Sunday, March 13, 2016

Cuba before the Rolling Stones … oh! and a president - part six


For this final post here’s something I’ve saved.


Early one morning, I come across a tropical gem.


The home’s ornamentation seems to be derived from the deco fountain motif popular in the 1930s.


Railings are satisfyingly curved …


… and black tiles - the stripes are another eye-catching effect -  glint when caught in the sun.


Even the columns are not circles, but ovals. 


Who commissioned and designed this? What was the home like - its interior probably decorated in then ultra modern style - when first built? Who lived here and what happened to them after the revolution? 

Children, passing on their way to school, take no notice. Why should they? The house is from another time, just as, one day, the Castros and bitter Cuban-Americans and first-person memories of 1959 and 1962 will be from another time. And then things will be different. For Cubans I hope different and better.

Oh! The house is at the corner of Miramar’s Avenida 3ra & Calle 30. If you’re walking by, check and let me know if it’s for sale.