa’ Hoy

 “The project was born at the end of 2014. I was studying telecommunication and electronic in the University and I became friend with Sergio, a young teacher (25 years old) of electromagnetic field theory. We wanted to create something together. We started our entrepreneurship adventure with another idea that had no link with Ke Hay Pa’ Hoy but with transport solution in Cuba. At the beginning of 2015 Sergio had this cultural idea and we totally switched our business plan to restart with that!

We started our investigation doing a market analysis and building our business plan. We approached the Ministry of Culture and they loved the idea. They supported us in the further elaboration of the project, so did many places in Havana. Day after day the idea have become more concrete and the team bigger. Actually, all the founders have been playing an important role in this project. We are all very complementary. Each of us has his own qualities and defaults. We’ve been learning a lot working together for one year. Let me introduce you to everyone please!

So Sergio Fernández is the author of the original idea of Ke Hay Pa’ Hoy? His eloquence conquered many people and this is the reason why we have big supports in the project. Unfortunatly he isn’t here today.

The 3rd  cofounder is Sergio León. He's an encyclopedia! Everyone would be surprised by his expertise in various subjects whereas he is very young (25 years old too). He manages very well security issues and he is a source of proposals for the project.”

Juan-Luis and Sergio in their office in Havana

“The 4th cofounder is Juan Alejandro Hernández, the hardest worker of the team. Tireless and always positive. More than being a specialist in development for Android, he has excellent skills as designer. He is the creator of our Facebook page.”

Juan-Luis and Juan in front of their office

“Last summer, we launched our Android app! Today you can download it on internet and update the content via an offline or online process, it’s up to you! The idea is to give a very easy and useful tool to our users. So it’s quite easy to use but quite hard to explain how we succeeded in developing it!” he laughed.

“Well, actually Ke Hay Pa’ Hoy enables us to bring a new modern way to promote culture in Cuba. It’s more about passion than about business. It’s possible to monetize the App but our goal for the moment is to grow in term of number of users and of information, adding sport, workshop, etc.”

The logo of the App: Ke Hay Pa’ Hoy

The great team of Ke Hay Pa’ Hoy has plenty of ideas. They are developing the App in English that should be available in two months. Then, Juan-Luis confessed me that they are thinking again about the initial idea linked to the transport issue in Cuba. Will they launch this project? Will they have another idea? One thing is sure, it’s the beginning of a great entrepreneurial story. There is no doubt, they have the passion to create.

Thanks a lot to everyone, Juan-Luis, Juan and Sergio for this interview. It’s a real pleasure to meet dynamic and nice young people! I wish you all the success you deserve and “suerte” (good luck) for the future!

What a pleasure to walk in the streets of Havana and to see this typical scene. Ernesto and his cousin, Carlos are proud to explain me how they’ve been managing to maintain and restore its Pontiac from the 50’s. 

Yes, it’s still possible to see it today in Cuba! Thanks to a governmental protection, there are all classified in the Cuban heritage, which means that we cannot buy them and send them out of the country.

 Cayo Levisa is a beautiful idyllic island located just to 30 minute boat ride from the coast (North of Viñales). It's has become a major stop on the tourist road these days, since Cuba is now a trendy destination. Nevertheless there is still a room to feel alone on this paradisiac landscape with white sands and clear sea. I recommend you a 20 minute walk from the main beach to the East Side of the Island. You will discover a desert beach, and best of all, the sea is full of sea stars!

Have you ever read “The old man and the sea”? Have you ever dream to go fishing in high seas? Have you ever met a Cuban fisherman?

  Whatever your answer, I’m sure you will appreciate to travel far away from your country to make a 10-minutes break in the Caribbean Sea, at 5 miles from Havana.

It was 6am and I arrived at the Tarara Marina, a 20-minutes drive from Havana. I was tired so I let a friend who worked at the Marina introduced me to the Captain and the co-Captain of the beautiful Marlin X, their boat.

   The two fishermen named Ronco and Borro made the last checks. Gasoil: ok, fishing rod: ok, everybody: ok, let’s go!

We left the marina in a perfect silence. I let the burning sun and the strong coffee waking me up, while looking at the Captain installing the fishing material:

  Splendid reel

 Impressive lures

We navigated one hour more without feeling any bite. I contemplated the amazing view I see. It was like if the time was stopped.

  I went up to see Ronco and Borro.

What a beautiful job you have! I told them.

It’s not a job, it’s a passion! Ronco answered. We go fishing every day. Even when I’m “off”. The sea is my life. I started fishing when I was very young. Indeed, I’ve been fishing since I have memories! My father was a fisherman too and he gave me all his love and knowledge about the sea.

Ronco and Borro on the boat 

 And they told me all their stories, the best and the worst, the funniest and the saddest. Fishing is a real team sport. Ronco and Borro need to understand each other, to share their feelings, their experiences and their intuitions. They know each other like two brothers. They have been working together for 30 years! They are totally inseparable. One day they fished the biggest Merlin of the Marina: 714 pounds!

Fishes are like fantasía, concluded Ronco. You don’t know when it appears but you know that it can appear! He laughed.

We spent three hours talking. It was time to come back to the Marina. Today we didn’t fish but I learnt a lot about the sea, the fish, the Marlin and the fishermen’s spirit.

I left them with a lot of beautiful memories in my mind and with a big smile on my face.

Thank you for this amazing day Ronco and Borro. The Marlin will be next time!