A Week in Cuba - Souvenirs and a Dinner Show

After touring the newer side of Havana in the pink convertible, we had some time before our dinner show with the legends of the Buena Vista Social Club.

We walked down Jesus Maria street to the corner, turned right and headed over to the Almacenes San Jose, along the waterfront.  Only about four blocks from the B&B, this is a huge old shipping warehouse that has been converted into a craft mall with just about any souvenir item you might be craving.

Walking in from the street, the first impression is a bit overwhelming.

 

There is a map at the entrance showing all of the vendor booths and the locations of food, restrooms, etc.   I haven't counted exact numbers but there must be over 300.  Much of the merchandise is common to almost all of the vendors, but there are enough unique offerings to require a serious search of the aisles.  

I should add that the local Cuban Telecom vendor, ETECSA, has a booth here near the entrance.  If you are looking for a local SIM card, this might be a good place to start.

We explored the aisles on one end of the market for about a half hour.  We found lots of warm smiles and conversation beyond the initial "Ola" at each booth.  We had a couple of items in mind that we wanted to bring home.  I, of course, needed a coffee mug to add to my collection of one from everyplace we have ever been.  Linda needed a Christmas ornament and also she had an interest in some tumblers, if they could be found.

My mug was an easy find.  It just had to have "Cuba" and a Cuban flag on it.  Linda's items required a more thorough search.  Along the way, I kept running across 5x7 "paintings" of old cars and Cuban scenes like these.

  

I was tempted to buy one or two, but most vendors were asking $5 apiece or 3 for $10.  Too much, I thought, unless I find just the right car.  One booth attendant saw me picking through the paintings and said, "those are 5 for $2 - you won't find a better price!"  

She was right.  I returned to her booth at the end and picked out five.  Now I need more wall space.

Linda found very nice tumblers with the famous Cuban ron (ron=rum) logo on them along with a nice ceramic key chain for a Christmas tree ornament.

I found a short YouTube video with a quick walk-through of Almacenes San Jose - a fun video visit. 

With our shopping done, we headed back to the B&B to change before heading out to our big night on the town at Legendarios Del Guajirito.  The theater was less than a half mile away, straight up Jesus Maria from our room.

 

We arrived early in plenty of time to have good seats in the second floor dinner theater.  This is a fairly small venue for the show so it apparently does sell out each night.  Reviewers on Trip Advisor have rated this as the number 4 of 74 nightlife shows in Havana.  We would give it 5 stars; your mileage may vary!

The food was good, especially for a banquet-style operation.  The cheese ball appetizers were excellent, the chicken entree was tender and flavorful and the flan for desert was above average.

  

While the dinner was being served, a group of five young violinists played in the background.  

One mistake we made was not studying up on Cuban music before we made this trip, as well as becoming familiar with the entertainment culture of the island during the 1930s, '40s and '50s.  It wasn't until we got home that I ran into this statement in a 2011 New York Times review of Cuban music:

...Cuban musical influences have become embedded in all corners of American popular music, from ragtime and jazz to rock and soul, especially in its rhythmic foundations.

“American pop music is full of musicians working the Cuban feel into what they do,” said Ned Sublette, the author of “Cuba and Its Music” and a founder of the Qbadisc record label. “It’s in Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley, it’s in the rumba beat of Buddy Holly’s ‘Peggy Sue,’ and it’s in the Rolling Stones’ ‘Satisfaction,’ which is a straight up cha-cha-cha. You can’t get away from it.”

I should add that we almost never had a meal in Havana without accompanying live music.  Whether it was a single guitarist or an 8-piece band, music accompanied the meal.

The musicians putting on the Legendarios show include a mixture of veteran performers as well as up and coming talent.  The sign in front of the theater list names.  If you look these up you will find a few Grammy award winners; it is a talented group.

  

On the night we were there, Teté Caturla was the star of the show.  Teté is 85 years young and still going strong.

Everyone performing put their heart into the effort and we thoroughly enjoyed the music without understanding a word of Spanish beyond "Ola!"

 

The last half hour or so of the show involves some audience participation and if you are a dancer, you may have a chance to shine in the show yourself.  

 

The emcee of the event polled the audience for their national origins; we were one of two United States couples.  The remainder were about half European and half South American with a lone Chinese woman in the group.