Sabrosura

Cuban Tour Testimonials

noreply@blogger.com (Chen Lizra) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 19:42:00 +0000

To find out more about the Cuban tours, please visit the Latidos Productions site

Leanne, Shannon and Alexei

Having fun in Havana

The tours are over and here are some testimonials from those that loved the tour:

"My trip to Cuba was truly a unique and memorable experience. When I first signed up for the trip, my intention was to focus on dance and music, but in the end, I got so much more out of this trip than anticipated. Thanks to Chen's social network in Cuba, we were able to immerse ourselves in the culture and connect with the locals. Chen found us the most beautiful casa, the best shows and the most amazing dance instructors. Although we spent a great portion of our trip in Havana, we also had the opportunity to experience the culture outside of Havana as we ventured into Trinidad and Vinales, which were one of many highlights of this trip. Cuba was a trip of a lifetime and I cannot wait to go back!"

Leanne (Female, Canada)

To find out more about the Cuban tours, please visit the Latidos Productions site

"I had such a great time on this trip! I didn't feel like a "tourist" at all but like I was experiencing the culture by being submerged in it. Cuba is so rich, beautiful and multi-faceted and Chen organized the tour in such a way so that it was malleable enough to meet each person at the depth they were comfortable and desired. We all agreed that the central theme was transformation...and transform me it did! I was left with heartwarming memories and definitely more enriched as a person!"

Shannon (Female, Canada)

To find out more about the Cuban tours, please visit the Latidos Productions site

“I am feeling almost as good as new. I did not really have any expectations about the trip – hopes maybe, but expectations none. I think that I took away from the trip much more than I could imagine. Have I transformed into a whole new person? No. The changes are mostly internal. It’s interesting for me how much of the dance is internal. Indeed, I see more and more the steps I need to improve in dance that are, in reality, the things I should focus on in my life. It’s doable. My highlights were going out to dance where locals do, Trinidad, the reef, the Los Van Van concert, the ability to control my schedule and my life in Havana. The other has been the opportunity to spend time with 4 great and beautiful women and learn from it about the daily life of a woman. I will be more generous with compliments now. I am playing with the idea of following my heart more, which is not easy for an analytical guy like me. The tour has shown me that opening the heart more makes for a more enjoyable life. I am left intrigued; a country of paradoxes: poor but with happy people, little opportunity to get nice clothing, but everyone is dressed to the nine.. I am leaving with a strong temptation to come back. Overall the trip for me was a huge success and I feel the journey is only beginning now. Would I recommend this trip to others? Absolutely! You have made the tour a very special experience for me and for that I am forever grateful. Hasta pronto.”

Alexei (Male, Canada)

To find out more about the Cuban tours, please visit the Latidos Productions site

Natalie having fun on the tour

“It’s a hot and humid morning in Havana. I’m walking on Galiano Street, the locals’ busy “shopping” street, on my way to dancing class. I love this city - The beautiful colorful buildings, the amazing architecture, the welcoming people, the dirt, the noise, the old and the new. Havana is so unique. My red short mini skirt turns on the Cuban men… they give me “psssssssss” every 2 seconds, and call after me: “hey beautiful…”, I smile and keep on walking, enjoy the constant flirting. Cuban men are very very sexy and they have no shame. They adore women and do not hide it. On the contrary, they say it to you, with words, in the way they look, all the time... I love it. I feel so sexy and free here.

Today is my third salsa class and it’s amazing how fast I’ve improved. It’s only my third class and I can already dance!!! Salsa makes me so happy, the music, the rotations, such a happy dance. After one hour I start my Reaggeton class – the sexiest dance ever that looks like having sex on the dance floor… Zuyima, my instructor, teaches me some temptation moves, and we laughed that if I’ll dance like this with a guy, he immediately will get an erection… she also teaches me how to walk seductively ... I realized how stiff I am when I walk… Unlike all these sexy Cuban women who have this natural sensual cat-walk when they walk on the streets with an attitude of “I know I’m hot…”

After dance class, I hurry to my room to shower and get ready for the afternoon party, 5 pm at “Casa de la Musica”, the best place for music & dancing in Havana. I meet with Chen and the group and we get inside. It looks like a discothèque from the seventies, big dark hall with tables all around and a dance floor in the middle. We drink “mojitos.” Los Van Van - the best salsa group in Cuba – plays on stage, I dance with amazing black Cuban dancers…God how they move their pelvis… especially the last one I danced with, he cast a spell on me with his moves… I’m in women’s heaven… we start kissing passionately and dance in the middle of the dance floor, like no one is watching…”

Visiting Cuba was always a dream for me. Chen Lizra made it come true, and for that I’ll be grateful forever. I could never experience Cuba the way I did without her guidance. Chen got us into the “guts of Havana”, the locals’ life, so much different from the ordinary touristic experience. Havana is mysterious and an unusual place and without her guidance we would miss it…she gave us this unique opportunity to learn dancing from the most professional dancers in Cuba, she took us to the best locals parties no one heard of… she showed us the most worthily shopping places, and taught us how to handle the “Jiniteros” (Cuban cheaters who fool the tourists). Her vivid energy carries you away to let go of your stiffness and just open up your heart, dance, and allow yourself to be sexy and shameless.

2 weeks in Havana with Chen – changed my life. I came back home love sick. Cuba got into my blood… I’m not the same person… I feel sexier and my self-confidence is higher. It reflects by feeling much more comfortable with my body, in the way I walk, in the way I dance, in the way I look and treat men… My perspective on life changed. Witnessing the Cubans, full of joy and happiness, even though their life circumstances are not easy, made me realize that life shouldn’t be taken so heavily and serious. We should celebrate our lives. And as Chen always says: “the way you dance, is the way you live your life. Dance like a Cuban and then live like one”.

Natalie Ginat (Female, Israel)

To find out more about the Cuban tours, please visit the Latidos Productions site

Cuban song and Reggaeton move of the year

noreply@blogger.com (Chen Lizra) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:49:00 +0000

Whenever I come here there is Cuban song of the year… The song that is most popular that year and is played all the time everywhere. Last year is was “Chapeando” from Los Van Van.

The year before it was “Loco Por Mi Habana” from Maolito Simonet and his group.

The year before it was “Para Bailar Casino” from Adalberto Alvarez.

The year before that I really can’t remember, but I was here..

This year, the song of the year is from Charanga Habanera together with El Chacal, famous for Reggaeton. El Chacal released a CD last year that broke all records, together with Baby Lorens. The CD, for the first time since I started coming here played a full year. No CD took its place. As far as I know, this never happened before. In the meantime the duo split and are working on different projects. The new song with Charanga Habanera is the best hit of the year and it is played over and over everywhere.. the name of the song is “Le Falta la Habana.”

And here comes the second video clip that actually tells the story of the song.. not just a sexy video..

What is really cool about this song, besides the sound, that makes everyone love it? It's the story!
The song talks about this girl who decides to leave Cuba - she wants to succeed and fullfill her dream - win a grammy, have money etc. She leaves and he stays in Havana. He is asking her in the song:"Tell me, how are you? Did you find happiness? Tell me, how are things? I am here, very good and you over there, how are you?"
Bottom line the songs says that she is missing Havana and all that Havana offers. He is having a blast in Havana and she is crying in Mimai. It tells the story of many Cubans that leave and find that what they had in Cuba cannot be replaced - the Sabor, the magic, the shameless sexiness. Miami and the rest of the world that has money is not Cuba!

Now for those of you who are not deep inside Cuban culture and the dance scene.. Cuba also has the move of the year. The move is always a Reggaeton move and is the most popular move that everyone knows. One time I came back from Cuba to Canada and one of the Cuban girls asked me:”What is the new move of the year?” Luckily enough I learned it. Each year it is something different and it usually has a female and male version. Like the song of the year, it is very easy to tell because you see it everywhere and it keeps repeating itself..

Honestly, this is what life should be about.. moves and songs of the year.. wouldn’t life be great if we were concerned more with this rather than with problems about money, war, love, family etc..? Problems might seems smaller than as they do in Cuba.

Cuba doesn’t have a lot when it comes to material, but one thing that Cuba has is a deep and open heart. Not only that, but people here are happy with the very little that they have and it is intoxicating. And you know what? It’s simple.. you simply need to worry less and make more choices with the heart. If everyone did a little more of that, the world would be a better place.

Don't forget that you can comment here on the blog. I love reading comments and hearing what people from around the world, that I know and don't know, think about what they are reading.

Being spoiled by my Cuban mom in Bauta

noreply@blogger.com (Chen Lizra) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:47:00 +0000

August 16 – after all the tours and running around and being in just about every party possible in Havana, I was fed up with parties. I told Ana-Maria, my Cuban mom, that I missed the feeling of home. She told me that I had to come to her home for the weekend. And that was it for me.. how could I refuse such an amazing offer to be loved.

My Cuban mom - Ana-Maria

People ask me what makes her my Cuban mom and Cubans who meet me and hear me speak of her, ask me if she is my real mom. She is not. What makes her my Cuban mom is her amazing love and support. She is there for me at any time of the day or night. I can call her 3 AM if I need her. I can call her every day and talk to her about things and ask for her advice. She is always there for me, whatever I need she is there, and she loves me like her own daughter, my friend, Damaris.

Damaris - the most beautiful dancer in Parisien

I met Damaris years ago when I was looking for a female instructor that could teach me, who was super sexy and spoke English. Damaris was the most beautiful woman in the Cabaret Parisien. All she needed to do was to flash her eye lashes and all the men would fall at her feet. She was a gorgeous dancer and she stood out in the show. She was just mesmerizing. I was lucky enough to see her perform there before she got married and moved to Italy.

Damaris and me in Cuba - 2006

Funny enough, the following year when I arrived and looked for her, I found out she was in Israel performing! Yes yes yes, in my country… She was invited by a production company to work with them. The producer, 3 years later, told me that they still haven’t found any dancer with the kind of energy that Damaris has in order to replace her.. Damaris is unique!

Damaris was chosen for the poster of the show

Today at the house, Ana-Maria reminded me how it all started, how Damaris once came to teach me a class with a lot on her heart.. and for some reason our hearts connected and she told me what was on her heart.. matters of the heart of course. That day we started becoming real friends.. I gave her the best advice I had for her… She followed her heart..

Damaris and me in Havana - 2006

The friendship didn’t form in one day but proved itself over time with little deeds. One day I asked for her help when I needed to reach people in Cuba. I didn’t know how to go about it and Damaris and her mom helped me. Then something else and something else.. eventually we became like family. They helped me and I helped them. Damaris turned into my little sister and her mom, my own mom. Or as Damaris says “nuestra mama” (our mom).

Ana-Maria cooking in the backyard

So with this great luck on my side, I headed to Bauta which is in the province of Habana for a family day and pampering. When I arrived not only "my mom” was there but "my aunt” too. I have already met her before.. She came to hang out and cook. I love Ana-Maria’s cooking, it gets to my stomach the same way that my grandma used to cook. It just melts you from the inside. And "my aunt” cooks the same…yummm

The three of us before cooking

So it all started with Ana-Maria getting a kick out of taking pictures of me working in the house. She really did all the work, but she took pictures with me and the broom, with me and the machete.. ha ha ha..

Me and the machete

Me cleaning

Me doing more cleaning

I just helped clean the rice and she taught me how. Cooking took hours.. by 3 PM my stomach was stuck to my back and I was starving. Everything smelled so good that I kept going back to the table and stealing food… I couldn’t help it, and Ana-Maria was chasing me telling me I am a Mickey Mouse.. ha ha ha

Cleaning rice

At 3 PM at last we ate and I was so hungry that I almost ate the plate too.. the food was amazing.. The company even better.. we cracked jokes all day and hung out.. It was just what I needed.. a day to decompress and be home with no preoccupations or stress.. no dancing.. just resting.. perfect!

What a meal

A table full of goods

Yumm

After lunch, I had a great nap and when I woke up it was raining again. So I had to wait a while.. Ana-Maria made me some juice from real fruits.. it was delicious… and was just what my stomach needed after a nice nap.. she was making fun of me that I will end up being super fat if I’ll keep saying yes to all that she offers.. ha ha ha.. As we say in Israel, I will gain weight from being so happy..

Full tummy, full heart

After the rain stopped we headed back to the city and she took me with her car so that I wouldn’t have to take a million machinas over so many hours.. "My Aunt” said that next time she will invite me to her house and cook fish for me.. I told her I’d be there tomorrow and we all laughed so hard that it took us ten minutes to calm down. We kept cracking jokes on the way to her house. she invited me in quickly to see where she lives and meet my “cousins.”And then we headed back to my hotel. I enjoyed another hour or two on the Malecon with friends just hanging out and enjoying the music, dancing, and drinking Ron.

A perfect day with a perfect ending.. couldn’t have asked for anything better.. Thank you Ana-Maria for spoiling me so bad and your amazing and beautiful energy.. Thank you Damaris for sharing your mom with me.. she is amazing.. there is no one like her.. el maximo! Truly! I love you both… I am so lucky to have you both as my family..

PS
Damaris, do not to worry.. I took pictures for you of every dish that was cooked including the process of making them.. in case you missed your aunt’s cooking and the food back home.. yummmm… I’ll post it when back..

Yusimi kicks my ass and transmitting light

noreply@blogger.com (Chen Lizra) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:40:00 +0000

August 15 – when I came to take a class of Reggaeton with Yeri, I showed her Yusimi’s moves that I filmed and said:”I want to learn this!” She said:”We better get Yusimi to teach you.” So next day Yusimi came to teach me.. this sexy little thing.. so soft and fragile yet when she dances it is an explosion of the senses. I love her style!

One hour of Reggaeton with Yusimi is like 5 hours with any other teacher. She has no mercy when she teaches and she worked me like a dog but by the end of it I had a full move that was pretty hard with the styling and all and it was ready for next day for variations.. It felt so good dancing it, sexy Yusimi style - that’s hotter than anyone that I have seen dance here from the professionals. Yusimi has her own little thing going..

Next day we repeated the whole thing and she kicked my ass again into shape. I came out of it not just looking great and with a move that was nailed down, I was also feeling more fit and here came the variations on the move and cool styling that make it look fancy. I tried the move at night when I went out and my friends got a kick out of it. Yusimi’s magic was working. I tried the variations the next night and crashed and burned. I haven’t nailed them down yet, it fell apart, so I am preparing myself for Monday when she will kick my ass into shape again, and every day after that till I will leave..

Second day after the Reggaeton class, Yeri was supposed to come and teach me a class but she couldn’t make it, so Yusimi took over that hour. I told her that I wanted to learn how to explode like her in Salsa. We have the same kind of fire inside but I explode all over the map and she channels it in the most sensual way. I want some of that Yusimi magic. Zuyima already told me that I have to control my fire and channel it in a productive way. She said that I can do anything with my body if I will learn to master the sentiment. Once I can learn to do that, I will look and feel like magic..

So Yusimi started working on my chest.. we worked on the technique of how to do it with the IN and OUT and SIDE TO SIDE combined.. once I got the hang out of it and it was small enough, she started explaining to me that I needed to transmit the light out of my chest when I dance, as if I was the most beautiful and exotic thing. She used her fingers as if to mark opening a little door right where the key to the heart is and said:”Open it, open it..”, using her little fingers to open the gate so that I could transmit the light through it.. “you have to feel it” she said.

It took about at least 15 minutes till I got a glimpse of it and wow it felt so magical. In that moment I felt like the most magical seductress in the world who is sensual and beautiful like no other. I could have whatever I’d want…Anything! The feeling transformed what I was dancing. I don’t know what I was doing because I couldn’t think, just feel. It just felt so good and soft and I could feel the fire burning inside my body as heat going through my core and emanating through the key to my heart. I was channeling my power!

It was magical and I just hoped that I could sustain it, but two seconds later I lost it again. Then it took another 15 minutes for me to connect it again till I found it and it was so magical and beautiful, that I wished it could last forever. I was vibrating in a soft and sensual way. I could own it all. I could have all that I want in life. It was soft and effortless… The feeling was amazing, so magical, so beautiful. I just wanted to feel like this forever..

Yusimi kept “opening doors” in the front and back of my chest and talking to me about how to transmit. Then I lost it again. I was so sad and happy at the same time - happy for feeling this magical thing with such intensity, sad because I wanted to have it forever and I could see how far from it I was.

So now when I have free time to myself I keep coming back to transmitting light and opening the little door to the heart. I try to practice this - open my heart to be as vulnerable as it can and take it all in - all the beautiful things - then let the light out. It makes me think of Buddha or some other spiritual story. I guess this is where images like that come from. I really want to own it, it’s what can transform my dancing completely to something that I have never experienced before. I also know that it will take time to master.

Next class is Monday, let’s see how much light I can transmit out of my chest and how vulnerable I can get. I feel like in the Karate Kid movie with the wax on and wax off, and then he finds out he actually learned how to attack and block. Yet instead of a little Japanese Sensei, I have a little Cuban sex goddess that moves like no other dancer in the Conjunto or anyone around. Something exciting to look forward to for next week - transmitting light that turns me into a sexier version of me… mmmm…Yusimi’s magic is starting to penetrate…

Cha Cha Cha, Mambo and Salsa lesson

noreply@blogger.com (Chen Lizra) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 02:06:00 +0000

Aug 12 - So Zuyima kicked my ass today into shape and told me that as a teacher at la ENA I am doing things wrong and I lack some basic techniques. That it makes no sense for me to study Yoruba dances when I did not master Cha Cha Cha and mambo first which are much easier and will give me basic controls that I did not fully control yet. So being such a dedicated student and more because I know that Zuyima is a specialist teacher of many years here, I gave up my Afro-Cuban contemporary classes for now. Sad about it because it was something that I wanted to do for myself but happy about the fact that Zuyima got me focused on what will get me there eventually faster. Bye bye chun for now.. I promise to come back..

So today we had a 3 hours class in Mambo, Cha Cha Cha and she taught me more about the Salsa clave. Zuyima explained that the Salsa clave is 3/2 and not 2/3 as Yeri taught me. She was horrified by the thought that I believed it to be 2/3. As usual, someone reverses what I’ve been taught.. this happens every couple of years with different teachers… So I watched a whole discussion between Zuyima and Yeri about 2/3 and 3/2 and eventually I decided to take Zuyima’s clave since Israel said that for him the clave is 3/2 as well. When I asked Zuyima why there is such a difference in opinions, she explained that there are people that work with this academically and there are ones that know it from dancing or being musicians… the clave is not the same for a dancer and a musician… Yeri is a singer in the Conjunto even though she was trained fully in dance. Zuyima is a teacher in one of the best schools around. She specializes in teaching. When I asked her if she ever performed, she said that yes but she was not very good at it. She had the talent of teaching others but not very good with being present in front of others dancing. So this is what she does and she shines at it.

So bye bye to clave again.. and Son and Salsa now have the same clave for me. Not only that but she explained that this is why they say that Salsa is danced on time, because you enter on the 1 of the 3 and Son contra tiempo because you enter on the offbeat. When she used the clave while I was doing my steps, I was much easier to relate to the 3/2 then to 2/3 in Salsa.

