A Pleasant Encounter with Cubans in Havana

The Firefighting Station in Old Havana, Cuba

We bought tickets to a dinner show in Old Havana. However, dinner would be at 8pm while the show would start at 9:30pm.

 We had plenty of time before the show. We are aware that the streets are quite dark in Havana at night.

The Red Cross Building, Havana, Cuba

Therefore to make sure we knew where the dinner show was located, we arrived early to the neighborhood before dark to become familiar with the streets and the buildings.

The Marti Theatre, Havana, Cuba

We walked by some beautiful buildings and a theatre called Teatro Marti.






















Not sure where we were, we sat down on a park bench and looked at our map trying to get our bearing.

A small local bar and cafe in Old Havana

I guessed we stood out as tourists in the neighbourhood. No sooner had we sat down, a friendly gentleman came up to us asking if we needed help.

Decorations on the wall of this neighborhood cafe bar

Since we had a lot of time before the dinner show, we went into the coffee shop across from the park upon his recommendation.


It was a neighborhood bar/ cafe. We ordered drinks and a snack. This friendly gentleman, Valentin, introduced himself to us. Working part time in this bar, today was his day off . He told us about the neighborhood and about himself a little bit.  While we were sipping our drinks, another person came to serve us and Valentin disappeared for a little while.

Valentin bought me flower, cigar and a  local newspaper!

A little later, Valentin came back to the cafe bearing gifts for us - a |Cuban cigar and a flower he bought from his buddy's flower shop close by.

With our limited Spanish,  we  still managed to have a really good conversation with Valentin as he tried hard to converse with us. Realizing that we could read more Spanish than we speak the language, Valentin went out of the cafe and bought us a copy of the local newspaper.

Being aware that the average Cuban worker does not get paid a lot per month, we were deeply touched by his generous gesture and kindness towards us.

We enjoyed meeting and talking with local Cubans

Valentin brought along his friend, Denny, and introduced him to us. Danny owns a little flower shop in the neighbourhood.

They were delightfully hospitable to us. Danny's English was pretty good. We chatted for quite a while in this cafe.

Majeto - a popular drink in Cuba

Through our conversation, we found out that it was Valentin's birthday today. To return their kindness and warm hospitality, we bought both of them a drink to celebrate Valentin's 63rd birthday right there. 

With our limited Spanish, we were able to converse with the friendly Cubans!

Danny also took us to his little flower shop down the street and introduced us to his family there.



We had an enjoyable afternoon exploring the streets and buildings of Old Havana. 

However, we were most grateful that we had such a delightful encounter and interaction with the friendly local people in this historic city!

R.T.
Old Havana
Cuba
Week of Jan. 15, 2017