UNA CARTA DE AMOR PARA CUBA (A LOVE LETTER FOR CUBA)

There are places that leave an indelible mark on your heart and soul.

Often, it starts as stirrings: an ache in your heart, a sense of saudade, or a smile at the corner of your mouth like when thinking of a cherished memory.... Then one particularly perfect afternoon, it hits you full force.

While you're weaving through age-old cobblestone streets and alleyways, witnessing everyday scenes that belong to another era, and immersing in the heady blend of sights, sounds, and smells of a magnetic destination, you suddenly realize that you have fallen irrevocably head-over-heels in love with it.

As with love, it’s complicated and almost impossible to answer why – could it be because of its convoluted yet fascinating history? Its stark contrast to your home? The tacit simplicity of life here? The sexy tempo of the salsa that sweeps you up to dance nirvana?

The liberating disconnection from most worldly pursuits? Is it because of its lively Afro-Caribbean culture? The sense of belonging when locals open their casas & hearts for you?The vibrancy of local life, music, arts, dance, and santeria?

Maybe it has something to do with its incredibly affable people and their infectious love? Perhaps even, the furious flush on your cheeks when a fiery flirtation begins?

“I've learned that ... people will never forget how you made them FEEL” (Maya Angelou)

It’s an exercise in futility to provide a coherent & satisfying answer. Surely, it's an intoxicating mix of all that and more: you’ve fallen in love with it simply BECAUSE.

When it's time to leave, it's a heart-wrenching decision. You pause, you think, you weigh options. You remember in fondness these spoken words: stay for the year. Thoughts of what could and could not be race through your mind. Melancholia starts to set in. Like star-crossed lovers dealing with an impossible love, you depart with the knowledge that you may never see them again. Then finally, the quiet wind whispers to you - almost imperceptibly - a most bittersweet message:

TAL VEZ EN OTRA VIDA, MI AMOR.

Perhaps in another lifetime, my love.

"Parting is such sweet sorrow"

(Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet)

Besos,

Julette

#Cuba