Atlantis in Havana 2010: the Habana
Howlers Sevens
2: the team prepares
(Tuesday Feb 23 thru Friday Feb 26)
emilito (Emil
Signes)
last saved: May 15, 2010 -- 10:02
Atlantis in Havana 2010. 1:
Background & before team
arrives (thru Mon Feb 22)
Atlantis
in
Havana
2010.
2:
the team
prepares (Tues Feb 23 thru Fri Feb 26)
Atlantis in Havana 2010. 3: game
days
(Fri & Sat Feb 27 & 28)
Atlantis in Havana 2010. 4: after
the
tourney (March 1-3)
Tuesday, February
23.
This
was
the
day
the team was to arrive. Josh and Chris stopped
at the Hotel Florida, where José Antonio works, to use the
Internet. I, meanwhile, visited my relative Alicia in
Central
Havana and then the church where my grandparents were
married.
The Archivist, Raul Ballate, has helped me get family vital
records at
various churches in Havana by providing me with introductions to
archivists at these churches.
At noon the three of us head to the Hotel Occidental Miramar where
we
are to stay the rest of the week. Miramar is a very nice
suburban
area of Havana, the home to the rich and famous in the 1950s and
home
to several embassies today.
We expect the entire team to come in today, but find out soon that
3 of
the 4 players coming through Nassau will be delayed by a full
day.
Marcus Respes, Aron Pillard, Ryan Johnson - along with Sarah Sall
-
were on a plane from Philly to Nassau when they were suddenly told
the
flight was canceled, and they missed their connection to
Havana.
They did get a night in Nassau courtesy of US Air - not too shabby
-
but I'm sure they
would have rather been in Havana and we would have loved to have
them
here.
When the Texas crew arrives, we find out that Al Christian and
Kenny
Scott have missed their connection and will not get in till after
midnight. Rick Medina, it turns out, will be taking a flight
from
Miami the next day. So - instead of the 11 players we
expected,
we head into town Tuesday night with just 5 of them - Matt Hayes,
Kelly
Kolberg, Thadd Hill, John Babb, and Josh Campbell, plus Chris,
Dave
McPhail and I.
We head to Old Havana, wander down Calle Obispo, then have dinner
and
listen to music at La Mina. Besides the featured group I am
pleased to see a pair of street musicians I saw on my January
trip.
2/23/10: The first
group of
players gathers at La Mina on Obispo: note the musical group
playing in
the background
Clockwise from lower left:
Thadd
Hill, Josh Campbell, Emil Signes, Matt Hayes, John Babb, Dave
McPhail,
Chris Ryan
2/23/10: These
are
the street musicians I saw during our family trip in January
2/23/10,
midnight:
One of Hemingway's hangouts (weren't they all?), the
Floridita, home of
the Daiquiri
We have learned what cab fares to our hotel
should be,
and after wandering down to one of Old Havana's iconic bars, la
Floridita, we pay 10 CUC (about $12) per cab to head back: it's
not a
bad price,
as it's about a 15 minute ride.
Kenny and Al arrive late in the evening and we will have exactly 7
players for our planned scrimmage with the Cubans tomorrow
afternoon...
I guess that's all we need: it is, after all, seven-a-side.
Wednesday, February 24.
We
have a morning practice with the seven players that are here... We
walk to a public park about 10 minutes away, passing several
embassies
in the process. The field is all mud and we slip, slide and
basically get very little of value accomplished other than getting
to
know each other on the field and working out some minor kinks.
We pass several embassies on our walk to and from the hotel.
2/24/10: skeleton crew
at
the first practice. From left, Emil Signes, John Babb, Thadd
Hill (in
hat), Kenny Scott,
Kelly Kolberg, Dave
McPhail, Josh Campbell, Matt Hayes, Al Christian, Chris Ryan
2/24/10: Wandering down
embassy row,
we pass the T&T embassy, left, then the imposing Russian
embassy,
right
In the afternoon we head to the Ciudad Deportiva (Sports City) ...
It
is part of a complex that includes the baseball stadium housing
one of
Cuba's major league teams, the Metropolitanos. We train a
bit on
our own,
then join the Cubans, mixing in with them during their warm
up.
We then have a live scrimmage with them - supposed to be two
7-minute
periods, but referee Alexis Figueras (who played against us in
2000)
stretches 7 minutes into 10, and then in
the second period into 12, ... but our 7 hang in there and get
through
the session pretty much even. A few seconds of the scrimmage, just
to
show the layout of the land, may be found by clicking
here. The
stadium in the left background is the home of Cuba's major league
baseball team the Metropolitanos.