Then she made me write a list of all of the dances taught as popular dances in Cuba. She explained that people start to study in the ENA at the age of 10 and that in La ENA you study to dance and in EL ISA you study to teach. First they study all of the international dances from around the world and Latin dances, t give them a good base and make them versatile. Then they enter the elementary level, ages 10-14 where they study in this order:
• Canpesino
• Contra Danza
• Danza
• Danzon
• Son
• Casino
• Mambo
• Cha Cha Cha
• Congas y Comparsas

Then in the second – nivel medio – in La ENA you study

• Congo (Palo, Yuka, Makuta)
• Arara
• Yoruba (Orishas such as Eleggua, Ochun, Oya, Yemaya, Obatala, Oggun, Ochosi, Chango..)
• Rumba (Yambu, Guaguanco, Columbia)
• Haitiano (Gaga, Vodu, Tumba Francesa)

By the way, anyone that tells you that what you are watching when you see Yoruba Andabo or Conjunto Folklorico Nacional or any of the other Folklore groups that perform Orishas dances, that these are Afro-Cuban-Haitian dances, has no clue what so ever about Afro-Cuban dances or its roots. It is not!

Next we had an hour and a half almost two hours of Cha Cha Cha and I learned many new and great things. Zuyima as usual was right and it was much easier for me to learn the technique and I loved the soft and gentle energy of the dance. At one point she started filming me just when I was getting to do it for the first time, not yet having controlled it on and she was laughing.. dudas.. dudas.. that I am doubting myself.. I said:”ThanX Zuyima, no really.. no pressure.. first time I do it and you are filming..” I love the child like energy in some of the moves like jumping a rope and all.. I have the video from last year with the Conjunto performing it.. how exciting to learn it all..

Zuyima doesn’t just teach me to dance, she also teaches me how to teach it and break it down.. She is my god when it comes to dancing and teaching.

Then we have about an hour and a bit of Mambo which was great.. This is my first time doing really traditional Mambo. I did in the past more Cabaret style of hips and getting it to work at first was a challenge. But I liked it.

In every lesson Zuyima teaches me exercises that build Acento, Pulso and Ritmo so that the warm up creates an entrance into the music. All of these will be taught in each class but also will now enter the Afro-Cuban Movements class. It will have tons of new material. I am completely revising the Salsa 1 and Reggaeton basic program.. complete new programs! There will be Cha Cha Cha in Sept.. and hopefully Mambo too. We didn’t get to Rumba today but we will tomorrow.. and there will be a Yambu class starting in Sept too. There might be another 1-2 new programs. Some classes will be open to women only others will be both for men and women. This trip I have focused on dancing as a woman.. I have to dominate all these new things before I can switch again. I came back dancing more as a guy than a girl because I keep dancing in classes as a guy that Zuyima gave me orders to dance a lot as a woman this year and to dance.. dance .. dance.. something that I could barely do for the past 6 years during business school..

Zuyima also taught me that the creator of Cha Cha Cha is Enrique Jorrin. She said that I must know this. It’s like a sin here not to possess this kind of knowledge as a professional dancer and she considers me professional. She also taught me that Orestes Lopez is the creator of Mambo but the person who made it popular is Damaso Perez Prado. she played for me Danzon muic and showed me how some of the music was taken by these men to invent these new types of music and dances. Precious!! Truly priceless knowledge.. a wealth of opportunities.

She also explained to me why Rumba is taught last.. I already mentioned this before when I talked about the Afro-Cuban dances that for me Rumba is the hardest and last year when I started learning Orishas I found them to be easier than Rumba. When I asked Zuyima to explain this to me she said that this is due to a few things: that Orishas have pasos which you have to learn and they are connected to the toques (the music that works with the moves), so you learn what to do in each part of the music. In contrast, Rumba you need to create, it isn’t a religious dance, it is a dance from the street that started, as she explained, with a spoon and a metal to play on. So as you dance, you learn two types of steps and the rest you need to invent and add to. These moves are variations, not specific movements taught. This explains why each person looks so different when dancing Rumba, yet so similar when dancing Ochun for example. The other thing she explained is that the Rumba needs a lot more coordination.. which I agree.. it’s one of the hardest things to teach and learn…
So that’s it for now.. Will report again with new and exciting knowledge about the dance soon again…

Feel free to comment and let me know your thoughts.. I hope that you are enjoying reading the blog..

Well, afternoon with no shower and no elevator – I live on the 14th floor of the hotel.. painful. Then to see Pirri and Yeri.. we did classes – Yeri, the computer mind is working on relaxing me. We worked on such slow technique that I was so relaxed by the end of it. She is working on my upper body and sensuality because I want to have a better and softer sentiment in my dancing. I showed her the video of Yusimi dancing Reggaeton and things that she does that I love. She said that she will arrange a class for me with Yusimi who will teach me all of her tips and tricks.

Zuyima told me today that for Reggaeton I can do anything that I want with my body… I just need two drinks.. ha ha ha.. well.. how can I refuse Cuban Ron… emmm… Cubata is my favourite drink this year.. better for me than Cuba Libre…

In the afternoon after I ate, the abuela who cooks for me talked to me. She told me that I am the “hija de Ochun”.. I told her that Orula didn’t tell me this yet so I do not know.. But she said:”You have the energy of Ochun.. you can have anything that you want.. I saw the way that you do things.. we will miss you..” It was so sweet. I will miss them all. She then asked me if she could tell me something really honest. The way she said it sounded like I did something bad. I told her that she could, that she could say anything to me.. I was preparing myself for something really bad.. maybe a mistake I made culture wise…. But she just said:”You know, I need to get medication and I need 7 CUC.. I have 6 CUC. I am missing just one.” I looked at her with eyes wide open and said to her:”I will give you the 1 CUC.” She cooks for me as if she was my own grandmother.. 1 CUC is just 1.4 Canadian Dollar which is between her and the medication she needs for the pain in her feet. She was so happy about it. She is truly a beautiful person inside. I feel very lucky to know these people personally. None of them ever ask me for things or money. Her asking means that she really needed it.

What a full and beautiful day.. full of magic and the important things in life.. friends.. dance classes.. seduction.. sensuality… and people that I love like family… It will be very hard to leave at the end of the month. It will take some time till I will see them again. It was so good to talk to Yeri today after a month that I barely saw them. Usually we are all the time together.. we spent half of the class talking.. It was just needed to catch up… Tomorrow we will all go out dancing together.. At last we have time alone to enjoy each other and plenty time to do it… Woohoo!

I love Cuba.. I love Cuban dance.. I love hw beautiful people are inside here and it is the imperfection that makes it so perfect.. age doesn’t matter here, neither do the norms in most Western countries.. what matters here is the heart.

Said goodbye to Alexei just now.. sweet – he left me a thank you letter that really warmed my heart. The tour really made a difference for him. I see big internal changes in him and as he said it, life has become more enjoyable and more from the heart. I am really glad that I was able to give him that. He will leave tomorrow morning..

Just got off the phone – Julito called to see how I was doing and say that he really misses Shannon. That they are communicating through SMSs. Love is in the air… He can’t wait for her to come back and keeping him busy for no with work… I told him to come out dancing with us tomorrow. He said that if he is not too tired after work. So I said to him:”So if you are tired what will you do? Go home and think of Shannon all evening and be depressed? Get your ass down to meet us and at least we’ll keep your mind busy..” He ended the conversation with “see you tomorrow at the party.” he I so sweet and o in love… Shannon… hugs and kisses from Julito who misses you tons..

Second tour ends with a big bang in Trinidad

noreply@blogger.com (Chen Lizra) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 22:19:00 +0000

August 10 – wow where do I start..Friday I took them to see a lesson of the professional dancers in the Conjunto.. we ended up seeing Guaguanco and Columbia. It was intense and beautiful. Leanne and Alexei came out completely inspired by the whole thing.. Loree took off right after to meet friends and do her thing. It was amazing as always to see the lesson and as usual one of my highlights in the tour. Leanne said that for her one of many, but yes for sure a big highlight. When we got out they had so many questions about how things work..

My classes sucked and I had to stop half way through and g chill in the pool… I was so tired.. I’ve been partying so hard with everyone and working in my free time to organize everything… so Zuyima said that I needed to relax and gave me new orders for the coming week to be in bed by midnight every night.. I am starting to train 5 hours a day today so my routine now has to change.. I need to focus to climb up and dancing is the priority.. I’ll still go out but maybe once or twice a week and hang out with Cuban friends…

At night time we went to Dayana’s house for a private party.. many but not all of the professional dancers from the Conjunto were there. It was so good have time to hang out with them. For me always another highlight. Alexei was dancing up a storm.. he later told me that he wished the professional danced more because it was so cool to watch.. but many of them were smashed already in the morning in their class when we saw them from a very hard week of training 6 hours a day and teaching on top of that at least 3 more hours. Leanne and Loree were dancing. Shannon was just floating on air being in love and all.. I wasn’t sure who was flying higher, her or Julito. They just both looked so happy and so happy to be spending so much time together. Julito in a good friend and one of the best guys around so I was feeling at peace that she was in good hands..

Pirri arrived about two hours late.. when I kept asking Yeri where he was she kept laughing “with the other woman.”Anyone that knows him would know that this is not possible.. So we kept laughing.. The roof of their home fell down this week so they had a difficult week trying to resolve the problem and to save all of their things after everything got wet. When he arrived at last a million kisses and complaints that he kept me and Yeri waiting for two damn hours.. He was laughing and laughing and laughing.. I love them both.. They are truly my brother and sister.. At one point I was sitting across the room and Yeri was looking at one of my clients dancing and the look on her face said it all.. I said:”Yeri, no work tonight…” She started laughing.. I know her so well! I can read her every expression by now..
Next morning we left for Trinidad and left early but an hour into the trip and I realized that I made a mistake and that I forgot to tell them to bring the passports. Without them they could not stay in a casa. So we had to go back.. Take two – we left and after about 2 hours had a bit of a break… Then we continued and took the scenic route… On the way we stopped at a place that has a beautiful reef and were in the water for about an hour.. Everyone was in heaven.. I decided to change the Trinidad tour after seeing what the first tour liked… So an hour of swimming and hanging out in the water and Alexei had this permanent smile on his face.. He was surrounded as he said it by 4 beautiful women and life could not really get better in that moment..

So we stayed in the water for an hour having fun, laughing.. taking pictures.. Then we went and had food in a local place.. food was great… Then we continued on to Trinidad.. When we arrived it was getting late. We went to the house of the woman who arranges them and no casas.. something went wrong.. welcome to Cuba! So I had to run around with her and to try and resolve the problem since it was important that we will stay in the heart of it all. Trinidad was packed and it was very hard to resolve but I managed it with her help. So typical Cuban for things that have been arranged to be suddenly reversed…

So now that we were all set we were to meet at night at 10 PM and go see the Afro-Cuban show… the show was as amazing as the time before and Shannon, Alexi, Leanne, Javier and Jesus were floored. It is an intense as attending a Tambor. I popped in at the end to say hello to the director of the group. We then went on to the Casa de La Musica.. and Loree and Leanne needed food urgently so they went with Javier and Jesus to grab a bite. I then felt that if I didn’t get sleep at last, I would just pass out on the floor.. So I went back to my room and crashed.. I was exhausted. A month of nonstop parties (not complaining) and my body just needed rest.

I woke up in the morning and met them all around 10 AM. I gave them some time at the market to buy what they wanted. We then walked around and I showed them a personal tour of Trinidad – we went to the top of the tower to see the whole area and city, we went to the restaurant where they have this stupid drink that’s very famous there and tried it.. I hate this stuff.. A band was playing and I started dancing.. All of them joined.. The band will now remember me for next time.. This guy joined me and danced Son with me.. that was exciting.. I love dancing Son.. Someone in the band told me that I dance like a Cuban and asked me where I learned. I told him. I find that in Trinidad I always dance better.. it has something to do with how calm and relaxed everything is.

So we kept going around till we saw most of the heart of Trinidad and they got all of the paintings they wished for. Once we felt we saw enough of Trinidad we went on to the local beach and stayed there for about an hour.. They all got to meet some local Cubans and interact and were very happy about it, not to mention happy about being back in the water. I have a plan now to change the trip and add water to the Vinales day trip and to expand the Trinidad weekend to three days and add something to it. The tour is just getting better and better. Having a small group also proved itself.. It was easy to bond, control the group yet get them into the culture. Alexei came very closed and will leave very warm and open, like a flower that came out. he truly blossomed on this tour. Loree has softened a lot on this tour. Shannon found her spiritual path and fell in love with a great guy.. Leanne wanted to perform and become more sensual and has seen it now to know what she needs to do to get there.. And for me.. I always transform in Cuba… I get to be me with no cultural conflicts and I get to melt walls as I learn how to dance better and express myself in it. I have found a family here.

Oh yes and they found me a nickname at last – Lara Croft.. I lve it.. I think it really suits me!

So that’s it.. we were on the beach and hung out.. Alexei still had this permanent huge smile on his face. Loree made some little friends.. she has amazing motherly instincts.. Leanne and Shannon were in heaven too. Javier and me had a long talk on the beach and he told me that I am unique. When I asked him what that means he explained to me that he hasn’t seen anyone do what Id o.. the kind of tours that I do.. but he also said that most women come to Cuba and all of these men seduce them and they can’t say no.. that he has been watching me operate and that I say no and I manage to still work with everyone. He referred to the director of the group from the night before who tried to seduce me and I want to work with him n the future.. so I said no in a really sweet way yet he will want to work with me.. I get this all the time here… And after 4 years of refusing Cuban relationships which are complex, I know how to enjoy the fact that men desire me so much here yet say no to. So Jesus declared me after as the “Reina de Cuba” (queen of Cuba). I laughed.. They watch how I operate.. I am one of them. When Javier asked me if he could join us in the water I looked at him and gave him this look of “you already know how I operate, you are not some service guy… we are together on this tour.” He loved it.

So that was it.. we went on to a special place to eat, local food.. people that have not seen Cuba properly say two things – that Cubans are opportunists and that food sucks in Cuba.. The people who travel with me will tell you otherwise… They eat where the Cubans will eat and I find them the best places through my local contacts. So we were at this great little place in the middle of nowhere and the food was amazing.. Then we hopped on the bus and left for Havana.. We got in very late.. too late for Jesus and Javier since they cannot drive the bus at night time.. Everyone was happy and satisfied and this is where there trip ends.. They still have a free day here.. Alexei a few more.. but this is it.. They have seen Cuba through my eyes..

It was very interesting to see Alexei’s reaction about Trinidad.. He spent a week there alone one and he has never seen Trinidad the way that I have shown it to him.. That to me proved what I thought that you needed someone from the inside to really see the magic the Cuban way and also a group of people that wanted to see Cuba this way.. in a way that no organized tour shows you.. Javier confirmed with me that this was unique.

So Shannon took off to see Julito ad she could not wait one more second.. and the tour ended with a big bang and grand finale.

Oh yes and what Zuyima taught me about how to handle Jineteros works like a charm.. tested it and it for sure provides the results… nicely done!

I am off this morning to my 5 hours of training and I do not know yet if I’ll write in the blog or not during these two weeks.. I feel that I need some time for myself in Cuba to explore new things and be in the moment.. It’s been a wonderful and intense month full of beautiful moments.. I have learned a lot. So I am signing off for now.. and will be in touch soon..

And don’t forget that nice I’ll be back, I will post all the pictures and videos both here and on the Latidos YouTube Channel so that you can see all the stories not just hear about them.. It will get very vivid.. And I love reading all the comments that people live and finding out that the blog inspires people.. And if you’ll go to the Latidos website you can register into our free newsletter there is one local and one international..

Dance competition where locals go

noreply@blogger.com (Chen Lizra) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 22:17:00 +0000

August 7 – Ok last night was a highlight again.. I took them to a place that locals go to.. the owner/manager knows me and e was asking about me. Different friends I saw over the week told me that he was asking when I was going to be back. I love going to this place because locals go there, dancing is amazing and it doesn’t have the sleazy of places like Casa de La Musica where so many jineteros come to “work” on tourists and make money. So we arrived and the owner arranged for us a table. As soon as I landed in the place the lineup of dancers started coming to ask me to dance. When I go there I just can’t stop for one second to dance and once in a while I have to ask for a break to just breath. It’s typical to come out of it completely drenched in sweat. It’s good kind of sweat.

Leanne and Alexei were dancing right off the bat. Zuyima joined as soon after and said that Alexei needed to dance the whole evening with Cuban women. He had homework to do and Alexei is a dedicated student. He got straight to work.. ha ha ha! Leanne didn’t lose time and started dancing as well and was having fun busting moves. She has no fear dancing.. it’s great. Loree arrived later with Landi, Iri’s brother and his mom which I have met in Vancouver. Shannon finished her Babalau thing and arrived back to meet us.. As Leanne told me earlier, it feels like she lives there and it will be hard to leave.. It’s hard to believe that time went by so quickly. The tour is set up in a such a way that you get a routine and feel what it is like living in Havana. By the time you leave… you feel like you are living there.
So after about ten minutes the owner talked to me and said that he wanted to do another demo and asked me if I’d be into it.. How could I refuse such a generous offer for them to show me off and perform… ha ha ha… of course I said yes.. And guess who else he picked.. yes, bingo.. Leanne! Not surprising.. the flower has popped out! he asked me whom I would want to dance with and I said Santiago.. Santiago is someone that I danced with in the open air location.. he is a professional dancer. I love his style of dancing.. did I mention that I love his style of dancing? ha ha ha.. he is such a playful dancer.. he plays with the music, Cuban dance styles and his body control.. It’s like a big playground.. When I dance with him, my dancing is on fire. So when the two of them were on the dance floor, booth looked at me and pointed to “are you gonna dance with me?” I picked Santiago… With him I get to mix Salsa with Mambo, chachacha, Son, Reggaeton, Rumba and you name it…

So off we were, two couples on stage… we had three parts of song to dance at different speeds. All I remember was that Santiago and me were dancing and no one existed and I was having so much fun… Then it ended and I was in heaven.. I looked at Leanne and she was glowing. Then they had a clapping decision and the crowd decided who the winner was and Leanne got the most votes by far. She was in heaven. I was happy.. she was shining and getting ready for performance. Santiago looked at me and said:”to me you are the winner.” I looked at him and said:”the best prize is dancing with you.” And we both smiled from here to moon. Then Leanne got her prize – a little picture framed.. like what? ha ha ha..

When I got off the stage I ran to Zuyima and asked her:”did you film it?” She said yes all! Woohoo.. at last I have a good vide of me. I asked her thumbs up or down and she pointed up. I think that she was so proud, because she taught me half of this stuff.. Most of the playful stuff I used has been from this trip.. all the tricks she taught me on how to add Cuban styling and to play with steps in Salsa. Another class that I want to start for women only… But thank god for the amazing Yambu class she gave me this morning because our dance started with Yambu.
When Leanne got off stage and I asked her how she felt. She was glowing and just shouted:”This is so much fun.” She was in heaven.

Then we all continued dancing and having fun. Alexei just let go and had so much fun that Zuyima grabbed my camera and filmed him. She was pleased.

