Untitled by Yesenia Guevara

As we told our poet the English translation to the Spanish title of his poem, he stopped and corrected us. “This poem does not have a title. We meet people in life and we don’t always know their names but they are still important,” he explained. My translating partner, Josh, and I looked at each other and nodded; we understood perfectly.

That’s exactly what Cuba is—a place that will forever hold some piece of your heart yet will always be too big for words or titles.

Before stepping foot on the plane to Cuba, I had decided that I wanted an “Eat.Pray.Love.” trip. To provide some context, “Eat.Pray.Love.” is a movie where the protagonist embarks on a journey of self-discovery as she tries to leave her tumultuous life behind. Tumultuous. Yeah, I wanted to leave that behind too. Before even stepping foot on the plane to Cuba, I had decided that I wanted a trip that came straight out of a movie. I quickly learned, after arriving at Cuba, that I had gotten a trip that came out of a book. With each line and turn of the page came new adventures and new experiences.

Havana, the city we arrived in, immediately enchanted me. There were colors everywhere. On buildings, on street signs, on houses, on cars… Colors. These colors weren’t just seen, they were felt. Our first day in Havana, my roommates and I decided to do some exploring after settling into our hostal on Aguacate Street. We stumbled upon a man painting a beautiful landscape with such vibrant, you guessed it, colors! We stood shyly by the door because in America you do not enter someone’s house uninvited. When he saw us, he insisted we go in, stopped what he was doing, and started showing us more of his paintings. The artist explained his art and with his kindness, he literally and metaphorically opened the door to Havana and once we were there, its essence never let us leave.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next day, we had, Diana, a tour guide show us around Habana Vieja. Everything was incredibly vibrant and it just seemed way too beautiful and exaggeratedly amazing that I could not believe I was really there. When the tour ended, Diana encapsulated these feelings with a few words about Cuba. She spoke about the Cuban mentality and as she did she moved her arms and legs as if she was dancing. She spoke about the positive mindset of Cubans and how happily they try to live their lives.

That night, Diana’s words would ring especially true as we visited the Fabrica de el Arte Cubano. When I tell you I was not expecting that… man, I was not expecting that! The FAC was part museum, part art gallery, part concert hall, part dance club. You could tell that a lot of passion was put into every single thing that was in the Fabrica. It was so effortlessly cool that you could not help but enjoy yourself no matter where you were. That night, I made un amigo Cubano, Lazaro. Lazaro showed me around and was so incredibly kind to me you would have never known that he had just met me. As he told me about his life in Cuba, I remembered what Diana had said about mindsets here.

I was sad to leave Havana. I kept saying “I wish we had one more day here” but the truth is I would have probably said that no matter how many days we had spent there. When it came time to leave, the bus that we would be taking to Matanzas arrived and I could not help but laugh. There was a mural painted onto every side of the bus and there were even quotes and decorations inside! Art was everywhere.

I have always loved car rides so taking the bus with eighteen other people and jamming to Beyonce, Cyndi Lauper, and other classics has to be one of my favorite memories. The beautiful scenery did not help either.

Matanzas. Oh, Matanzas. Remember that piece of your heart I said Cuba would hold onto? Mine is in the gentle yet enveloping grip of Matanzas. There is an unbelievable amount of culture, art, and passion here. It is in the publishing houses where, despite having limited resources, books are designed and handmade in an absolutely unparalleled way. It is in restaurants where the environment just promotes the most interesting over-the-table conversations and where the mango juice tastes sweeter. It is in drag shows where drag queens are strong yet vulnerable when it comes to revealing just how hard life can be. More than anything, the culture, art, and passion are in the people.

People that did not know me would stop and have conversations with me that went so much deeper than your average “how’s the weather?” small talk you make with strangers. I felt like I belonged because people were so welcoming and were so ready to share their hearts and homes with me. This was especially true when we met Elizabeth, Adrian, Hector, and Jean Marco. They did not know us. They were simply asked if they could show eighteen people around Matanzas at night and they quickly became some of our closest friends. They sacrificed sleep to make sure we were having fun every night and whenever one of them was missing, their absence was always felt. Now that I am back home, it is almost too much to bear.

 

 

 

When it was time for our break and we arrived at Varadero, I could not believe my eyes. I had never seen water so blue. The sunrise and sunsets on that beach were magnificent. Going out at night with my friends and the shenanigans we did will always be in my mind and will always brighten my day when I think of them.

Varadero was beautiful and the same thing that happened in Havana, happened here. One more day. One more day. This time, however, a part of me was relieved that we were going back to Matanzas. In just three days, I had managed to miss it much more than I ever thought I would. Arriving back at Matanzas was such a good feeling, almost as if I was home.

 

When the week was over and it was time to head home, saying goodbye to Cuba hurt so much. How do you say goodbye to the place where feelings were so heightened and life felt so full? How was I supposed to say goodbye to the place where I learned how to dance not just with my feet but with my heart? How was I supposed to say goodbye to the place where my laugh came from deeper inside my belly and I spent so many nights bonding with my fellow cougars and becoming a family? How was I supposed to say goodbye to the place that forever changed certain songs for me? I cannot listen to Bruno Mars without thinking of the nights my friends and I spent dancing and singing and laughing. I cannot listen to Déjà Vu by Shakira and not think about Josh and I singing our hearts out, hand gestures and all, not caring about people watching or anything other than how on top of the world we felt.

Seeing as to how we went to Cuba to translate poetry, I cannot leave without writing about that. Reading our work next to our poet, Isreal Dominguez, was a feeling like no other. We were so honored to translate such beautiful poetry and we could tell how happy we had made our poet. When we were done and had a chance to reflect, Adrian was quick to point out how the poems we each chose to translate matched our personalities. It’s hard not to weave yourself into the poetic and colorful rug that is Cuba.

I know that I have painted Cuba to be this completely magical place. It is, do not get me wrong, but I have to include a disclaimer in all this. It is extremely important to keep an open-mind in Cuba. You have to be understanding and you must, respectfully, ask questions to those you meet. There is so much more to Cuba than what you could ever think. Just when you think you have figured it out, it fools you. Ask questions about what it really means to be a Cuban because while you are only spending a few days there, this is a country where some people spend their whole lives. You owe it to them to hear them out whether they are telling you about the beauties of Cuba or the hardships because, you wouldn’t think it right away due to that Cuban demeanor I told you about, but there are many.

I can only hope that one day I will give Cuba half as much as it gave me. The hopes and expectations I arrived with were beyond exceeded. I like to think that I came home with that amazing Cuban mindset. The person I was before I left and the person I grew into are two completely different people and I could not be happier. I could not have done it alone, though. I am so grateful for my wonderful professor and Neysi that worked so hard to make sure we always had what we needed and got the real taste of Cuba. I also have to give a big thank you and a big hug to my classmates who quickly became friends and family. I would not have had this journey with anyone else.

You, as the reader, obviously got the long version but, when people ask me about my trip to Cuba, I stay quiet for about five seconds. In that time, I desperately wish there were ways to solidify thoughts and feelings, ask people to stretch their hands out, and place the tangible emotions in their palms. I wish I could point out every scratch, patch, and sparkle and tell them every experience, person, place and adventure that is tied to it.

After the five seconds have passed, I say the one thing that comes closest to describing my trip to Cuba: “It changed my life.”