We meet Dick Cornish, a Canadian from Regina who is on sabbatical
spending four months in Havana coaching rugby. He is here
with
his wife and three children and experiencing first hand both the
joys
and difficulties of being in Cuba. After his return, Josh wrote a
story
on
the
Cornish
trip
for
a
Regina
newspaper.
Following the scrimmage we head back to the hotel; the rest of our
crew
joins us and we
head to El Aljibe, a highly recommended restaurant on 7th Avenue
in
Miramar. While most players feast on one of the chicken
specials,
I find my favorite childhood dish, Picadillo, and order - and love
- it.
The van driver charged one 1 peso (CUC) each way per person (15 of
us)
to El Aljibe, and then again on the way back. Ditto the next day.
He
(the same driver, he liked chauffeuring us) also charged us each 2
CUC
each way to the Ciudad Deportiva, where we went 3 times during our
stay. So that's 240 pesos (about $300) on us alone. I
know
from talking to one of my relatives, who has to take two buses to
get
to work every day, that she doesn't make that in a year.
Granted
the money we pay the cabbie has to be shared with his employer,
but
there's no meter, no receipt, no possible way of his employer
(given
the Cuban system, the employer would be some arm of the
government)
knowing how many people are in his cab nor how much he charges
them (especially as it was settled through negotiation). I
have
to believe he keeps the bulk of that money for
himself. I discuss this shocking disparity between tourist
industry employees and the rest of Cubans in a little research
piece I
call Cubans
on
Cuba
and
the
USA.
Following dinner we head back to the hotel where a domino game
breaks
out.
2/24/2010: When
in
Cuba, play what the Cubans play: this is the first of several
Atlantis
domino games.
From lower left, Kenny Scott, Chris Ryan, Aron
Pillard,
Ryan Johnson, Matt Hayes, Al Christian
First Full Squad Training.
Thursday morning, finally 11 strong, we head to Ciudad Deportiva
where
we have a squad training session... Once again, we pay 2 pesos
apiece for our 15-passenger van ride. One really neat thing about
this
trip between the Miramar and Cerro regions of Havana is that we go
through an immense urban "jungle" - it's spectacular. The
following
pictures are, I'm pretty sure, from the return trip.
The ubiquitous
revolutionary mural preceded our entry into the urban "jungle"
2/25/2010:
driving
between our hotel in Miramar to Ciudad Deportiva
in the Cerro district (or perhaps in the opposite direction),
we drive through this amazing piece of the
city.
The sign, upper right,
says
"Nature
in the Metropolis"
We see a few of the Cuban rugby players at the field while we're
training; it seems like old times between us after yesterday's
joint
training and scrimmage and there are hugs all around. Kenny
Scott
tries to out-pose the Cubans as a pretend body builder, but fails
miserably.
2/25/2010: Kenny
should be thankful he left his shirt on.
2/25/10: Finally
the
entire group of 15 is together and on the practice field
Standing:
Emil
Signes, Kenny Scott, Thadd Hill, John Babb, Aron Pillard, Ryan
Johnson,
Matt Hayes, Kelly Kolberg,
Josh
Campbell, Chris Ryan, Sarah Sall
Holding banner: Dave McPhail,
Marcus
Respes, Rick Medina. Nest to Rick: Al Christian
Behind and above us in this picture there is a sign that
encourages
people to stay healthy by taking up sports.
The "p" in "practica" is missing, but this sign means
"Take
care of your health: participate in sports."
"Cape May House." One of
the
places we keep driving by during our stay in Miramar is something
the
Philly area people start referring to as the "Cape May house,"
because
it seems to us more appropriate to the Jersey Shore than to
Havana.
2/25/2010: the
house
we referred to as the "Cape May House"
Guided tour of Havana.
Although
we all have had, and will have, more times to tour around
Havana, our one guided tour takes place today. Our tour
guide
does an excellent job. While sitting next to him and chatting
between
points of interest I find that his son has gone to Miami,
obviously a
disturbing event in his life. Although I sense a deep sense
of
loss and
sadness when we chat one on one, he doesn't show it as he leads
the
group
through the city.
We go through the famous Plaza de la Revolución, where we get
our picture taken in front of Che Guevara and also a poster
proclaiming
51 successful years of revolution. We pass Vedado and the
spectacular
Colón Cemetery where my great grandmother and her husband - and
lots of other relatives - are buried.
Team at the
Plaza de
la Revolución. Left: at memorial to Che. Right: hamming
it
up at billboard celebrating 51 years of revolution.