We only had one harassment from some strange guy and the owner kicked him out. He first asked me for money and I said a no that could not be broken. So he left me alone but as the night progressed at one point Zuyima grabbed my arm and asked me what was going on with Alexei. I raised my head and saw him a situation that was escalating with the same guy. I stepped in and got him out. Alexei can hold his own but with limited Spanish and a very “hard working” jinetero this was not going in a good direction. The jinetero got pissed off. He was pretty drunk. Two seconds later as I am standing and talking to Santiago I see the same guy grabbing Shannon. She was not aware of what was going on. I grabbed Shannon and dragged her out of the situation before anything would escalate there too. The guy was so pissed off that he was on his way to talk to me. I gave a look to the owner like this is not working for me. He stopped him mid way and kicked him out. Zuyima next day taught me the secret of how Cubans do it to make sure to diffuse the situation.. Very clever… So next time this happens, I know how to do it like a Cuban and I can see how this would lead to a complete different situation.. She said that you cannot hurt their ego or they might lose control because they are drunk… And there is a way to talk to the person which she demonstrated to me which made me smile.. ah Cubans… they have a way…

So when I asked all of them if they liked the place we went to, they were all stocked about it. It was one of those gems of Havana that only locals and those involved with the dance scene know about. The feeling is amazing, the dancing one of the best and of course not having jineteros and meeting Cubans that just want to have fun and enjoy your company is always a treat.

Then the event was over and that was a cue for Julito to arrive.. he was stuck at work… We then walked the Malecon and then each went do his/her own thing. Another great ending to a great day…

Today we woke up and went to see them train in the Conjunto. It was a Folklore class of Guaguanco and Columbia. It was stunning. We sat on stage and watched them as they practiced rows and rows of them. Leanne and Alexei were close to me and were asking me questions. They were doing different variations and combinations specific to the Conjunto.. There was only one point when they stopped.. when the teacher explained to them the meaning behind what they were dancing because the right emotion was not there. Then she threw them back in.

The Guagunaco was done with female and male roles and was beautiful to watch how big they dance yet soft.. so much power yet loose… The skirt work was stunning for the women as they lower and upper bodies were working in coordination and in fluidity that’s hard to explain. I so wish it was possible to tape in these kind of places. The men were dancing so manly and with such pride.. one of them seemed so noble as he pretended to play the game in the sequence. It was stunning. Then with Columbia it was harder for the women to do it because it is a male dance and t master that energy is harder. Based on how soft and hard personality they have, they tapped to the movements and male energy. Stunning. Leanne and Alexei told me after that it was beyond words.. they were buzzing. For me this is one of the highlights of the tour.. always… magical!

It was also great to see all of my friends.. I know by now almost all of them and they each came ne by ne to give kisses and say hi.. I will see them tonight at the private party that we are organizing at Dayana’s house. I love hanging out with them.. And it is always such a treat for everyone else to hang out with them and get to know them…

So buzzing and speechless we each broke off the group to go and do what we needed to do and to attend classes. I could tell that Leanne and Alexei had this new earned drive for their classes.. I am sure they will be on fire today as they feel so inspired. It was also important for Leanne to see the energy of practicing for performance so that she will get past her limitations and fears.. she saw it she is tuned to her new goal.

That’s it.. I can’t believe that their tour will end after this weekend.. They will be in Trinidad the whole weekend and then we will come back late at night and officially their tour is done. They have another day in Havana to do what they want.. and I will them work on my dancing full on, 5 hours a day… can’t wait.. It’s been great the whole month.. yes, some things were intense with the first tour but Id o not take it too hard.. it’s a natural process of finding equilibrium and it reached equilibrium.. it would have not been possible if not for this whole month. And I get to stay for 2 weeks and just train around the clock.. this is my heaven! My dancing heaven! I am so glad that people are getting to see the magic of this place from the inside.. that I can provide that for people and that someone comes to me and says:”my life is transformed because of this.” That’s magic!

Transformation and dancing

noreply@blogger.com (Chen Lizra) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 22:15:00 +0000

August 6 – Last night we all met and planned to go out to the Salsa night which takes place outside.. but it rained nonstop for about three hours and we just couldn’t go. So instead we met all at the lobby of my hotel and went over their feedback for the tour. They gave great feedback and explained what they liked and gave some great suggestions on what can be improved. It was great. Based on their recommendations the tour will just get better. The Dec tour will be changed in many ways to accommodate all that these tours taught me and other changes, such as a smaller group. The Latidos site will be updated to reflect the changes in a few weeks. More exciting updates to come..
So, we then decided to go out to see Adalberto Alvarez in casa de La Musica in Miramar, but before we had to go and get some food. We were all so hungry. We went to a restaurant that Melba recommended to the girls. Great place, great food. As we sat there and waited for the food we decided to toast. Alexei said this really beautiful thing - that the tour is about transformation, that every person who came on it was coming back transformed in one way or another – personal, spiritual or dance wise. Bingo! This is what the tour is about.. One person had a problem opening the heart and Cuba softened it, another wanted to become much more sensual in dancing, another wanted to find the path spiritually and so on.. The tours are unique because they give you something amazing and deep for your life. And they have now found the right flow and direction.. It needs some more tweaking but that is easy enough to do and I will keep tweaking them till people will barely have any comments to give.. The tour is for people that are interested in an in-depth look at Cuban dance and music, plus spiritual experiences related to the Orishas. And the fact that it is so deep into Cuban culture causes those who immerse in it to go through a TRANSFORMATION!

So next trip is happening during Xmas time and what better time to go then to escape the holiday blues and the cold and all those heavy duty holiday obligations… Not only that, but also at Xmas time most of the groups that were missing during the summer will be here. Exciting. People will be able to see such groups as Yoruba Andabo, the National Folklore Group of Cuba, Salsa bands such as Van Van, Charanga Habanera and Adalberto Alvarez and so much more… all depending on who is available at the time. Best Salsa and Afro-Cuban Folklore group in the whole country! A private party with some of the best dancers in the country for folklore where you can dance with them one on one and get to know them personally, tours in other parts of Cuba to get a better sense of life in the country, not just the capital. And the greatest part is that people do not pay for what they do not want to do. One of the things that people loved on this tour was being able to attend what they wanted and that they were able to take the unbeaten path to see things such as the Santeria ceremony, something that a regular tourist doesn’t get to see. So if you are reading and all the stories inspire you to explore.. get ready for Dec!

Ok so going back to our night.. we’ve had dinner and then we went back to the hotel. We waited a bit longer in the lobby before going out. Shannon who is a great healer took care of my shoulder and just took the air out of me… She really knows what she is doing. She has real talent. Alexei was just permanently glowing and it was great to see him break out of some of the conditioning that he grew up with. He seemed to be happy with what he was discovering. Leanne went to sleep because she knew that she would have some major training in the morning and she needed to rest to be able to keep up.. Loree went for a nap and told us she would meet us there.

So we took off to see the concert. Julito came to meet us and hang out with Shannon. he was so sweet and bought her a flower. Alexei was trying to dance with each Cuban woman possible there but almost every woman there was a jinetera. The show was great.. but for some reason very short. For me it worked well since I was so tired and I needed to do my classes super early because Zuyima was busy later. So off I was and Shannon, Julito and Alexei stayed till late and had fun.

I woke up in the morning and arrived for my classes shot. I was so tired. I looked at Zuyima and said:”take it easy on me today. I am dead tired.” So Zuyima prepared for me a special class of Rumba – Yambu. I loved it. So soft and sensual and beautiful. We did two hours of Yambu and I didn’t want to stop… it felt so good.. She is softening me. I haven’t danced Rumba for two years and it is so good to be back to it.. It feels different… like my body recognizes it better now.. I am loving every moment. Besides the Orishas which are so foreign to me still in feeling and my body is not used to the feeling dancing them so I don’t know if my technique is right or wrong.. Son, Rumba, Salsa, Reggaeton etc are becoming more and more part of me for life.. At the end of the class I was so tired that my knees could barely keep up.. all the muelleo for hours made me so tired… But I was so happy from the soft and sweet feeling of Yambu.. I want more..

About 20 minutes into the class Zuyima was off.. I looked at her and said:”are you ok.” she said that she wasn’t feeling good today. I asked her if she was sick and she said that she was feeling depressed.. she was having a bad day. When I asked her why she said that nothing happened but she chocked on it. I gave her a big hug, stopped the lesson and sat her down for a chat. She explained to me what was going on. We talked a bit about it and then she felt better. Since she gives me homework to move me forward in my life and dancing.. I gave her homework back and she got a kick out of it.. So she promised to report about her homework next day.

After the classes I went to see how Leanne was doing and to see her progress… She has advanced a lot.. She had a good base but she lacked coordination – fine tweaking and also arms work.. her arms are stiff. She also needs to learn how to perform to be outside and share the beauty and emotion of her dance.. So we went over her Regageton, Son and Rumba and it looked so much better and Yeri was pleased.. we talked about what she still needs… Yeri will work with her on Friday and Monday to refine her more and give her more Cuban Sabor.. her dancing is transforming in the best of way and everyone is raving about her dancing ability.. She is ready for joining the performance team.. she just need s lot more work.. I know both what her and Sam lack and I will work with them when I will get back to move them forward…
Oh yes and there will be a new Rumba class in Sept.. It’s time to do Rumba again! I am so excited about this class…

I can’t believe that we are almost done with the tour. Today we are meeting at 4:30 to go out Salsa dancing. I am taking them to a place that they have not been to yet where there are no jineteros.. very local and fun. They will be dancing straight for 3 hours.

Tomorrow I am hoping to take them to see the training at the Conjunto.. an experience that you just cannot miss and at night we will have a private party with the dancers of the Conjunto.. something worth waiting for.. best dancing ever and so great to hang out with close friends… Then Saturday and Sunday in Trinidad and then this tour will be done. An exciting tour indeed. I am starting to plan the next one plus have an idea for a unique tour not for Dec but possibly for the July tour… I will announce once I will finalize the plans. Leanne and Shannon already said how sad they will be to leave. Once the magic touches you – the dancing, real Cuban friends… going past the jineteros and all.. you cannot get enough of it. I am glad that I can give this experience to people. Natalie told me that before they left to Cuba people told her and Shay all these things about Cuba and Cubans – food is bad, all Cubans are opportunists etc etc. yet the Cuba she saw was different.. someone who says that has not gone deep enough to see Cuba for what it really is.. If all that I have done on these tours is provided people with a beautiful experience which enriched their lives so that now they will keep looking for magic which will inspire them, then I have done good in my opinion. I am pleased and even more pleased that I have managed to adjust things so quickly that now things have a great flow. I really want to make these tours amazing and to expand them. This is just the beginning.. I have many more ideas…

The tour is at a natural high

noreply@blogger.com (Chen Lizra) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 22:14:00 +0000

August 5 – Today was another great day… Last night we had a relaxed night and everyone got a free night t do what they want. There was nothing super important and from the lessons of the first tour, they get a lot more free time in the second week to accommodate the interests of each person. It also gives me some down time since I am not only with them all the time but also working in the background to organize things.

Today everyone had classes in the morning. Alexei was glowing.. he loves his new instructor and his whole body stance is changing. He showed us some moves and we all saw it and started clapping with excitement. Leanne is doing very well. Everyone is raving about her great ability. She came with such a great base training for two years with Latidos and just needs to pull her body work a little better. Israel was working with her today to make sure her technique was tight and tomorrow yeri will teach her girl styling and give her some of that Yeri magic. Shannon is doing Ochun stuff and as an addict of Ochun she is just all taken by all of it. She showed her some of the things that she learned. She was all happy about it and told us that she wanted to do a demo at the end of the trip.. Then Loree told us about what her teacher was working with her in Salsa and Reggaeton – pulling it together. Then all seemed happy as a clam.

I had my classes and they went well. I learned some new Ochun toque that’s really hard. the upper boody does one thing, the feet another and then the arms a complete different thing. I would stop everyone other second and Zuyima would get mad at me for stopping. I’d explain that I can feel it is wrong and she would say – it is right! She explained to me that I am not used to the energy of the move so I keep thinking it is wrong and it is actually right. I have never danced Ochun today. She then told me at the end – you didn’t like the lesson today and I said that Id did like it. What was hard for me was that she didn’t have her skirt and she was not dancing with me so I could not pick up the energy that she transmitted so I could not copy the move fully.. With Orishas I have to let go and feel it or else I will never get it.. and the feeling is foreign.. I didn’t grow up here. Ochun is foreign to me.. but I am getting to know her up close and personal and I am loving her energy.

I was looking at the floor all the time trying to focus on the feeling of the different body parts and she would tell me that I have to look up like Ochun with pride.. but when I tried it would all fall apart.

Zuyima then asked me how my homework went and if I got response on the streets with the yellow skirt.. I said that I didn’t get many comments so as she told me I went back to change. She said that I didn’t get it.. she asked me what men told me on the streets and I told her the little stories of how they called me the daughter of Ochun.. So she told me that these are great comments.. when I told her that they were fewer than what I was used to getting she said that this is because I wasn’t wearing something super sexy but something more classy and that what matter was the quality and not quantity.. She said that I should enjoy it for what it is and that changing what you wear is only when you do not get any comments on the street. Note taken!

Second tour with the changes is going great and I am glad that things are working so well. I think that I got it now.. how to make it work.. there are going to be major changes to the tours when I am back.. Some have changed when I was here for the second tour some other changes will take place when I am back. These tours are really transforming their lives in the best of ways and it is such a pleasure to see them be so happy and gain so much in their lives… They have so much freedom now in the second week to go after what they like… Shannon has a hot date tonight and I just saw Alexei and he is getting sweeter by the minute.. I left him with the landlord with the instructions to teach him what to say and do to move a woman’s heart.. Alexei is all over it.. he loves it..

They all had free time till tonight till we will go out to one of the best places in Havana… They are each doing what is important to them. Shannon for sure is chasing another Babalau.. oh yes Shannon and Leanne went on another shopping madness.. and Via Uno shows arrived at last with bigger sizes.. at long last…
We will all meet in a bit and go out and in the meantime… signing off from Havana with lots of great energies..

Danine my dear, Cuba misses you as much as you miss it… It can’t wait to see you back, you party animal..

Ochun is taking over me

noreply@blogger.com (Chen Lizra) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 22:11:00 +0000

August 4 – Today is a calm day. Everyone had their classes in the morning. Alexei got a new teacher and he was very pleased with his new instructor and how he teaches. Leanne at last met Yeri who started crafting her with Sabor… Yeri’s touch! Yeri got instructions to train her as a professional which is more intense. As soon as Yeri showed her some Reggaeton moves Leanne just lost it.. Yeri said to me:”she Loooooves Reggaeton.” I said:”Tell her to dance with the same kind of passion she has when she shops.” And Leanne laughed. She is on fire when she shops and she has fire in her for dancing which she needs to channel. Yeri was impressed with her ability.. two years with Latidos and she learned a lot as Yeri told me. She was pleased that she had such a great base to work with.. Yeri needs now to refine her and add some Cuban professional flavor and she will be ready for performances.. So she is doing Rumba, Son/Salsa and Reggaeton which will fit with what Sam did already. It’s a great start for the performance team.. I have a few more people in mind and we’ll see where that takes us.. Little by little my vision is coming to life and it is a project that really inspires me.. I want to start performing and dancing… That’s it.. no more business school, I can live again..

I had my classes of Ochun and I learned a new toque.. my clothing and the way I dress has changed.. Ochun is taking over. At the end of the hour Zuyima told me that it was time. I had to shine and smile like Ochun while doing the moves.. I obeyed like a good student and I couldn’t help but glow and laugh. It’s just so funny to smile on the outside the way I would smile if I were just super happy inside.. and it felt so god to let that energy out.It’s contagious… Zuyima was pleased with me. If I want to perform Ochun I need to be able to master this energy on the outside.
So today when I went out on the street I put on my new yellow dress… bright like a vivid lemon, added red bright touches, and my Ochun necklaces and bracelet. It was a stunning look. I took it out to the streets to test it as Zuyima told me to do. Her instructions were clear – go and walk, if you do not get the results you want and response from men, go back to the hotel and change. So at first I had my red flip flops on. When I saw Zuyima and Mareisi they were pleased with my look and my red bag but were not pleased with my red flip flops and said that they should only be used to go to the beach. According to them it is a fashion suicide here… Zuyima took me to fix my Via Una shoes and replace the base which was run down. While we waited to change them, they dragged me to a store nearby to try and convince me to buy shoes so that I won’t go with flip flops. But I do not buy shoes in 5 minutes and I am waiting for the Via Uno shoes I wanted to arrive… Brazilian shoes that are a must!
So we got the shoes and I replaced my shoes to the high heels red Via Uno ones which were now fixed and went with the gang to the Orishas Museum. The museum was interesting… when we got out we slipt and they got the night off. I walked to Via Uno to find out if the shoes arrived and they turns out that by tomorrow they will be all on the shelves. Woohoo! The girls will be stocked… they are addicted to the shoes. Shannon bought two already and Leanne one for now.. I do not think that this is the end of it. So as I was walking, I was checking out the response f what I was wearing and I got a lot of “hija de Ochun” (daughter of Ochun). One guy said it to me as I walked past him.. so I kissed my necklace the way that Zuyma showed me and he got a kick out of it.. this is again little detail of cultural touch… So response was good but the day before with the orange outfit was better. I wasn’t pleased with the results… so it was time to head back to the hotel to do my homework and change outfits…

When I got to the hotel I was so tired… I crashed for a while and slept like a rock. Sleeping an afternoon nap was so sweet.. There hasn’t been that much time for naps lately. When I woke up, I got up.. changed to a green bright dress and a red top with no back and hit the streets on the way to the hotel to do internet. This outfit was getting god responses… Homework is going great.. I love Cuban dance homework..
On the way, I ran into these girls who were super young and were jamming it Reggaeton style on the street. So I told them that I’d tape them dancing and they were a little shy.. but then they started warming up and got a kick out of it and asked me to tape them over and over and wanted to see the videos. Eventually I gained 4 new friends: Liliana, Claris-Claris (nickname), Francis and Lobe (nickname). They asked me if I had candy and if they could come to my hotel to use the pool.. They asked if I could come again and film them and play with them. When I eventually left they ran after me on the street and said:”don’t go.. don’t go..” and were hugging me. So sweet.. so we had a group hug.. Then I started walking and the whole scene started all over again. So cute.. I told them that I’d be back..

While I was with them, this guy walked up to me and really gave me a hard time.. Alexei introduced me to him a few days before in the Conjunto. He is a musician that he met on the Malecon. This is the problem with the tours that people that make friends try to bring them into the circle and with the Cuban men I have to set a line with each one or else I can be harassed over and over because they feel that they can now. The guy saw me two days after I met him at my hotel and called me to come and say hi and give me a kiss… but then he started touching me and I got pissed off and pushed him away. I decided to stay on the other side of the bar… he told me that I should come closer and I looked at him as firm as it gets and said that I’d rather stay far.. the message was clear and the barman was giggling to himself. When I stood with the girls and filmed them, he harassed me again and would not leave me alone. Eventually I had to look at him and say:”déjàme.. ya!” (Leave me, enough!).. Eventually he had no choice but to do that. As I told the people on the second tour.. they can have Cuban friends but they cannot bring them to the circle of the trip… they have enough free time though to meet them and do things alone if they like… if not, I cannot manage the harassments… and the door should not be open for anyone to walk through it..

