Cultural and political insights into 21st Century Cuba by a woman who has spent 15 years exploring the island's nuances.
Cuba Unspunintroduces readers to Cubans in all walks of life, people whom she has met during travels round the island by bike, bus, plane, train, truck, and car. Familiar places like Havana and Varadero are viewed from unfamiliar angles and serve as starting points for adventures that begain in 1996 and continue into the future.
Jordan has camped in a military compound, spent a rainy night in the jungle without a tent, cycled through hurricane-devastated coastal towns, picked up hundreds of hitchhikers, come face to face with Fidel, and much more. Hers is a trip through time as well as space, recording changes in Cuba over the past 15 years and offering analyses of cuban history and its present leadership that hold many surprises.
Excerpt
Gazing across the harbor, Dianne's attention was drawn to a towering statue of a bearded man. "Look!" she exclaimed. "It's a statue of Che Guevara."
I laughed. "Dianne, that's not Che. That's Jesus."
"It has to be Che," she insisted."His image is everywhere."
I turned to a Cuban standing nearby."My friend thinks that is a statue of Che. Is it?"
The Cuban looked at us in amazement. Your friend can't tell the difference between Jesus Christ and Che Guevara?"
Professional Reviews
By David Stanley
I have been to Cuba over 30 times and this book taught me as much about the country as I learned on any of those trips. Rosa Jordan will introduce you to the real Cuba. -- David Stanley, original author of Lonely Planet Cuba
By Christopher Baker
Jordan's sensitive, thoughtful, and thorough exploration of Cuba, sizzling with sensuality, peels away layers of eccentricity and complexity, revealing an enigmatic and contradictory society and a gracious people, generous to a fault. --Christopher Baker, author of the Moon guide to Cuba and Mi Moto Fidel.
by Alan Twigg
Jordan's hard-earned and compassionate knowledge of both Cuban politics and manners shines in her new book about Cuba, and has been embellished here with practical advice and shrewd assessments of a very complex society. Take her with you. --Alan Twigg, author of Cuba: A Concise History for Travelers.