San Lázaro
Street and revolutionary mural.
The house at the far left, currently #318, is an old family
residence
where one of my aunts was born in 1917.
Then to Old Havana where we get out of the van and - after being
taken
for a walking tour of several of the area's historical attractions
-
are given 2 hours to ourselves.
We see El Capitolio, the old capitol of the nation, now a museum,
patterned on the US Capitol. Scattered around the front of the
Capitolio and also the parking lot beyond are scads of 1950s cars,
often with a note by the proud owner giving the make and year.
Also a
common sight in Old Havana are women dressed as santeras. Santería
is an Afro-Cuban religion that goes back to pre-slavery beliefs of
the
Yoruba in Africa, and santeras are among its practitioners.
These
santeras, however, seem to be mostly looking to get pictures taken
with
tourists, for which they get a couple of pesos each.
Three views in
Old
Havana: 1960 Chevy convertible at Capitolio; Arturo explaining
area of
Old Havana; Santera awaiting picture op.
At one end of Old Havana is the water of Havana Bay; it is
splashing
over the sea wall as we walk by. Several fishermen are
standing
on the wall looking to catch their evening's meal.
2/25/10: Water
crashes on the sea wall at the east end of Old Havana
Across the water is Habana del Este (East Havana), with several
sights
of interest including the old fortress of La Cabaña, Morro
Castle, the fires of industry, and the Cristo de la Habana, a huge
statue of Christ inaugurated just a week before Castro's rebels
took
Cuba from Batista.
2/25/10: Fishing
from
the sea wall. In the background, top left, is the
"Cristo de la
Habana."
Following our training and tour, we head again to El Aljibe: it
really
is a phenomenal restaurant. While there, we surprisingly meet
another
group of Americans, from the Center for Cuban Studies / Cuban Art
Space
in New York. I forgot to get any more info than that or to take
any
pictures.
2/25/10: The 15 Atlantis tourists at El Aljibe in our
guayaberas
Top Left: Chris
Ryan,
Matt Hayes, Kelly Kolberg, Rick Medina
Top Right: Kenny Scott, Thadd
Hill,
Marcus Respes, Ryan Johnson, Josh Campbell, Emil Signes
Bottom: Aron Pillard, Al
Christian,
Sarah Sall, Dave McPhail, John Babb
Friday, February 26.
Friday was an easy day: we had a one-hour practice in the morning
to
sort out some loose ends. We've found we have no primary
kicker,
no primary jumper, no one with any notable experience at fly half:
we're going to have to rely a lot on defense.
People were on their own in the afternoon and we all met at 8 for
dinner at the hotel. It was buffet style and pretty
mediocre,
particularly after the last two days at El Aljibe. We then
had a
jersey presentation and a fine session, and everyone was ready for
some
sevens!
The Canadians repeated an event they had done on previous trips to
Cuba: a visit to an orphanage. It was, according to the
people I
spoke to, a very moving and rewarding experience.
2/26/2010: Dog
River
Howlers visit Havana orphanage
Back at the hotel, we were relaxing and enjoying a very nice
place.
Left: Entrance
to the
Occidental Miramar, at 5th Avenue between 72nd and 76th
Streets
Right: Lobby and
Bar
Left: One of our
bedrooms ... Right: Pool Area as seen from upper floors of
hotel
Next:
Game
Day!
continued:
3-Saturday
February 27 - game day!
The four parts of this tour
report:
Atlantis
in Havana 2010. 1: Background & before team
arrives (thru Mon Feb 22)
Atlantis
in
Havana
2010.
2:
the team
prepares (Tues Feb 23 thru Fri Feb 26)
Atlantis in
Havana 2010. 3: game days
(Fri & Sat Feb 27 & 28)
Atlantis in Havana 2010. 4: after
the
tourney (March 1-3)
Cuba trip reports
by
emilito:
Family trip to Havana April 1999 - first trip to Cuba since
the Revolution
Rugby trip to Havana September 2000 - Atlantis initiated and
participated in
first-ever rugby sevens in Cuba (PDF only)
Family
trip
to
Havana
January
2010 - seven family members travel to Havana for
100th anniversary of their grandfather's marriage
Rugby trip to
Havana
February 2010 - Atlantis rugby trip to Habana
Howlers Sevens 2010
Special reports:
Cubans
on
Cuba
2010 - conversations with some Cubans about the politics of
Cuba
Emilito's
family:
early
addresses
in Cuba - early addresses of
emilito's ancestors and family