Cutting to a complete different subject, today when Zuyima and me talked I told her that Yeri is my black sister.. we are so alike.. even Julito noticed it and keeps saying that he gets confused between us… Zuyima gave me this sincere look and asked me:”and what am I to you?” I had t think about it for a minute or two to nail down the energy.. Then I said to her:”My spiritual aunt.” She laughed.. she was pleased.. It was true. She took this role over time.

She then had a talk with me about the Santeria and about the initiation into it. She asked me if I wanted to know who my Santos was and go through the ceremony of the three days. I said that yes but that I didn’t know if this would happen during this trip.. She said that she will arrange the consultation meeting for me to get started.. This is very exciting! She then explained to me more things about the Santeria such as the fact that if someone asks you to become a Santeria madrina (godmother) you cannot refuse. She also explained to me that a Babalau is like a priest kind of a thing and explained that like in the church, there are different levels and hierarchy and it takes a lot of studying to become one. This was because I could not understand how Osiris could be one when he is so young. She said that it is possible. She also showed me these cards that she has in her purse. She had one of Ochun and one of Yemaya and the prayer in the back reminded me of the church. She explained that the connection existed from colonial times when the catholic church took over.. as I have learned in Latin American studied, Africans did not have any of that in their religion prior to that.. this mix came with the conquering of worlds and when they brought over the slaves. To me this is all fascinating.. I feel like I am part of history in the making.. and magical it all is. There is no place like Cuba in the world..

On another different note, Alexei said to me:”so you are good with kids too?” I looked at him and laughed and explained.. I do a lot better with kids than with adults. They make a lot more sense to me with their innocence and pure truth.. They are just them with no masks. He said this to me because during the trip I have made great little friends.. Marcos and I were playing on the bus all these fun games. Lazaro wanted me to come back and visit him and gave me such a loving hug and said he’d miss me. When we stood in line for the food last night, I made another good friend.. this cute girl who gave me this big hug and started talking to me.. she was in line with her parents to the same restaurant. My little Cuban friends.. Cuban kids are so open and loving.. if you are genuine with them you will enter their heart easily.

Back to classes – they are at last flowing and I feel that I managed to break through my emotional block. I was doing very well today in Salsa too.. Zuyima wanted to teach me just Ochun with no contemporary and I gave her the ok to do what she wants… I trust her fully. Salsa went very well too.. She was pleased with how my style is changing to a softer one and told me to use the same Ochun soft energy to dance Salsa. It’s interesting because Ochun is so strong yet she is so soft in her movements. And she compliments my personality by adding softness and sweetness to the strength. I love how Ochun feels. To dance Orishas is to transform one’s life… It’s the best gift I can give myself for graduating from school.. I wish I could come here for 3 months t a year to just study dance.. I would be a whole new person.. and improved version as I see it.

Second tour goes to Vinales and shopping

noreply@blogger.com (Chen Lizra) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 00:13:00 +0000

August 3 – We woke up in the morning smashed from the last few days and got on the bus to head to Vinales. We had our own private bus so that the tour could be tailored to our needs. The drive to Vinales is fairly long – about 3 hours each way but we had a good time talking about the Tambor and they shared their adventures from the night before, i.e. what happened after I left.

We arrived to Vinales and it is always stunning to be there. It was a super hot day and the valley was lush and beautiful with vivid colours of green. We took a bit of time to take pictures and enjoy the view. We then continued to the cave. They did the tour of the cave and came out on the other side.. We then went to the Palenque and were so hungry. Food came out fairly quickly and was as last time delicious.
Javier who joined us for the tour with his little boy Marcos asked me if I danced in the Palenque last time. I said that yes. He said that they told him just now.. I looked at him laughed and said that I cause trouble everywhere I go..

Funny enough today in classes Zuyima came and was all excited like she had a good story. So I told her: “Tell, tell..” She said that one of her friends filmed this woman dancing in one of the restaurants and told her:”you have to see this” and asked her if she knew who she was and if she was Cuban. When Zuyima saw it she said:”this is my student.” Hence it was me… It was when the first tour was here and we went to the Brewery. I got up and danced with one of the waiters. The whole restaurant was watching including all the workers and people were filming and all.. turns out that one of her friends was there and filmed it.. ha ha ha.. nice one.. Zuyima was very proud.. I told her:”I told you they make fun of me that I dance anywhere.. bathroom.. hotel… street.. restaurant… anywhere..” ha ha ha

So after the Palenque we went to see the mural and then they had about 40 minutes in the town to explore, walk around, see what life in Vinales is all about. They liked it and said that it had very different energy than Havana. It does.. it’s a lot softer in feeling. And it seemed that everyone needed the break and change of atmosphere, yet everyone was also happy to be back at the end of the day.
On the way back we all crashed and slept a bit, Alexei was listening to music on his MP3 player… Shannon was busy with her Ochun stuff.. Leanne and Loree just seemed to enjoy themselves. It was a really lovely day that everyone enjoyed and there was this great vibe when we got back.

When we got back, I had to do a lot of phone calls and get caught up with my Cuban mom and friends, plus organize a few things. They went out for dinner, to walk on the Malecon and see some of the Havana festival and with the shows and all and to dance a bit.

When I was done, I stopped by Luis’s house and got the gift that Natalie left for me.. It was stunning.. I was speechless.. So thoughtful and sweet. And the note she wrote was heartwarming and I was on the verge of tears. Really nice gesture. I am so glad that her trip was so enjoyable and that she got so much out of it. I went on to the Malecon to get some food in one of the restaurants and then walked a bit towards some of the parties.. but people were getting really drunk and rowdy and a guy grabbed me forcefully trying to dance with me.. I shook him off and decided that I was tired and didn’t feel like dealing with all the drunks and aggression that was building up. So I went back to the hotel and crashed for the night.. I needed it.
I woke up in the morning to a new day and started to get organized when the phone rang. Alexei’s teacher didn’t show up.. Something strange was going on with Ernesto since this was the third time he bailed without calling. So I had to try and find a solution for today and till the end of the trip. I went to see Yeri and Israel who were supposed to teach at Porras’s house and they were not there. The night before with the rain their roof collapsed and all of their things were wet. They had to resolve the problem or their things would be destroyed. So Leanne didn’t have classes either. Then Shannon showed up with her teacher and her teacher said that all the houses that she teaches in, nothing can work today. Shannon looked at me and said – it is the stars.

So after it all got sorted out the best we can, considering the circumstances, I had my classes today. After a few days of a break, I was itching to get back and the emotional block that I had was gone. I was on fire this time and was learning new things. I was thinking later how my learning is affected by how quickly I can expand my emotional capacity to take it all in.. If I could expand quicker, I could learn more.. technique is not the problem.. the emotion is.. And I am loving Ochun that now I have clothing in her colour… I like her energy.. I was walking all proud of myself on the outside that it made me laugh.

Then Zuyima started laughing this beautiful personal and caring smile yet with a mischief in it. I asked her what kind of trouble I was getting into now and she said that tomorrow I will have to train as Ochun smiling all the time.. I started laughing too because that energy is contagious and I know that tomorrow will be a funny and to some degree an awkward day as I try to bring out of myself the full energy of Ochun. But I am loving every minute of it. I love dancing Ochun.. She is so powerful et so soft. So feminine yet her pride is intense.. Ochun makes me more complete as a person. She is also changing the way I walk and behave which is exciting.. I don’t know how much of this can exist outside of Cuba but right here and now it is magical.

We then worked more on softer body movements and the sentiment in the Salsa, and more sueltas… changing from tiempo to contra tiempo.. Ana-Maria showed up and at last met Zuyima in person. She is helping her with setting up her Tambor.. She is such a great mom.. always helping.. always available to mother, sooth and listen to stories. She came to visit with her younger sister or as she told me:”your aunt” and she started laughing all happy about this. I was happy about it too.. now I have an aunt too.. ha ha ha.. wow.. it is a full family package.. score!

So after the classes I went to take a shower and dashed to meet everyone for lunch so that we could make some decisions about the afternoon. Alexei had his classes with Zuyima since his teacher did not show up and we planned to meet him at 4:30. Loree wanted to go to the beach. Leanne, Shannon and me were planning to go to the fair to do some girl shopping. By the time I connected with them Shannon was gone, she contacted the Babalu and there was something related to Santeria going on and off she was happy as yellow duck (yellow because she loves Ochun.. Duck.. I don’t know why.. just came to mind.. ha ha ha).

So Leanne and I went shopping and it was a glorious day of shopping. Main focus was sexy things for me in red, orange and intense yellow like Ochun. Leanne was more into reds, blues, greens.. her colours… The fair was actually closed today but instead we stopped by an outdoor place just next to it and we bought some awesome dresses. Then we decided to go to San Rafael to do some more shopping and I took her to a place that has some majorly hot and sexy clothing. We spend a good half hour there buying things then dashed to meet Alexei at the Orishas Museum. I have never been there and it would be a very interesting thing to see… By the time we got there the place just closed – closes at 4:30 PM. So we decided to head to the Batista palace which I knew would be closed but at least for them to see it from the outside and come back to it to explore it when they will have time.

We took two stops and saw this amazing store and Leanne and me were in it in seconds doing some more shopping. The beauty of it all is that we got things that we could never get back in Canada at a cost that for Canada would have cost about 4 or 5 times as much. So we were both glowing with our shopping bags and we could not wait another minute to get back and try it all on and decide what to wear tonight.. I got yellow shows! Yellow! They are stunning!

We got back to the hotel..and decided to meet later for dinner.. new place this time that Cuban friends recommended..

We all met for dinner.. Shannon decided to do her own thing.. She has a big decision to make about having her Santeria initiation done right now which will be 3-4 intense days. She has been craving for this for a while so now that it came she has to make a decision ASAP. And it is a difficult one because it means jumping into it emotionally full on. Shannon has this really strong connection to the Orishas.. she has dreams that guide her an so on.. This is something that she can find answers to here.. So she had to go on her own personal quest and we went to have fun..
We all dressed up.. Leanne and me were showing off our latest purchases.. and Alexei was walking around with three beautiful women hanging off his arm and I have never seen him walk so proud, his chest really pumped out big out.. Ochun was rubbing on him and so was his training with Zuyima who was getting him straight from slouching. He seemed like the happiest guy on earth at that moment. And every once in a while this big smile would break out like he’d let his happiness out in the open for everyone to see..

I had my new orange outfit on and my new yellow high heels which are so damn painful to walk in but are so beautiful and sexy. Alexei was making a comment about my new sexy walk.. I felt sexy in this outfit and clothing like costumes make me feel like I am in character.. whatever character that was.. Ochun is coming out of me a lot these days as I train.. I think that was the Ochun part of me last night expressing herself.. I love those shorts.. It’s amazing how natural the body feels here that having some boody feels sexy like it doesn’t in any other country.

So we all walked towards the restaurant and Loree was super excited about about 300 KM an hour about the adventures that Shannon and her had when she went with her to see the Babalau. Loree went to translate for her and that led to some really interesting and funny stories. Shannon can get kind of intense when she wants something.. she gets so caught up in the moment. So Loree was getting us caught up on the stories and there were some great adventures to be told.

Then we got to the place and there was a lineup as I knew there would be… but my friends said a little colita, a little lineup… that turned out to be about an hour and we were so hungry. The shoes I had on were the kind that you walk on quickly get somewhere and sit down.. after an hour in the lineup I was ready to get off them… the guy at the door was sweet and let me sit on the stairs and the gang were getting a kick out of it and taking pictures.. It was kind of funny…

A few minutes prior to this Alexei and I had a good talk about life in Canada vs Cuba and what the trip did for him. He said that I have taught him a thing or two. It is beautiful to see how he is transforming in Cuba. He is becoming sweeter, expressing his emotions more openly and he seems to be happier than before. His attitude on how to approach women and get to their heart is changing. Suddenly he is starting to hug more easily, touch a woman’s hand here and there.. I can see how Cuba is rubbing on him in a good way and that he is seeing new possibilities for himself in his life. I am happy that the tour is giving him this.. a sweeter taste of life. It’s also great to have a guy in the group.. It gives the tour a much more whole feeling..

Ok so then at last our turn came and we got to go to the second floor and wait again on rocking chairs.. we took some more cute pictures and at last the time has come to get our own table. Leanne got to meet the chef with the help of the daring of the queen of Chocolate Ice cream (Loree) and off we were to the table.. Oh yes, this was important because Leanne is a chef. Leanne was declared as the queen of shopping.. the kind of energy that she has when she shops is the kind I told her she needs when she dances Reggaeton.. she was on fire shopping.. Alexei was declared the boxing boy because he used to do boxing and when he dances he tends to use his arms like boxing and we try to soften him up a lot all the time.. Even Zuyima noticed it.. Shannon was of course the Ochunista.. she is a fanatic for Ochun… come to think of it.. we never came up with one for me maybe because I am the tour leader…

So we ordered food and three of us asked for fish soup and got this weird thing that was so thick that we could just not eat… at one point Loree had this painful look on her face that I just cracked up.. she looked like she was suffering.. At that moment when I pointed it out to Leanne, she looked at me and said:”I know what you are thinking.. Hospital food.. “ and that was it.. the laughing and rolling didn’t stop for ten minutes.. it was exactly it and it was painful. While we were rolling on the floor Alexei was enjoying his chicken soup and he seemed to be the only person to enjoy his food. The restaurant by the way was stunning beautiful..

Then the main dish arrived and was amazing.. we all loved it besides Leanne who got something thick again and we returned it. Alexei had fish and seriously was so hungry that I thought he’d pick up the plate and lick it for leftovers. Loree got a “baaaaaah” as she called it.. meaning lamb. And I got chicken with pineapple. Leanne got the thick shrimps. The food was delicious and we were so hungry that we finished the food in about 10 minutes.

After that was desert and Loree had so many options for chocolate that she got lost… eventually she picked one after being pushed by me to the make the choice still tonight. Leanne went for the flan.. probably the best flan I have had in Cuba since I started coming here… We were having fun.. laughing.. talking.. It was a nice evening..

Then on the way back we stopped at Cabaret Nacional… there was supposed to be a Reggaeton night and they all wanted to dance… being Monday it was a very slow night and they decided to stay and I decided to cut it for the night.. I always have a lot more to do than them and I need that extra time.. So off I was to the hotel and to bed… And I was walking on the streets of Havana on my own with my new smashing outfit men were coming on to me left and right.. I just smiled and thanked them and took it all in.. Another great day and night are over and the tour is flowing really well.. The lessons from the first tour have been applied and it is working now..

Tropicana and religious Tambor ceremony

noreply@blogger.com (Chen Lizra) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 00:10:00 +0000

August 1 – yesterday we all went to see the Tropicana. This was my first time ever and it was so worth it. I have seen the Parisien but the Tropicana is bigger, in an open space and quality is higher.. not so much of the dancing but more of costumes, lighting etc. It was magical.. words could not describe the feeling. But when thinking of creating something like a show, this is what comes to mind – being engulfed by culture to the point that you feel on a journey of senses – colours, lighting, costumes etc. Some acts were inspired by African culture, some by Spanish etc. It was a full and embracing experience. We all left buzzing and utterly drunk. I do not get drunk almost ever.. a little tipsy here and there is ok, but drunk no. But we were all wiped. We got a bottle and a half of Ron Reserva Anejo (my favourite) and Kola, and the drinks were flying and we were mixing them Cuban style – ¾ alcohol and ¼ Kola. By the time we left I didn’t even remember that I got up to dance when they did the Conga thing… Only next morning when I saw the video on my camera it rang a bell.

On the way back we took a machina back and we all landed back at my hotel smashed as hell. I retired for the night and the others went on to try some adventures of their own. Next day, Alexei told me about what happened – they ran into some trouble – first they were on the Malecon and people were too drunk that Alexei almost had to get into fights. This is what I warned the first group about… as the festivals start, sometimes people lose control here and it can be dangerous. Alexei has no problem holding his own, but he felt the sensitive situation and was a little concerned. Later when they got back and walked towards their Casa, a person tried to snatch Loree’s bag. She got pissed off and even though the guy did not manage to, she started chasing him screaming after him. Very like Loree to do that.. I could almost imagine it as a funny situation.. but it wasn’t funny.. It was another one of those things that can happen here.. They look like foreigners, they “have” money.. this was a dark street and they were drunk.. great scenario for someone that wants to make some money. When Loree talked to a policeman about this, he asked her if anything has been stolen and when she said that no – he pretty much told her that no crime has been made and to let it go.

So I heard about all of this today when I saw Alexei at around 2:30 PM and we went to see the Conjunto show. The show was very different than usual – tiny and not very impressive as usual. For Alexei it was exciting and interesting because he has never seen one. For me it was disappointing because I knew that it just wasn’t it. But it was cool to see Itsel, Yusimi, Harold, Maikel, Dayana and others perform… And it was great to hang out with all of the dancers after including Julio and Osiris, which are such great guys.

So we hung out for a while.. Yamilet showed up too.. Then I saw Rafael.. Haven’t seen him in ages… He is the size of three people now.. I have never seen him so huge.. Saturday Rumba started very slow and with no energy but then picked up again… Yeri and Israel could not be there this time.. and too bad.. without them it was good but with them it would have been amazing.. They were being missed…

While we were hanging, Julio told me that there was a Tambor going on.. Tambor is a religious ceremony of the Orishas done at someone’s house. This is the non commercial stuff – dancing, music and sometimes possessed people, as I have seen last year. But last year I was in a Cajon and not a Tambor which is different. So they were all planning to go to the Tambor and we’ve decided to go. Alexei went with them while I went to see where the girls were so that they could join us and especially Shannon who begged to be present at one. I also had to go back and say goodbye to Natalie before she left. It was time for her to go back to Israel.
So I didn’t find Natalie, turns out she was sleeping. I did find Shannon and I didn’t find Loree and Leanne. I grabbed Shannon, we took a taxi and headed to the Tambor. In a Tambor you cannot take pictures or film videos. People can get possessed but do not always do. You take part by singing, clapping and dancing and it is very different than the commercial stuff you usually see in the Palenque and other groups.. this is the real deal. And as Julio told me, here he feels something when he dances that comes out f him that he doesn’t feel anywhere else. It is the same for me.. my body starts to produce the different movements of the Orishas, some of which I have never danced before… they just come out of me.. it’s hard to explain but a Tambor is so intense that it somehow makes complete sense.

Shannon was with me and so excited about the opportunity. Alexei arrived with all of my friends.. He has no fear of jumping into things and trying them which is great… I was explaining to Shannon the different Toques and how it works with the music, colours and dancing.. What I didn’t know was that the Tambor is for all of the Orishas but only two got highlighted – Yemaya and Ochun with two cakes in their colour. The party owner told me that a Tambor is a ceremony for them to communicate with other countries to make sure everything is aligned.

The Tambor started with this little boy who finished taking on a saint. As with the adults they have to do all the ceremonies including sacrificing of animals, for example chickens. No animals were being sacrificed that night but the boy was being introduced to the drum so that he will not be possessed by dead spirits. If they do not introduce him to the drum, he will not be known. This is a very spiritual thing.
Usually a Tambor is very long – no set time but the last one that I have been to was about 8 hours long. It comes down to how long the owner of the party wants it to run and also if a person is possessed or not. If they are, you have to wait till it breaks. This Tambor was strange because usually the music is played live for hours and hours with no breaks.. the energy is so strong that it can be overwhelming.. they drink nonstop and smoke cigars and all in all you just feel the energy building and building. You feel like you lose control. This Tambor, maybe because they didn’t have enough musicians, had stops and starts.. so even though it felt like it was building, it wasn’t as intense. Alexei was full of it at one point, it was clear. Shannon was glowing but never been to one so it was easy to feel that she was not used to the intensity. She felt it all. I felt it go over and I always feel at one point that I wish it was over already but at the same time don’t want it to sstop, like I want to be able to take it all in and expand emotionally.

I love being in Tambors.. it’s hard to explain the experience. And being there with all my friends was even better.. Yolanda, Dayan and me were dancing.. Julio was jamming it.. Osiris was being Osiris and at the best of time hilarious… Yusimi was as soft and fragile as ever.. and Shannon and Alexei were in heaven.. They have never seen anything like this.

Shannon did not dance at first and one guy told her that she should join. To come to a Tambor means to bring your energy to the party to help build it up. You cannot watch it like a tourist.. you need to join and help cause it. I was in heaven too.. I love this stuff. It’s deep, intense and spiritual.

One woman started getting possessed and I do not know why it stopped but she did not enter the trance fully. I was looking forward to the part that follows which is the part that they start telling the truth to people about their lives and they start to call you on it so that you will act in your life. Julio explained to me that there were not many Santeros in the party so that made it hard to get possessed. When I asked him if anyone could get possessed in fear that I would be the one, he said that this is rare. It could happen, but rare. He also told me that if it did happen, I would just remember blinking and I would not remember any of it in any case. Next minute I’d remember waking up as if I just blinked even if it was hours later. I was trying to keep focused to make sure I would not because my intuition told me that I was in a state that I could.. not that I am sure that I could prevent it if it needed to happen but just in case… When Julio asked me if I was scared of the possessed people I told him that yes after the freaky woman that yeri turned into last year when she got possessed… but I wasn’t scared of possessed people in general.. but that old lady was nasty and I kept getting confused between her and Yeri, so she’d scream at me. The strangest feeling Was when Yeri came in and out of it as it broke and it was fading away. She’s hug me like she missed me and a second later she’d snap back into it and talk strange and be all nasty in some African language and then switch again. It was scary.

Back to this party, the little boy that went through the ceremony had a brother named Lazaro and I was joking with him that he is like Lazaro Ros the famous singer for Afro-Cuban music. He liked it. Over the evening we became friends so I asked him at the end of the night if we were friends now and he said that yes and jumped on me with a huge hug. So so so so sweet. Before I left, we were downstairs and I asked him where my hug was. He gave me a big hug and said sadly:”you won’t come and visit me anymore?” Ouch… that went straight in. I looked at him and smiled and said:”Tell Julio when you want me to visit and I will come and see you again.” He smiled happy and I could not glow with so much love from him. Cuba is this kind of a place where you live in the moment and you live from your heart.

As the evening progressed they were singing songs to the different Orishas – Ochun, Yemaya, Eleggua, Ochosi etc. Shannon was next to me and I was explaining to her the Toques that I knew so she started getting the story of what was going on… They had an Orisha that I did not know Iroko – which someone explained to me was the path to Obatala. Shannon was fascinated. It was exactly what she was looking for as an experience.

Yolanda and Dayana were jamming all these moves and I was just coping the best I could.. At one point Osiris comes a long and gives me shit for dancing Guaguanco. Then he turns to Yolanda and says: ’it isn’t her fault but yours (hers and dayana).” They were goofing and I was copying. So they took the “Boss’s” words and changed back to Orishas. My Orishas training was really starting to make sense and while I was explaining things to Shannon I realized how much it is all connected. If you don’t get the music, costumes/colours, dance moves and story of each Orisha, you are left out. At that point Alexei arrived as if on cue and gave Shannon and me a description of the event that was as dry as a stick and asked if this would summarize what a Tambor is. I looked at him and said:”You killed it.” Later on the next day he said to me that after a while it was a little boring for him. I explained that he stayed on a very superficial level.

The alcohol was flying left and right. Part of being able to organize a Tambor is being able to afford it. It cost a lot and you have to save money for it. They were giving beer and rum free for everyone. I could not drink. When they asked me why I explained that the night before in the Tropicana I drank too much. My stomach said no to alcohol and that lasted a few days. I do not usually drink much but in Cuba it is part of the freedom that you feel. Drinking makes you a bit looser like lubricating life. You stop to think so much and start to flow more. It doesn’t take much. But when we were in the Tropicana we mixed our own drinks which were so alcoholic and I didn’t put a cap on it. By the time we got back, I was so drunk and so was everyone else. Next day I could feel in my body that I was close to alcohol poisoning. I had to back away from drinking and take care of my body till I could bring it back to normal. Because I dance, I know what my body needs. It needed a lot of fluid and a lot of juice fruits, plus some food. It took till Monday to recover. So no drinking for me in the Tambor which made it harder to take in. Shannon and Alexei were enjoying the free drinks as was everyone else.

Shannon is very much into the Santeria that at the end I needed to translate for her conversations with some people. She wanted to find an Orisha priest and to take part in some ceremonies, plus find out who her main Orisha is. Only Orula can decide but she has a hunch that it might be Ochun since she has dreams where Ochun speaks to her and guides her. When I explained this to the guy, he dragged us to the back and introduced her to a woman who was part of the family, who is supposed to be hard core Santera. They do not take these things lightly. A woman that has strong Ochun connection and can speak to Ochun is something to look into right away. So Shannon left with a phone number and glowing like a peacock. She felt she was on track with her mission here. Since I am training in Ochun right now and people tell me that I have Ochun energy, Shannon and I share a strong bond. Shannon is also very intuitive like me and there are moments when we get it and no one else does and we just look at each other and smile.

So that was it.. it was time to go and we all decided to continue to the Malecon to check out the Havana Carnival… When I came downstairs and gave Lazaron the hug, when he asked me if I would come back, Yusimi joined us. She gave Lazaro a big hug after me.. I smiled and waited.. but then I realized that she was crying.. I gave her a big hug and asked what was going on. She chocked on it.. She couldn’t talk.. so I took her arm and we started walking.. She was crying.. She was deeply sad.. Yusimi is this beautiful little flower.. sexy like top sexy, sweet and very fragile and soft.. as feminine as it gets…

Everyone was getting ready to move.. Yusimi and I were walking.. to loosen her up I told her something about me that was very personal about what I was here to achieve in my life, the walls that I wanted to bring and where they were coming from.. “my story”… I told her what Cuba provided for me a mirror. Telling her this made her comfortable to talk to me about what was bothering her. Turned out that her boyfriend was cheating on her and she was living with him. She was heartbroken. She truly loves the guy and yet he is bad for her, yet she had no power in her to get up and leave. So I said to her that someone that cheats is a personality thing and that he will not change. That the pain that she feels will only get better. I asked her what she would recommend I’d do if it was me telling her the same story. She said that she’d tell me to leave him. So she knew what she needed to do but needed the support. As we talked and walked and I hugged her with lots of love, when she felt weak or a connection to what I said, she’d give me this big hug or just squash my hand with caring, as to take energy from the love that was being offered to her. I told her that she could call me any time even in the middle of the night if she needed to. She promised me that by the next time I am back, she will be with a different boyfriend. I told her I’d hold her to her word. She decided to leave him and move out the next day.

As we took a break to drink some juice, Yusimi did her own thing.. when I connected with her ten minutes later, she was like a flower that was falling down again. I looked into her beautiful dark and deep eyes and said:”No, no, no.. Yusimi, like Ochun… where is your pride… like Ochun..” as I said it, her chin lifted up and you could see her pride come up and her strength take over.. It was hard because he was there and yet they were not even talking.. Since we were heading to Vinales next day, I told her that I’d talk to her when I was back.

The rain started, people were getting drunk on the streets and we actually past one really bad fight… as we got closer to the Malecon it started raining really hard. Osiris lined us up all under something to wait and started bossing everyone around. But Osiris does it in such a funny way that we could not crack up. While all of this was going on, he was making sure everyone was drinking Rum, lubricating the evening.. Ha ha ha.. I couldn’t. Julio and I hit this really interesting conversation about Raul and Fidel and the situation in Cuba.. He was saying how some things really bother him about Cuba. Julio is so deep and real and beautiful inside out. He said to me at the party that I remind him of Yeri, that we have the same energy and similar way of doing things. Not surprisingly Yeri feels like my black twin sister. I swear to god that in another life I must have been Cuban and Yeri must have been my twin sister or something. It just all seems to real.

Eventually the rain started calming down and Osiris was “driving the herd”.. seriously, it felt like it but with a lot of funny jokes on his part… it’s just very Osiris.. everyone was laughing at how he was doing things… Everyone wanted to go out to a disco and Osiris got them organized.. That was my cue to go so I left Shannon and Alexei in good hands and left Osiris to lead everyone. He does it so well.. if he wasn’t there, they would all spread out. They like it when Osiris takes charge.
I got back to the hotel and organized things for the next day for our trip to Vinales. A friend called me and gave me shit for not coming to see him yet, considering that I was there for three weeks. There was no way that I could avoid it anymore. So I got my ass in gear and left for the party. There goes the signing off early for the night. I went to sleep at 3 and woke up early to organize everything for the trip to Vinales. What a great day for everyone.

Cuba as calm as the sea

noreply@blogger.com (Chen Lizra) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 00:09:00 +0000

July 31 – life in Havana is calm.. we have gotten into a groove and there are no big dramas, but lots of fun. The second tour is flowing way better than the first. Classes are going well.. everyone is in classes in the morning, then afternoon we plan either to go out or to go around the city and then at night time crash.
Yesterday the show we were supposed to see got cancelled because of anational holiday. So we went around the cit. learning my lessons from the first tour, I decided to just give them a tour of everything is and then let the loose to spend time where they would like to spend it. It works better. And so we did.. We walked around all Havana, spent some good time in Via Uno buying Brazilian stunning shoes… then went to see some important locations in Havana Vieja and then continued to the open market where I left them to spend the rest of the time. Then they had the rest of the evening free..

Then next day they had classes in the morning, then we all met for lunch and they had free time till night time. We are meeting in a few hours to go to see the Tropicana. This is my first time. I have seen the Parisien but never the Tropicana.. one of the most famous shows in the world. I can’t wait to see it.. It’s in an open space and we are all excited beyond words.

Yesterday I got stuck with my training. I reached an emotional wall and I couldn’t pass it. So I had to take the day off. Today I had inflammation in my shoulder – the body always reflects the emotional state. Not very surprising. So I had to take it easy. Instead yesterday I got a massage and today I went to the pool, which is at last open. And I feel so much better..

Top that with the fact that I am probably the luckiest person on earth to have people like Ana-Maria, Zuyima, Yeri and Israel in my life… they just envelope me with love. They are amazing. Ana-Maria is one of the warmest, most caring people that I have ever met. She is there for me for anything that I need, any time day or night, just like a mom. She listens to my stories and shares with me her great advice and years of experience. She is just so cool. I adore her. So she guides me through things in Cuba and teaches me how to do things as a mom would teach her daughter. Her and Zuyima give me “homework” to do to break through the emotional walls in my dance and I am always a really good student. Anything they give me, I try. Ad it always works.

So for example, Zuyima pointed out to me that I have to take in all the great things that men say to me on the streets. She explained that they are for me because I said that they come on to anything that moves. She was right. I tested it. If I dress a certain way and put certain energy on, men talk to me differently than if I am in my own world and don’t care what I wear. She said that it is important because what they say doesn’t touch me and because of that I cannot master Ochun’s feelings of being proud as the owner of the country.. her pride is huge. So I’ve been doing homework and taking it all in and today I just felt stunning being complimented all the time by so many men and being chased after.. I couldn’t help but smile to myself as I walked and as I did, I got more comments.

At lunch time Alexei noticed it and told me, you are glowing.. How could I not when men make me feel so beautiful. Every woman would. Interestingly enough, Alexei being here is starting to become sweeter.. he is starting to learn from Cuban men that to get to a woman’s heart, you have to make her feel good.. Suddenly what he says is softer and nicer… Not as aggressive as it used to be..

So feeling all beautiful, it was time to gain some more colour.. and pool it was… funny enough I met some Cubans there.. one of which is a professional dancer who knows a lot of the people that I know..he lives in Paris.. We hung out.. ate.. drank… at one point I was tanning on my bed and I feel some water on my foot.. then some more.. then some more.. that after the 5th time I looked and they were spraying water at me to get me to join them in the water.. I was so relaxed that I really didn’t feel like it.. So they came to get me and threw me in the water – grabbed my feet and warms… and laughed that this is what they do when you are part of the family… I couldn’t help but laugh so hard… then a water fight started and we were spraying water on everyone..the tourists around were smiling… it was one heel of a water fight… At the end, I couldn’t see anything anymore.. my eyes were just burning.. but I had a huge smile on my face… So good to be in the moment again here in Havana and have time to enjoy the moment…

I eventually left for my room to rest a bit and get ready for the Tropicana show…

Kick ass dancing with professional dancers

noreply@blogger.com (Chen Lizra) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:10:00 +0000

July 29 – what a great day. E all had classes this morning. I was on fire today.. We did one hour of Ochun and Afro-Cuban contemporary. I love this stuff. I am getting better with exteriorized pride. I also love the softness and flow of Afro-Cuban contemporary. We are working on such a cool choreography. It feels good. Probably the best practice/class I have had since I got here.

Then I had one hour of Salsa working on toning down my style. Zuyima was showing me how to dance more contained. She said that I have so much natural fire inside me when I dance that I burn it out on the dance floor and I make everything too intense and big.. noooo.. that couldn’t be me.. ha ha ha…so she gave me exercises to do where I’ve had to channel this energy in a softer and more contained way.. It felt strange and awkward to me.. I am not used to it.. but I loved how it felt the little that I got to feel. When I danced that night, I felt the difference as I applied it to my dancing.. best practice I could ask for..

We’ve had lunch and all got caught up.. found out what everyone learned and how their classes are going. We have a really good group.. everyone wants to learn more and do better… It’s easy to get them to agree on what we will do and everyone want more dancing and more culture..

After lunch I took them around to show them some of the stores for clothing. From past experience from the last trip, walking with a group where everyone wants something else made it too much. So the change is to now show them where things are and let them choose when they want to go there and how long they want to spend there. It seemed to work great..

Then we each had about an hour to an hour and a half left till we had to meet and go out to this cool place – outside – where many f the Cuban professional dancers hang. I managed to squeeze in about 20 minutes of a nap before the phone rang and Ana-Maria was on the line. I didn’t get to call her back yet… Didn’t get to stop all day.. and when I got to the hotel, I crashed.. I love Cuban naps.. the last trip was so intense that we didn’t get in that groove. Now Cuban naps are back and they feel so good.. even though right now they seem a little too short… but we are running on pure energy from dancing anyway and everyone in the group wants to go out and dance and have fun… so no worries…

So we all met around 4:30 PM at the lobby and took a taxi to the location, including Natalie. When we got to the place where the matinee was supposed to start at 5 PM there was nothing there… so we asked and they said in about an hour.. We decided to stay for the hour and hang and they let us in.. We walked into this beautiful area which was outside with a roof, looked amazing sound and it looked like this place would hold an amazing night… outdoor, yet covered… huge space and an amazing dance floor.. Oh yes and a stage for a live band.

So we explored a bit and found out that there was a pool there. It was so hot that we wished that we could go on in and swim but no one of us had a bathing suit or anything like it on. We went to get some drinks and as usual started dancing. Everybody was busting a move – Loree, Leanne, Shannon, Alexei and Natalie was filming for me. You could tell that the kind of Cubans that hung there were not jineteros. They were sweet. When they saw that we loved dancing.. they joined and started leading. So the party got a little bigger.. it’s so easy to get parties started here.. And or someone that loves dancing, this is a heaven come true.
So we danced and had some drinks and around 6 PM we heard some sounds of drums so we thought the show would start soon. They told us to buy entrance tickets which only cost 3 CUC… woohoo.. so we went and took care of it. Then found a great table, since we were the first ones. This jinetero type of guy danced with me and I couldn’t wait for the dance to be over.. It was obvious that it wasn’t about dancing. Then a family of a mother and twin daughters arrived and they were with three hot Cuban guys.. from the look of it.. the Cuban guys were “working.” No clue if the family got it. One of the hot Cuban guys got up and started dancing like he wished to have fun.. So I invited him to dance.. Usually when you ask someone like that, he would get happy that there is someone that can match the energy.. but this got weird by the minute and he danced with me like a truck could go between us.. obviously Natalie and I were right – he was working! He made me feel so bad, like he really didn’t want to, that I wished this dance could end too.. Not only that but he danced rough that he twisted my arm and it hurt real bad. At that point the “dance” was over.

But then this nice Cuban guy came and asked me to dance and that was flowing. At last.. It was still fairly empty… At around 8 PM it filled up.. so much for a matinee.. Cuban time.. And then Jinetero in denial arrived and the whole table seemed full of jineteros. And then Jinetero from the Florida who was dancing with the 4 women arrived too.. Once you know who they are, you see them everywhere. And that is why I do not let them into my life. Not even a door to say hi. So Jinetero in denial who sent me an e-mail after the incident at the Florida to say that too bad that this is where things went because he liked my style of dancing, saw that this was not going anywhere. I ignored his presence. He got an e-mail back that said:”Sorry, but this isn’t working for me.” After about 15 minutes there and no eye contact, he came up to me and returned my business card. The door was not going to be opened. He missed his opportunity to show something genuine. And he wanted to make as strong a statement back. I took my card back and that was that. Later on when we ended up in a Rueda together, we did not even look at each other. I have real friends here. I don’t feel that I have to be friends with everyone and someone that tries to work me like that like a tourist is someone that will never walk into my life and be part of it.

Jinetero number 2 from La Florida was a funny thing. I danced with him there and my Cuban mother and Zuyima were teaching me tricks how to get what I want from Cuban men. How to speak to them, what to say to them. Precious knowledge. So when I dance with someone who dances too stiff… to aggressive.. it makes my shoulders lock up. Zuyima told me to say to the person to relax and showed me how to do it in a soft way. So with jinetero number 2 at Florida, I used that and cracked a joke with him that he doesn’t have enough sex. A very Cuban thing to say. He was shocked like how come I know what to say and do like a Cuban in a sweet way that they do it… He said:”I don’t have love.” Of course he doesn’t… he is a jinetero working women for money… but the important thing is that he was looser after I said that to him which was great. So when he saw me at the outdoor place he asked me to dance. After a minute, he asked me:”Is it better now?” I said:”You still need sex… but hey you are working all night..” he smiled this mischief smile yet gave me a shocked look as if to distract from the truth. Another typical jinetero tactic… but his smile said it all.

Then Curi arrived and I was in heaven. He is a professional dancer originally from Trinidad. He looks like Israel’s little brother and he dances like a god. He has this unique style where he mixes it all.. his flow is amazing.. He is about half a head shorter than me but he dances as if he is taller than me at least one head higher. When I met him in Casa de la Musica about two weeks ago there were so many Cuban professional dancers that we never got to dance together. It was time!
So we hit the dance floor and he is so smooth and soft when he dances.. so accurate and so playful.. I love his style of dancing.. I was working on incorporating what Zuyima was teaching me today into my partner dancing. It was so much better. I noticed suddenly how easy it is to copy the style of the person in front of me and since he is a guy, his style is a lot harder and masculine. So instead I was focusing on the feminine sentiment that we worked on today and it felt a lot better and softer and more relaxed.

Zuyima said to me today:”You have a big fire inside of you naturally. When you dance, you have to contain it. Sometimes you explode out and when you do, you make things too big. You need to need to channel this amazing energy.” So I was working on channeling.. doing my homework while having fun.. And it felt a lot nicer and softer.

It’s very interesting because when I dance and I feel what I am dancing, it feels to me like I am doing nothing. So I make it bigger so that I can feel it. But the bigger is over exaggerated and Zuyima is teaching me how to feel the subtle motion which is so much more beautiful in my eyes.. It’s not something that comes natural to me because I have so much charisma as they tell me here, but I am going after what I really want in my dance.

Last night after the dance with Curi, I couldn’t sit down for 5 seconds.. they line up was an evening long and I think that I danced about 2 or 3 hours straight. The interesting thing is that the people that asked me to dance with them said:”me encanta tu estilo de bailar” (I love your style of dancing). I have never gotten that before and they kept coming back or more. Not only that, but at least 4 or 5 guys gave me a kiss on the cheek as we were dancing, as they expressed it, for what I made them feel when I danced with them. I never got that before. I am so happy with the results.. now I am even more akin to bring down this wall and to learn how to express my emotions in my dancing in a softer and much more seductive and feminine way. Seriously, I was in heaven from all of this and I was still buzzing for a few hours later. The only reason I stopped dancing was because I had no food and my body had nothing else to burn..

Loree, Shannon, Leanne and Alexei were busting moves all night and the train of leads and followers were going to our table nonstop. They just hear music and they jump right in.. the music and dancing is in their heart. Curi was dancing to himself at one point doing sueltas and mixing it with other stuff and Alexei got so excited that he jumped right in and joined him. If you ask Alexei to show you something he gets a little shy when it comes to new stuff… but turn the music on and if it has energy in it and he just can’t help himself but explode out… his attitude towards women is also slowly starting to soften up… he is learning little thing that make him, what Cubans call, a little more Carino.

Shannon and Leanne were in heaven.. they danced and danced and danced.. they both have fire inside them that explodes with the music… You just mention anything Ochun around Shannon and she loses it.. the girl is addicted to anything yellow and Ochun.. so when I showed her what I am working on for the new Afro—Cuban Contemporary class and for the show.. she got so excited.. she has contemporary background so she shares with me the whole thing of liking the free flow and emotional expression of it… It’s an amazing feeling to feel it… Shannon can really but a move… I caught her later on camera dancing Reggaeton and she has no fear of putting it all out.. We then danced together some hot and sexy moves… This was at the pool in our little Reggaeton party..

Loree was dancing and mixing things.. I have never seen her do that before.. she sees the playful way of dancing and she tries to imitate it and mix it.. she was throwing in Reggaeton moves.. it was sweet.

Natalie was dancing every once in a while but she was having a hard time knowing there were so many jineteros there. She doesn’t know yet how to separate it so it isn’t personal and to let it be just about dance.

When we felt that with no food we would faint, we decided to head back and get some food. We took to taxis back and on the way back they put on Reggaeton and the two taxis were shaking as we were shaking and dancing.. The Cubans were laughing and enjoying themselves… They love a good party and good energy.. And this was the happiest taxis around…

We got some food and that was it for the night for me.. I had to go back and make some phone calls and then I crashed and all I could remember was that it was morning again. He he he.. time for another day to start…

We go exploring in Marina Hemingway

noreply@blogger.com (Chen Lizra) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:06:00 +0000

July 28 – Yesterday was a fun day. We had some really good adventures and hanging with Alexei and Loree was fun… they flow well from one thing to the other. At night time we went to La Florida to dance Salsa. Natalie joined us too. Florida is this kind of a place where there are tons of jineteros. They come there because the women that they are “working” on (and some women who work on men too) can pay for them just 5 CUC, get two free drinks and have a place with a live band and air conditioning. It’s perfect for many that want to fund their “novios.” So I am not always crazy about the vibe but the dancers and dancing are great.

It was a Monday night so a slower night.. but even a slower night in Havana has great dancing. Alexei was trying his new moves on the dance floor with Cuban women. Natalie was mostly watching and I danced as much as I could. Natalie looked at me at one point and said:”This is the first time I feel relaxed.” I felt the same. Suddenly the softness started coming back to my dancing and I could relax and express myself that I realized how much my feelings have affected my dancing. I had a blast at the party. I played with the music.. I played with my dance partners.. Played with my body moves..

The head of the band came to me and said:”I love your style of Casino. I want to dance with you.” I said:”come and get me for the next song.” His style of dance was amazing.. I really enjoyed it. He led so well.. had such interesting combinations and he just made me laugh. A Cuban woman was watching my every move, as some others around, since they knew I am a Yuma. At one point when I played the game well, I looked at her and gave her this wink.. as to our little trick/secret and smiled.. she laughed… That’s very Cuban…

When I was done, this annoying jinetero came to talk to me and was trying to “open the door.”This is how they start the process.. if they find a door to open they use it next time to say:”hey, you remember me from here and there..” and they hang like a leech. So he tried:”I’ve seen you dancing everywhere.. blah blah blah..” gave me some compliments about my dancing.. and I just thanked him and ended the conversation. Natalie looked at me and smiled.. she was observing the “work” of the other jinetero - especially hot, sexy and cute - who danced with me the song before. He was putting a full day of work, working on about 4 women at the same time, all of them older and with money. Natalie was pointing all of this to me and we were both observing the game… analyzing his every move and fake expression of attraction.. He was pushing buttons to get what he wanted.

Then we couldn’t help but miss Shay who left mid day… Where was Shay when we needed him to crack jokes and charm the jineteros with his open and warm personality? So we sent him a text to remind him of the fact that the jineteros were working hard on us and he was in demand.. ha ha ha

I was watching Alexei’s moves.. he was struggling going from Ballroom style to Cuban style.. one very stiff and the other so loose… but it was great to see how he was trying to use all that he learned in classes on the dance floor.. that’s the way to go if you want to own it.

On the way back Natalie and me were talking about the jineteros and getting Alexei caught up with the game and all that is going on around him…He did not notice what we saw at the club… He was not aware of the game of seduction and its purpose…
When we got back to the neighborhood where we were all staying, I saw Sam on the side of the street waiting. Sam is a sweet girl.. She is a beautiful black girl who has all the moves inside her body. She met a Cuban guy before but he didn’t feel right, but then just a few days before leaving she met a really sweet guy.. I met him once.. it was easy to tell from his energy that he was a good guy. When I saw her sitting there and walked up to her, it was obvious from the way she spoke that she was falling in love with him.. since this is a good guy, that’s a good thing.. but obviously today was a hard day for her leaving.. She said last night that she will be very sad to leave. She was waiting for him that evening.. to see him for the last time.

When I saw Melba today and I told her that Loree who is now staying at her house is crazy like Vida, yet different. Melba laughed and said that she already misses the girls.. she liked having them around.. they were a little rowdy, as she said, but they were great. She said that Vida was crying when it was time to go, that it was hard for her.

Tracey I saw the night before to see if she was feeling ok since she was very sick for a few days and I wasn’t sure if she will be able to fly back. But after they called a doctor for her and got her medication, after two days she was doing better. I know that it will be hard for all of them to adjust back to life in Canada after the experiences they had here.

I woke up in the morning, grabbed my quick breakfast and went to do my classes. At breakfast I met this German guy which I have seen around in the hotel all the time and helped with various things.. He sat with me for breakfast.. he was asking me about my work and said:”you live a very unique life.” I do.. I am lucky… I love the life that I have created…

As for classes today – well, I did one hour of Afro-Cuban which went so so.. The emotion is so hard for me that I told Zuyima that she has to force me to go where I don’t want to go. It’s good for my dancing but feels so uncomfortable. I am in and out of feeling pride in Ochun and I need to break through this.. I don’t need more and more technique.. I need more and more sentiment.. So I sucked at it again.. And Zuyima because of this asked me after:”how was the class today? I said that it was good but I feel very bad.. but feeling bad is not a bad thing.. I need to work through this till I get better at it.. this is the most important part about my dancing.. her class was great.. the feeling bad will go away once I will improve and we are going exactly where I am the weakest…” Excellent!

In Salsa we worked on softening my body movements.. Zuyima told me that I attack the moves and need to do them softer. I never have a mirror here to see what I look like but when I dance the way she says is right, it feels as if I am not using my body. She said that this is the problem, that I am exaggerating it. So we used the TV to reflect me so that I could see it. It was very interesting and it helped soften me up a lot.. What feels right to me is not right.

So classes are going good.. I will also do Chachacha and Yambu which are softer and require a lot more sentiment.. the focus is on feelings in dancing..

Then after classes I went to organize a few things and came to eat lunch. Then went to find Leanne and Shannon who were waiting at the Lobby of the hotel. I set them up at the casa with Melba and Alberto. They were so happy to be here. They arrived after bonding in Toronto for two days where they were stuck for a few days. So they were set up and ready to go.. and I went to grab Loree who is also staying at the same house. Loree was hanging out with Landi, Iri’s brother who lives in Canada. Alexei was with both of them.. So we got everyone set up and everyone met everyone.. It’s a small and calm tour.

They all got a break till 5 PM.. we are going to see Van Van in Casa de la Musica.. the best of the best of Cuban music live! My most favourite band in the whole world! I am not kidding… there is no one better for me than Van Van… and I love a matinee.
This week we have a good plan of things.. They have also asked about going to see the Tropicana which is one of the most famous cabaret shows in the whole world. I have only seen the Parisien and hope that everyone will want to go. It’s supposed to be a show of a lifetime. Zuyima, Yeri, Israel and Landi might be coming with us to dance this week which would be so much fun. And I want to take the gang to see a show that I haven’t seen yet that everyone says is great and tons of Cuban professional dancers hang there. So busy week with lots of fun things and it seems that getting them into the groove will be easy…

Wow.. wow.. wow.. got back from Van Van.. what a night and what a welcoming party for Leanne and Shannon. These guys were all over the show… they were jamming it.. dancing their butts off.. Alexei was trying things that he didn’t even know he could do - dancing with two girls together. Leanne, Shannon and Loree were sandwitching him… They all found Cubans to dance with and were trying also Reggaeton moves. Shannon already said that it will be hard for her to leave, that she feels at home here, and this is just day one. I knew someone who works there who arranged an amazing table for us just under the stage.. it was the best spot in the house. She is one of the most slimy woman I have ever met.. this big and aggressive woman. When the drinks arrived she told us the price. I didn’t remember but Natalie told me that the price “went up” from last week. So I told that woman that no, we were not going to pay for this high price. She eventually said:”ok.. for you..” What seems friendly ain’t always so.

This group is more street savvy and it’s easier to go with them places because I don’t need to explain as much. They do not attract the jiniteros as much since they do not stand out as much. It’s also a much smaller group which makes it easier to match expectations and get everyone going. At one point in the evening they were playing Reggaeton and I got Leanne to dance with this professional Cuban dancer. Leanne gave it all.. the guy was shocked by her sexiness and sabor that he came to her and said:”you are fantastic. You are amazing.” He looked at me and said:”Is she your student?” And I was proud to say that yes she was. She made me proud! She has no shame to dancing sexy and this is a good start for another person for the performance team. As with Sam the seed has been planted.. the flower has to come out by itself. If the Cubans will pick her, she will be ready.

Loree and Alexei are already doing classes and are trying their new moves on the dance floor. Leanne and Shannon will start tomorrow. Shannon saw me dance Rumba and now wants to learn it. I plan to start a class of Rumba when I am back.. We will see how much training I can do when everyone leaves… But it’s time to see Rumba in Vancouver.. It’s time for he came to take over the city and for others to see the energy and beauty of it.

Sam and I hope Leanne too will be part f the group.. And two others who have trained here that Zuyima was raving about. Hopefully all goes well and I have a few more in mind that can fit the concept.. If all goes well.. We will have a solid group and something very unique.. Then I hope that Vancouver will start to see things that they haven’t seen before.

As for me and Van Van… at first I had no one to dance with.. the processionals were not there as last time since the group that brought them did not pay for them again. And their level of dancing was being missed. II was scanning the dance floor for someone that dances like I like.. someone that would light me up. I danced a bit here and there and not much was going on.. then suddenly I saw two guys dancing together which were on fire.. they danced like Sueltas with Reggaeton, Rumba and Orisha moves. One guy had my style. Shannon later asked me to define the style but I couldn’t… when I see it I know it. But her and Leanne were making fun of me that one minute I was observing and the second I darted on a mission. Shannon said she saw my spine just spike and my body just focus straight as I went for it. I later explained to them that they have to look for someone that they would like to dance with and then ask them to dance once others can see that you can dance and if you make yourself available, they will ask you out. It’s the vibe you give.

So I came up to him and asked him to dance. He said yes.. We got on the dance floor and it was magic.. my dancing is back.. It was stock for two weeks because everything was so stressful. Now that I am relaxed and in the moment, my styling is back and softness is back. He had exactly the kind of style I like.., he mixes styles, he plays, he ads body waves and Reggaeton flow into his moves… We were on fire.. I wished the song would never end and I could dance like this for ever. Even the high heels did not bother me. I just let go of my head and felt the music and connection to him. When I asked him if he was professional, he said that no. he was one hell of a high level bailador (street dancer). I was in heaven.

Later on Natalie mentioned to me what I always say:”the way you dance is the way you live your life.” And we talked about being stressed and how it affected my dancing. She said that it can be reversed as well, that the way we live our lives is the way we dance too. Both are strong mirrors and can provide an insight to the fact that we need to let go. Big red lights. I love dance.. it is the blood that runs through my body, heart an passion.

So later on in the evening I asked another guy to dance. He is a professional dancer. He said yes and asked me:”like a professional or regular.” I picked him because I could see his styling so I said professional. So he asked me:”Are you sure?” and I said yes. So he said:”ok, I’ll try regular.” There was n point explaining so I just danced. After one minute he said:”you dance like a professional. Where did you learn to dance like this?” with utter excitement. I explained that in the Conjunto and said to him that I told him professional. He said:”I apologize.” Then we boosted our moves on the dance floor. He was a great dancer but not the kind of style that lights me up on fire like the other dancer. But it as fun dancing with him because he plays in so many ways and throws things in from all styles. Then there was some Reggaeton and the chemistry in Reggaeton was on fire. Since sentiment has been an issue in my dancing I was being a good girl and doing “homework” of practicing my emotions. Hitting a Cuban guys heart deep is easy because they live with an open heart. And dancing with a guy who doesn’t block what he feels made my movements so easy and seductive. All I needed to do is make him feel.. suddenly the movements that I knew from classes got a new meaning and new ones came out that I didn’t know I could do. When some of the group asked me later on about my dancing, I did not know what I danced.. All I know is that the music took over and the connection to the Cuban guy and the rest was just flow and seduction.

But for him this was too much.. after two songs f sexy, sweaty and amazing connection.. he said that he couldn’t dance with me anymore and had to leave for a few songs to cool off. He came back later and said that he needed to talk to me. He took me to the side and said:”I am not a jinetero. I have work. I do not need money. You have been here many times. You know how it works. But what you made me feel.. to me you are the most amazing woman in the world right now. I love your charisma.. what flows out of you when you dance.. from your heart.. wait let me show you…” and he dragged me again to this lady that sold flowers and got me a stunning red rose. Very very sweet. I said to him:”You are sweet and this is heartwarming but I don’t do the Cuban thing. I don’t jump into things here and look for a boyfriend. If you want to, you can hang out and I don’t mind getting to know you. But I won’t do things the Cuban way. That’s not why I am here”

For the rest of the evening he was around.. he danced with me.. but he also gave me space to do my thing not like most Cubans who will turn you in 5 minutes into a girlfriend and that is it. So the rest of the evening was fun.. we drank and danced our butts off.. Van Van was such a highlight again and the gang liked it s so much. I was smiling to myself the whole evening.. How could I not.. I got a beautiful flower to make me feel good from a guy who was not a jinetero. That really warmed my heart.

After Van Van we went to the Barrio Chino (Chinatown) to get some food and then we all retired for the night. I think that we all had this huge smile on our faces.. the energy was amazing.. end of day one of everyone being together.

New tour starts different

noreply@blogger.com (Chen Lizra) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 01:53:00 +0000

July 27 – after yesterday I talked to Zuyima and Yeri about the tour and how it ended and what I thought. Zuyima said:”I know why you feel responsibility for them and I know the dangerous but all you can do is to explain to them that it is their responsibility once they take off.” Yeri understood why it sat heavy on my heart and why I said that I needed to change it because it wasn’t working. So as tour number two started today, it was time to set a different tone to it. I sat down with Alexei and Loree and explained to them briefly how the tour would work and what would change from the previous one and why. They understood. Week one will be tighter where I will get them into the culture and expose them to all the cool things like with the other group. Week two will allow them to choose if to do cultural things with me or to take off to have their own adventures. Weekends are a must as is the final party. No option to drop those. I also explained to them that if they want to make their own Cuban friends, they can from week two, but that this cannot mix with the tour. Yeri and I talked previous about the conflict. I live here like a Cuban and just like Yeri I do not bring Jineteros into my life. Not every person who is Cuban is a Jinetero but when girls are going to have a good time and meet some hot guys, many times it won’t be the kind that I will keep in my life and in that sense there has to be separation. This is the point when people should ten do what they want and enjoy the knowledge that they gained from the tour and my knowledge of Cuba.

So this morning Loree and Alexei started taking classes.. and in a day or two they will have their groove. We are meeting soon for lunch and then we will go around the city to see cool things. Today is Monday and it’s a slow day for going out.. so we will take it easy. Tomorrow the girls will arrive and we can start the tour fully. Today was a quiet day and that’s a good thing.. It was nice to relax and enjoy the simplest that I love about Cuba.

Ok.. time for lunch…

I me Loree and Alexei today at the lobby.. Loree still had a rented car so we’ve decided to go for a little tour to places that I have never been to see what is there.. to just explore.. They went to pick up the car and I went to make plans with Shay for later since he is leaving back to Israel… We wanted to do a last interview on the bicitaxi before heading out.. So that we will have all the material for the trailer that we want to make for the doc movie that we are developing.

Alexei and Loree showed up about 40 minutes later.. she got lost… I jumped in the car ad we headed out. They wanted to eat where we were going at the Hemingway Marina in Playa, someone said that there were nice restaurants.

On the way there, we saw from the Avenida in Miramar where all the embassies are the sea to our right. I pointed it out to Loree and both her and Alexei were like:”Let’s go explore.” When we got towards the sea it was a little stop where Cubans come to chill and enjoy the water jumping into the water from the rocks. So we got out and hung out for just a bit.. took pictures.. Some Cubans wanted us to take their pictures.. I was telling them that they had to pose for us a real cool picture.. they were in the water and they were really enjoying being photographed.

Then we got back into the car and drove to the Marina. It was pretty far and it was interesting to expand that far… to know what was there… There wasn’t anything super interesting really but it was just a cool experience.. besides that Alexei and Loree were in the same frame of mind so it was easy to move from one idea to the other..Loree was also excited about the sailing because she sails and competes and she loves this stuff.. It was super interesting for her to see what kind of bats they had. As for food.. forget about it.. it was all tourist stuff and we all agreed that it wasn’t it.. I was starting to fade out and I really needed to eat.. I was low on food and energy.

So we got back in the car and started looking for a place to eat but all look for tourists. So Loree stopped for me on the main road where we saw a policeman and I asked him if he knew where we could eat – the kind of place where the Cubans would eat. He said the Palenque. In Cuba, anything Palenque is usually the most authentic thing – in Trinidad, In Vinales, in Havana… all were amazing with what they offered – food or dance.. So we headed in that direction and picked the one that was full of Cubans.. The food was amazing, service great and the price was even more amazing. What would have cost us for the meal about 15 CUC in Havana cost only about 5 CUC there. We were still licking our fingers when we got out.

Next we got back in the car and we drove back to the city.. Loree wanted to see more the side roads and every time e passed something interesting I pointed it out to them so that they will start to get the feel for the city. Loree has a sweet tooth for Chocolate ice cream. So when we passed by the most famous ice cream in Havana and I told her about the usual lineups there during the weekend, she said that she had to try it. Close by there was a fair of crafts and little shows.. I told them about it in case they wanted to explore.. This was running just for 2 weeks – 9-9 PM. We went to get some ice cream while Loree was waiting in the car but turns out that you can only sit and eat, no cones. So we came back empty handed. I had to go back to meet Shay so they dropped me off at the hotel and planned to go back and get that ice cream. We planned to meet around 10:30 PM in order to go out and have some fun. Very light tonight since it is a Monday and not much is happening.. Good day to slow down and enjoy the simple things.. the slow pace of Cuba…

I went to see Shay and to film what we needed.. it only took about 10 minutes and worked out great. Then said goodbye to him and headed back to my hotel for a nice siesta till evening.. I still need to do a bit of work.. but good time to relax and squeeze in a nap.

I saw Zuyima today – we couldn’t do the classes today since we had no place to do it. The instructors that needed to start teaching didn’t have a place. So I had to give up my classes.. the people in the tour come first… Instead Zuyima and I talked about the classes and redesigned the Reggaeton and beginner Salsa class completely. I can’t wait to try it in the coming term.. Last year when she showed me how to set it up… It came out completely different and had phenomenal results. I was explaining the limitations of the Canadian crowd in comparison to what Cubans can do with their body for us to come up with class plans that make sense for them.

Then I sat down and showed her my videos from the party and I showed her two in particular – of Yusimi and me dancing. Because this is where you can see exactly the difference and what is missing in my style. We talked about what is missing and now Zuyima knows exactly what I want.. we also talked about the fact that I need to gain it but gain it for good.. so it is mine. So I am looking forward to my classes, but also t the time that I’ll e here alone and will focus just on dance.

Later on we will go out dancing.. Leanne and Shannon will get here tomorrow and their classes will start Wed morning. That's it for now... more to come soon.. don't forget that you can comment here about what you read...

First tour ends and lesson learned

noreply@blogger.com (Chen Lizra) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 01:51:00 +0000

July 26 – the first tour ended today but with a bad taste. Why? Here goes…
Yesterday we went to the Malecon.. there was a Festival.. kind of a mini festival like in Santiago but smaller. When you are with a group of ten women, decisions are not made easy. At one point we lost about 5 people. Turned out they were behind drinking. They wanted to hang out with Cuban boys. It was one of those things that don’t work well in a group.. you either split it or you’ve got to get going. They were looking for their own local experience but it didn’t work well with the group dynamic. I was getting annoyed. But people did not want to split the group so we were just stuck. Eventually we kept going till we’ve hit the parade and stopped at different places till it all passed us by. When we got to Las Tribunas, Van Van didn’t even start playing. The girls wanted to say and Natalie, Shay, Danine and I headed out back to check out some Reggaeton parties. The rest of the girls stayed to enjoy the show. On the way back I felt so tired. I didn’t want to hang out at the Reggaeton party just to hang out Cuban guys.. I’d personally would rather hang out with my friends.. So I left back for the hotel in hopes of finding something to eat that would not risk my stomach flipping over. Natalie, Danine and Shay went to explore on their own and kept going from ne Reggaeton party to the other.

Next morning we left for Vinales for the day to see the valley which is amazing and beautiful. The view of nature is amazing there. On the way from the valley to the village Dago asked if we should stop at the cave. I said that no. The girls wanted to and insisted. They thought that I didn’t want them to see it. They wanted to see tourist stuff and thought that I was trying to direct them away from it. But that wasn’t the point.. last year when I was there... I spent about 10 minutes seeing the beautiful cave and another 30 waiting in line inside to try and get out and it wasn’t one of those experiences that were enjoyable due to this. It was just annoying. But this time there was no line up so it seemed to them as if this was something that I tried to prevent them from. It wasn’t. They saw the cave and loved it and then we went for lunch.. had some drinks and saw a little folklore show and that’s it, got on the bus and drove back. It was a nice break from Havana but the whole day kind of felt heavy. It was impossible to get the party going like in the other tour no matter what.

When we got back to the city we stopped at the lobby to make some decisions about the evening. As was planned and as they were told, they needed to give some feedback about the tour in order to improve it – to say what did and did not work well and provide a testimonial if they would recommend it. They suddenly refused and wanted to do it in Canada.. from the experience of last year.. it never works well.. you need to do it when you are here engulfed in it. I didn’t give them an option and that did not go well.

So at night time when we were supposed to meet and go into old Havana to see the 26 of July from the inside, they ditched the plan and went to the Malecon to enjoy some parties, making a strong statement.

Shay and I were talking about it after to conclude what went wrong while walking with Jodi and Alexei on the streets of Havana. We both agreed that something has to change – the tour had to goals – to introduce them into the life and show them the magic of real Cubans that do not want anything from them and the other was the culture of dancing and music through shows, classes etc.

Both goals were achieved.. so what didn’t work?

What didn’t work was that the tour as it was tailored was meant to take them deeper and deeper into the life but after one week they were looking for simpler experiences of their own which were more for tourists.. and didn’t fit with the original plan. What both Shay and I concluded is that what needs to change is the end goal – not to try to bring them deeper and deeper but to basically give them a jumping board which they got and then when they jump out, to feel ok with letting them go completely. They are looking for different experiences than what I do here and it should be ok for them to search them. Since I cannot join some of the things that they are looking for, all I can do is to let them go. I did that to some degree but I did not release them completely. I was feeling strange that people paid for a tour and yet they would not be guided. I was also feeling responsible for their safety. But this is my mistake because they would have been happy being let go of, feeling that someone opened the door for them to all these amazing experiences. They needed to understand the life but then to find their own way around. The tour should change to accommodate this.. the end goal should be for them to find what they are looking for.. That’s the point when I have to step back and leave them with the responsibility. I have hown them the good and the bad. They are aware of it.
They think that for me this is work and that for them it is vacation. It is true that I am working here but the conflict for me came up for a different reason, not because I am working here. I live here.. I have amazing friends and a Cuban family. I love seeing the life and being with people deep inside. That’s why I can show them what I am showing them. The first week they went into the life and through my network and friends saw the difference between the Cubans that always want something from you and the ones that are really your friends. But then they wanted to explore as tourists. They don’t care too much who they hang out with because for them it is a vacation. For me, I am careful whom I bring into my life here because I will have to deal with these people on a regular basis when I am here since they will feel that they have now a connection that they can use to push themselves in. That is what the opportunists do. I do not want certain people here in my life. Some of the people that they hang out with would never become part of my circle of friends.. So as they start to explore and find their way, I need to step back and let them have their fun – the tourist way while I go back to hang out with the people I love here.
Yes, it is work but Latidos Productions has never been just work.. It’s always been a business with a heart and soul. For me to guide this tour better has to take into account what created this tour in the first place, the fact that I live inside Cuban life like a Cuban. And really the biggest lesson is to know when to let go. I can only give them a door to walk through. This tour could have ended with a great ending, my mistake made it end on a bad tone. The next one will be better and so on till it works smoothly.

No one does tours like this. Tours are usually about staying on the surface while seeing attractions. The Latidos tours are about going deep into the life but not everyone wants to go as deep as I do. Some just want to have fun. Future ones will have to allow for this organic process to take place.

Their tour is over.. they have a free day tomorrow to do what they want and then they are leaving to go back to Canada. I won’t see them anymore, only when back in Canada. Tour number 2 is starting.. Alexei is here and so is Loree. Shannon and Leanne got stuck in Toronto after their flight got delayed in Vancouver due to a thunder storm. They missed their flight to Havana and now are stuck in Toronto. They can only leave on Tuesday and are bummed out about it.

On the flip side of things.. Ana Maria was so happy to see Vinales for the first time and I was s happy that I could give her that gift. It was great having her with me on the tour – my Cuban mom. She brought her video camera and new camera and took looks of pictures and videos. She said that Vinales is stunning. She teaches me what to do and how to do things the Cuban way. Shay asked me afterwards how I have met her and I told him the story of Damaris and me becoming friends and her and her mom helping me get to thing without asking for anything in return.. this opened the door for a real friendship and over time became part f my really amazing network here.
At night time Shay, Jodi, Alexei and me went into the streets.. It was interesting because things have changed.. We were in old Havana looking for what used to be one big party of people with food being cooked on the streets and people dancing. But as we toured the city, there wasn’t much going on.. we found one place where they cooked and ended up in one cool party. We were invited in and started dancing.. It was fun and caused everyone in the nearby houses to come and see what was going on. It was a 26th of July and a birthday party. We then continued on.. Eventually on the way back we stopped at the bakery to grab a drink..Shay sat down with a Cuban woman and her daughter that were having a pop. This whole conversation took place which was very interesting… She was saying that things have changed since Raul which also affected the parties on the street but she did not mention exactly what. She also talked about being stopped on the streets when you are with a foreigner and having some kind of a document which gives you authorization to be with a foreigner on the street. She said that if you do not have it they can either give you a fine or if this is your second time, they can even send you to jail. She wasn’t scared as she said because she was not a jinetera but obviously this bothered her. As always this was a very interesting conversation.. hearing what a person on the street had to say. I could tell from the way she spoke that she was educated and was not one of the jineteras.

The way you dance is the way you live your life

noreply@blogger.com (Chen Lizra) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 01:49:00 +0000

July 25 – the private party last night was a lot of fun. We had someone who was responsible for food and drinks. A friend allowed us to use his house and the dancers from the Conjunto came to the party to enjoy free food and free drinks, and also our company..to hang out together at last and have fun at the party, dance our butt off together.

Israel, at my request, made sure that enough men came to lead and that they asked the girls to dance. They were all sitting on the sofa in a group, a little bit like in Casa de La Musica, giving the vibe that people should not penetrate their circle. I told Israel that if we will not melt this circle, they will not get up and dance. But a few bottles of Rum later and they were getting looser and the guys were constantly asking them to dance… lucky them to be dancing with some of the best dancers in the country, one on one. They really have no ego about their dancing and just love to have fun and dance. The party was on and it was a real fun one. Everyone was having fun.

Dayana, Yusimi, Yolanda and Itsel were also there and they gave us some incredible lady styling both in Reggaeton and Salsa. Yusimi is this hot little thing. This girl can shake it.. I love her style.. she dances in the exact sassy style that I like, so I said to her: you dance like a Puta. But here this means a good thing.. that she is putting out this super sexy vibe. She just shined with a huge smile and appreciated the compliment. Anywhere else in the world, that would be an insult..
When Yeri arrived I was so happy to see her and we were kissing and hugging for a long time. She gained weight and kept saying that she is now a gordita.. but I really didn’t care, neither did anybody else.. at last after a year of being apart we were face to face again. I was happy to see her and you could see that she felt the same. She also lost a tooth in the front. I didn’t ask what happened but was amazed as always at how at ease she was with the fact that she spoke and smiled with no tooth and it didn’t matter. Anywhere in the world, a woman would not leave the house like this. Life is really beautiful and simple here.. it is about the right things, not the superficial BS. It’s raw and dirty and messy, yet that is what is so charming about it. Everywhere else in the world people are more concerned with looks and having plastic surgery, having the nicest house… here where you cannot have it, life feels a lot more comfortable, just being imperfect. And the interesting thing is that it is easy to see that people are genuinely happier. They really are. It’s not fake. It’s real!

Anyway.. it was great to see the girls loosen up and have fun… they really enjoyed dancing and sharing a private party with their new friends. Sam blew away everyone with her dancing as the Cubans keep telling me, she has it natural in her blood.. She is perfect for the performance team. I didn’t point her out to anyone.. They keep telling me this about her. I knew it as soon as I saw her dancing in Casa de la Musica.. And she has no fear of jumping in and dancing in all places with everyone.. She has what it takes to dance and perform… The rest of them were at first intimidated by the fact that they were surrounded by professionals that danced at such a high level and you could tell that they did not want to jump in and dance at first, but as the Rum kept running.. it stopped to matter. Their teachers know that they are not professional and they just look to have fun with them.

Yeri and me were having kissing fights.. who sends more kisses to the other person.. in the air.. coming around and slamming one on the cheek.. at one point later in the after party Dayana said to us: “ at last 5 minutes were you too are not kissing each other… “ just laughing at us… Yeri is my little black and beautiful twin sister.. I said to her last night:”You know.. it’s not a coincidence that it worked out that all of this with the baby happened when I was here. It was meant to happen this way so that I could call you 5 times a day and cheer you up.” She was shining with a big smile and said:”You are right. Isn’t that amazing.” As Jodi pointed out to me in the afternoon:”It will be easier for her that you are here for support. I am sure.” She was right.

Julie at one point got up with Itsel, who was her teacher, and just went for it.. she danced with Itsel all that she taught her.. It was so cute.. You could see how much she had learned from working with her one on one and Julie was glowing being able to dance with her teacher. I took so many videos that seriously I had to change my camera card about 3 times and it still wasn’t enough.. I just ran out of space.
Harold gave Jodi this cute little souvenir and she asked me to translate. It said something like:”A real friend is someone that even when you leave them and you don’t think of them, thinks of you.” When she understood what it said it hit her heart deep.

Really, the party was going well.. more hugs and kisses with Yeri.. been too long. She danced a bit but this was Yeri at about ¼ of her usual capacity. Natalie was all over it and I had to explain that she hasn’t seen anything yet. Yeri is one of the sassiest girls around. She is incredible. It was also great to see her and Israel still so in love with each other. This year they got to travel to Spain for a contract of about two months, so Yeri got me this beautiful bracelet from Spain as a gift. I love it. She laughed and said it was made of diamonds. Of course it was not. But being a gift from her, it was better than any precious stone anyone could ever buy me. I wore it all night. When I said to her that it’s so great that they have already been to Italy, Spain and Mexico, since many Cubans cannot travel like them outside the country, she corrected me - and Venezuela and the Bahamas. I am happy for them that they have a good life full of opportunities.

When I arrived at the party I came in a sexy outfit and in high heels. At the beginning when I danced something again didn’t feel right. I danced but I was feeling again off. After a few songs Yeri looks at me and asks me:”You feel uncomfortable?” I said:”Yes, can you see it.” She said that yes and I told her that I didn’t know what it was but that Zuyima said that it was in my head and I just felt that it was something else. Yeri asked me if I danced a lot this past year and I told her that almost none at all because with finishing school I just couldn’t. So this was part of the problem for sure but it still wasn’t it. I know it inside. I felt so uncomfortable and out of my element that although I danced a bit here and there, I just didn’t feel like it. I didn’t have it in my heart and when I don’t.. I just can’t put it out.

At one point I was sweating so bad and felt like I wanted to get more comfortable that I said to Yeri that I was popping for a second into my hotel room to change. When I got back I felt at ease.. Then when I danced suddenly I was back on. I realized that a big part of the problem was when I switch from flat to high heels. In flat I feel the connection to my body the way that Cuban women do.. and I dance like one of them but professional. But in high heels, I feel that I haven’t found that core. Now I know one part of what I am looking for.

In any case, once I came back I felt like I was on fire and I dragged all the guys to dance with me one by one.. Now I was on at last. After that Yusimi and I had a great talk. She is so sweet. She told me that I dance amazing, like one of them. I said that something is still missing, just a little bit but I feel it. She said:”We were all watching and saying, look at her.. she dances like a Cuban.” Coming from professional Cuban dancers, that’s amazing. I play in the dancing like a Cuban, I tease and crack jokes like a Cuban and you can see in the videos that as soon as I switched to flat my hands and shoulders relaxed. Before I was tense with fear. It still doesn’t penetrate my heart the way that Zuyima told me it has to. I just miss that even if small, something is missing that needs to click. When I said that to Yusimi she said to me:”Look, you have it in your blood, you are like us, you feel it. It’s something so small that really, it’s not important.” But I need that little last thing. Yet when I think about my dancing and how much it has changed, I was never complimented before by the professional dancers of the Conjunto like that. I never could have before and never have danced like that in front of them. This is something that I have gained over the last 4 years of studying and also on this trip where I gained that connection to my body the way they have it.. at least when I am on flat. And thinking about it makes me proud because on this trip people are telling me that I am professional. As Zuyima told me I have to let it in and get it. The pride has to come in.

So as I was starting to feel comfortable and dance well I started to joke a lot in my dancing. I danced with one of the guys Reggaeton and started cracking sexual jokes, the way Cuban women do that Yolanda, Yusimi, Dayana and Itsel were laughing so hard. Yusimi was pleased with me. They have never seen me dance like this before. Woohoo! I was on fire suddenly. Oo bad I have no video of this..

I guess that part of what I am lacking is consistency.. The ability to hit it at the core when I want it, not when circumstances allow it. And this is what I am searching… Today as Zuyima instructed me to do, I will think of what Yusimi told me all day and feel proud about it. Let the compliments sink in. It is supposed to transform my confidence and ability to dance. And I know that she is right.. it will… if I can just let it in..

Maikel and Itsel who are professional dancers in the Conjunto and a couple, danced for us Reggaeton at one point. It was hilarious.. You’ll see the videos when I am back.. They were pretty much having a sexual teasing “fight.” His hips can MOVE.. but I mean move.. I was staring at his movements with a dropped down jaw. They are so cute dancing together…

Ana Maria and Israel’s mom came to the party too. But they didn’t stay for long. I was glad that Ana Maria was there and that she did not stay at home thinking of the car that she hasn’t been able to sell and buy yet. Her mind was in a good place now and she was using her new camera which I brought from Canada and was really enjoying capturing all the videos. She later gave me the card to download it to my computer. She pointed out to me that I danced just fine.. on a street level it was fine, but on a professional one not.

After the party there was an after party and Dayana’s house. Silly me, I was saying goodbye to all the girls because I thought that they were going home. Just the way their body language was that I got the impression that they were planning on leaving.. When they didn’t, I felt like an idiot for making that mistake. So we everyne marched to Dayana’s house, my friends bought some bottles of rum and the party kept going. When we got there I started feeling really bad, being that time of the month my stomach started hurting so bad. I had to leave the great party and go back to the hotel shortly after in order to take something. The cramps were just too strong. But as I looked at the party with my Cuban friends and the girls, I knew that they were having fun and enjoying themselves and that they could not be in better hands. Not only that, but they already gained Cuban friends, real and beautiful people that enjoy them for who they are without wanting anything back besides their friendship. The tour was going as I have hoped and through my network of friends, they have entered and seen the Cuban life from the inside.. the heartwarming experiences. They were all enjoying the atmosphere of the private and laid back party. It went on till 5 AM.

Since I felt so bad, I went back to my hotel, Osiris walked me back so that I won’t have to walk alone and I went to sleep.

This morning as I was thinking about all of this – the process that I am going through, last night… pride.. Salsa.. confidence.. Ochun.. I realized it is the same thing… I am so close to it and it requires some kind of a let go that Zuyima is trying to explain to me.. I think it is like the feeling of Ochun that I described - the pride that comes from within.. you cannot fake the emotion in the dance and it’s like I feel that it is almost but still a fake.. like I need to relax and let go just a bit more and I will get it a 100%. It frustrates the hell out of me. I can taste it yet it is not mine yet… I guess what frustrates me more is that I don’t know if I will get it on this trip… To the outside world I dance amazing.. but I feel it and I know it is there.. It hasn’t come together yet.. So as instructed by Zuyima I cannot focus on not having it and I will head to the pool to relax for an hour before we go to do a video interview with Yeri and Israel.. and I will be thinking only about what Yusimi said to me yesterday about how much she loves how I dance and how for her I danced like her from the heart with all of the sabor that is inside me.. focus Chen.. focus…

So pool was relaxing and was fun.. I did the homework that Zuyima gave me and it sure did bring out a lot to the surface. Sine Shay was with me, I asked him to reflect me and t tell me what he sees from the outside. I needed an outside perspective. Then I looked at the videos of Yusimi and of myself from last night and I could see exactly what was missing.. the sentiment and sensuality. Then I thought of all the last four years – what I have learned.. what made me feel good each time.. what is different this time.. And I realized that I have always come to train before for many hours a day and when I do, I work a lot on styling, softening myself and bringing sentiment and sensuality into my dancing. And on each tour I transform and so does my dancing in an extreme way. But since it is only two weeks and then I do not get t visit for a year, it fades away and I miss what I had that I lost. It’s a painful process because I love what the dancing does to me.. how it makes me more like Yeri in only one sense.. We are both very strong women, both very sexy and seductive.. Yet Yeri has an easier time with softness and sensuality. She can easily capture that other aspect and add it, which makes it whole. It is my missing link – the sentiment of raw emotion in the dance.. what I love so much about dancers that move me.. that I feel them in that moment as if they were that exposed as in their own little safe space. But that’s also hard to do as it leave me as a personal so exposed. But it is what I need to gain to be able to dance at the level that I want and what I want more than anything is to gain it for good and not to lose it over and over again. The question remains – how do I do that with such short period of times? If I could stay here for one year I could gain it for good.. Is there another way? I need this part to perform.

As I always say, dance is such an incredible mirror.. if you will look at how you dance, you will see how you live your life. I come here because it transforms my life in such a beautiful way. It melts walls. It makes my life deeper and more connected.

Yeri loses the baby

noreply@blogger.com (Chen Lizra) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 01:47:00 +0000

July 24 – today I woke up in the morning and I went with the girls to the Conjunto to show them how the professionals train. It was amazing… there were 2 singers on stage and about 5 live musicians. Osiris was there, he was so happy to see me. I haven’t seen him since I got back and he’s been calling me telling me that this is just not right. He is one of Yeri and Israel’s best friends. When I walked into the Conjunto Israel looked at me strange.. I thought that he was occupied with thoughts about the practice. But he gave me this deep sad look and just said:”Yeri lost the baby.”His sadness was so deep that it hit me really deep. I guess I my face said it all because Jodi said:”Are you ok?” and when I told her what happened, she asked me if I need a hug. She is so sweet.. she really lives from the heart. I was ok, I just couldn’t help but think of Yeri. I asked Israel how he was and he was being strong. I asked him how Yeri was and he told me that she was ok just sad, as to be expected. I called her as soon as I got back to the hotel and spoke to her… made her laugh… She told me that she was ok and that I will see her tonight.. she will come to the party.. she said she cannot deal with being at the house and thinking too much. But she is doing better than Israel it seems. Maybe he is just worried for her.. she is a strong woman like me. I called her again when I got back from my classes but I couldn’t get through. I told Israel that I wanted to do something for her… She needs to be spoiled a bit. I will call her a lot more to make sure she is ok.. She is like my little black sister.. I call her “mi negurita linda.” And it makes her so happy that I am there to cheer her up.. I love Israel and yeri. They are like my brother and sister…

So the practice of the professional was amazing… it was incredible to watch them move.. they leave their heart on the dance floor and it is magical to watch.. their African moves are so sensual and sexual and they express themselves fully… They do it with such joy that you feel elevated as if you share their joy… They bring you joy. This is the first time I realized what performance is really all about - sharing this joy with the crowd.. What they do inspires me and I am sure everyone who was watching.. It got so excited that at one point they stopped and Shay started clapping as if they were really performing and I started laughing. This was a class after all. But I get it, it was beautiful.

They dance in lines experienced and advanced and the teacher shows them a sequence and they repeat it.. then another and they repeat it.. eventually the teacher will put them together into a choreography. Some of them are so playful and magical that you take joy in what you see as if you were part of it. It was truly incredible – their control over their body, the intensity, the seating, the African movements, the ability they have to control every muscle and yet keep the body loose… all of it was inspiring. I just wish I could have filmed it but you can never do that.. they never allow it. I wish people could see what is so unique about this. Natalie looked at me and said: Wow. I answered: now you get what I wanted you to see? Truly an experience that transforms you. You feel it from the inside. I don’t think that any words that I have will capture it.

When we came out we were all high from the experience. As always, a magical experience we will never forget. I hope to do this again with the next group..
We got out and took taxis back to the area where we live. They each had time to do what they need including all the classes before the party tonight at 8-8:30 PM. I went to do my classes. I arrived really tired from everything – the previous day, the dancing, didn’t sleep well, the Conjunto, hearing about Yeri losing the baby. I just felt whipped out. So I came to the class and asked Zuyima if we could do a softer class today. She told me that yes which made me so happy.

So we started by working on technique from the Afro-Cuban contemporary which is so beautiful. She told me that she loved the video that I brought her. I showed her what I wanted to learn by bringing a video which I found on the internet which was just amazing. She told me that the dancing was incredible and so beautiful and she loved it. We shared the same love for it. So all the techniques which she has been teaching me is starting to come together. Today I started working with my Salla de Folklore (Folklore Skirt) with the special steps and using more loose stuff. I am truly loving it and I am starting to feel a little better in the movements.. not as a complete alien. I love how it feels in my body. It actually reminds me of the kind of control I used to have when I did gymnastics and so connected to my body, with every muscle.

Then we started working on Ochun again. Ochun was hard for me because she is so soft and Zuyima kept telling me that I am attacking the motion and cannot do that. SO in order t teach me she put one of my hands on her upper stomach and the other one on her back and I had to walk with her doing this till I could feel the softness. Then I tried it myself and it worked… It was so much softer than me. I can be over the top and Ochun is so much more contained than me. Zuyima told me that I have to contain my feelings and channel them through. I walked for about 20 minutes practicing the upper body motion while walking. Then I started feeling the pride come through me.. it just came.. one minute I was on it and the second off it.. on.. off.. on off… my mind was racing as I was trying to analyze and as I was feeling silly feeling this pride. But it felt so good to feel this free that I wished I could just feel it period. Then I felt something that I never did before.. I felt the pride inside me and it came out of Ochun and it was effortless… then I tried to make it happen and I was pushing it out, it felt fake. Real emotion just comes up as you allow it to live for you. I wish I could be this free already but I am working on it.

Cuban dancing has transformed my life forever. With every emotion that I feel deeply inside and explore how to express it outside, I feel it change me.. it softened me, made me more sensual and made my edges less sharp. For a strong person like me, it is magical to feel this soft and feminine and I am loving it.

So here I was on.. off.. on.. off… I couldn’t get it to stabilize. But I was feeling more than before.. Ochun was starting to come out and I was starting to feel prouder outside. Zuyima told me that Ochun walks with such pride like one of her friends who works at the Conjunto and if she goes on the streets and men to come on to her to tell her how beautiful she is, she goes back to change what she wears. She said to me:”men tell you how beautiful you are on the streets here, don’t they?” I said that yes but they do that for everyone especially Yumas that have money. She said:”that’s not true. If you will look closer you will see that they treat you in a special way because of how you look, walk, dress..” She said that I have pride in what I have created in my work and a personal pride in myself but not this kind of pride where I just feel proud on the outside and that when I walk on the streets I should leave work and worried behind and just feel happy about what men tell me on the streets and smile to myself.. feel proud about it.. She said that this would help me with Ochun because Ochun always smiles.

Later on I tested it by wearing something nice but not very sexy. Men were looking at me but they didn’t say a lot. An hour later I dressed really nice, like a Cuban woman and hit the streets – men could not ignore me. Zuyima was right, as always, it is not for everyone the same and it is not all the time the same. They are responding to me. It is not a generic thing and yet it is hard for me to contain the feeling to the amount of pride that she says. But I need it for my dancing so I will now start to practice enjoying this in a personal way so that it will get to my heart and warm it up.

Hen Zuyima and me ended up in a really great personal conversation about things that we never knew about each other. We are getting loser. She told me a bit about her life story and I told her a bit about mine. When I finished telling her the part of my story she said:”but you know, this is in the past.” I said:”Yes, I know. But I wanted you to understand how I have become so strong because it seems that all of this is affecting my dancing.” She got it and smiled and when Zuyima smiles, the whole room lights up. The Fact that I told her personal things about me got her to open up about her personal stories. I really love Zuyima. She is just such a great person…

And I have so much more to learn explore in me.. dance connects every part in me to the core.. it forces me to let go of things and to embrace the new. Dance in the blood that runs through my veins and Cuban dance is inside my soul. I told Zuyima that if I was still on my own, I would consider finding me a Cuban guy. I’ve been resisting this for so long.. yet this is home.. so it would make sense. So I said to Zuyima:”A professional dancer, who doesn’t smoke, has lots of Sabor and can be loyal.” Zuyima started laughing so hard and said:”you will be looking for a treasure, right?” I laughed and said:”I love treasures” like a little kid and we were both rolling. Well, you know… you can dram can’t you… ha ha ha

So I got back from the classes, which were amazing, and went to do some internet.. It’s been a few days now that I just didn’t have time but I keep making time to write on my computer. I was at parquet Central drinking my mojito and eating a late lunch and doing internet with my WiFi. Thank god for my laptop. When I got back from doing all the internet stuff I called yeri again. Israel picked up. I asked him if my linda negrita hermanita was there and he said that yes laughing. I spoke to Yeri and said that I couldn’t wait any longer to give her the kisses because I have 25 for her for every day that I haven’t seen her. I started kissing the phone and asked her if she was counting.. She was laughing and said yes. Then I asked her if she was sad. She said:”You know Chen, I am a very strong person.” I said:”Yes, I know, you and I. I am just checking on you.. and trust me, you and I.. poor Israel when we are both around..” She laughed.. We are both such strong women. I said to her that she is the black version of me.. she laughed because we are so alike. I am so lucky to have such amazing friends and to have such amazing people in my life. It’s true that most of the people that I love the most are not near me daily but there are many people in life that don’t have half of these amazing things that I feel that I have in my life… so I feel lucky… almost proud… ha ha ha..

So I told yeri I loved her and that I’d see her in a few hours and I got out to meet Zuyima in a club not too far from here. I told her that I’d be there because I wasn’t happy with the way I was dancing in a club compared to the way I dance in class and in my training and she needed to see this live. I have no shame getting up and dancing but sometimes I end up feeling bad about my dancing and some days amazing. So I get out of the hotel dressed like a Cuban and I am looking for a taxi. A nearby neighbor asked me if I was looking for a taxi and I said yes. He said, let’s go. So I hoped in and off we were. He said that I looked like a Cuban. I asked him if this is why he wasn’t not worried about taking a Yuma in a machina. He said that worst comes to worst he will say that I am his novia (girlfriend) and I laughed. Obviously he softened it with how beautiful you are and you also look like a Cuban and so sexy… well.. as Zuyima gave me homework to do.. I am taking it in..
I got t the club and saw Zuyima. It was older crowd and they were dancing in lines.. some cute thing but a little boring for half an hour. Zuyima was explaining to me that this is the kind of music she grew up n so that’s why everyone is so excited and pointed out how all the his are always working. Point taken. I waited till the music changed and then I got orders from Zuyima to dance.. being the good student that I am, I was doing homework again. And Zuyima was scanning all of my dancing for errors and corrections. At the end of it her best friend who was with her, her daughter is a professional dancer too, said to me:”you are professional now.” According to the Cubans I dance better than a lot of Cubans and I have professional styling now. I am very proud when they say this to me but I am not as confident as I’d like to be about my dancing.. It isn’t solid yet.. It’s getting better with the years I just don’t feel that I have gained the depth yet that I want. I touch it and I have it but not solid.. it comes and goes..

Then I went back to the hotel and now I am about to go to the private party which organized for the first tour. They have this weekend and then it is over.. Second tour starts… Fun..They have had fun.. I have had fun.. We have a grand finale today, tomorrow and the day after…

One hell of a party and Sam and me perform!

noreply@blogger.com (Chen Lizra) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 20:14:00 +0000

July 23 – Ok this morning I had classes with Zuyima. She taught me Afro-Cuban contemporary and it will take some time before it will come together. It’s something so foreign to my body, like a mix of Orishas with contemporary. Very interesting but hard for me to learn yet in just three days I am seeing a big change. Zuyima asked me today if I was uncomfortable but I told her that it’s normal since it is so far from anything that I have done. She laughed. She got it. At one point she told me that I was escaping with the look, my eyes were running. So she told me to focus n a point ahead and keep it intense straight forward.. this shifted how I danced completely. Suddenly my moves were flowing better and I had the same kind of intensity in my body. I loved it. She also started working with me on Salsa for performance. It’s very different than what I have done so far and I have a hard time being with the emotion out.. but I am loving it.. You have to smile and be full of energy and let go of the fear of being with people. The styling is very different too. I learned how to walk put my sexy walk into the Salsa and change direction teasing the guy. I am looking forward to starting the performance team and even performing myself.. something that hasn’t been done yet in Vancouver. I am also looking forward to having time to practice each day.. I miss dancing.. for six years I could barely dance. Now I can devote myself to what I love to do.. what I feel inside my heart…

Wow what an afternoon. Alexei and Loree arrived today on the same flight. I got together with Alexei and set him up in the casa. He was very happy – air condition, good family, great house etc. He said that last time he was here, he didn’t stay in a place that was anything like it.

Loree and Alexei are part of the second tour but they wanted to arrive early so they are on their own till the 26th. I have set them up and let them go. It was made clear to people that arrived early that they could not extend their trip into the other one. But if they decided to come early, they were offered the house earlier etc. I took them to a restaurant to eat and had to leave them eventually to go and meet the other group.

Alexei likes me.. It’s easy to tell.. but he cannot flirt. He is such a Canadian. So he says things under the belt. But that doesn’t do anything for me besides annoy me and I just check out of the conversation. I will speak to his teacher next week to make sure he will be taught seduction as well.. Cuban are sweet and seductive.. someone that hits you under the belt especially when there is so much seduction and softness, just simply doesn’t work. I can’t already see that the second group will have a complete different dynamic.

So at 4 PM the first group and I met at the hotel. Danine, Vida and Jana went to Varadero for a few days to be on the white sand beaches. Zuyima told me about a matinee show at 4-8 PM at a place close by that cost only 1 CUC to go in. Usually what she recommends is very good. So I took them. Marion and Julie retired for the day.. Taisa, Michelle, Sam, Jodi, Tracey, Shay and Natalie came with me. Score, that was one hell of a party with great Cubans and the dancing was fantastic. Everyone danced. The manager was really great and made sure to find girls someone to dance with. He set them up with various dancers. He was really sweet. At one point him came up to me and told me that I danced very well and asked me to participate in a demo that they were putting in about 20 minutes. I said sure. Sam, who is training for the performance team got the same invitation. How could we refuse? It was fun and a huge compliment. I mean there were so many Cubans around yet they preferred to show us off because of the level of dancing. One guy insisted on dancing Reggaeton with me. I agreed and used a lot of the Cuban tricks on him.. the manager was laughing.. he got a kick out of it. I was teasing him in the dancing.. hitting it inside his heart… he then raved to Shay that I dance like a Cuban and that he liked me… surprise surprise…

We stayed there till around 8 PM and made some more Cuban friends… then we went out and walked back to the hotel/casas, walking on the Malecon. We stopped at a coffee shop/bar to get some drinks, then went on. The girls left about an hour before us to it was just Shay, Natalie and me. As a joke, we walked on each of his side and put our best malecon Cuban chica walked and started laughing that they must think that he is a pimp because that’s how the pimps walk around… ha ha ha.. it was hilarious… we just cracked up… we got a lot of calls for all of us… ha ha ha

I changed at the hotel and we went to Chinatown to have some food. It was nice t end it with a different kind of food. And now I am ready to crash. Tomorrow we will see a dancing lesson in the Conjunto at 10 AM.. exciting.. at night time we have a party at a friend’s house. We have about 40-50 people coming and it should be good. Food.. drinking.. the instructors.. either friends and mothers etc.. It will be great.. I can’t wait..

Oh and I forgot.. guard number 2 came on to me in the elevator at night on the way to my room… a lighter version of the guy from the night before.. 2 down.. how many to go? Ha ha ha…

And don’t forget that you can comment here.. I’m getting messages that tell me that a lot more reading the blog than I know about… You don’t have to know me to comment either…

Oh and ne last thing.. Natalie pointed out to me that some of the girls are closing in again. It’s true and very interesting to see. Now that they are claiming more time on their own to explore and to see things they each want, they are not with me all the time. And since they are not, they are not as deep inside Cuban culture in the heat and the warmth. Some of them are regressing more into their default. It’s a very interesting process. Shay noticed it too. Shay and Natalie were saying that in a sense it is better for them to be with me because the kind of experience that they get through me, they cannot get on their own. I agree but I explained that it is their choice and that’s how the tours were designed – to let them tailor the experience to what they want it to be. I can only show them the door.. they have to walk through it. I am here if they want to keep with the same experience or they can add to it what they want it to be. The bottom line is that they have to be happy with their trip the way they would imagine it to be. It seems that they are happy.
The next couple of days we have a lot of fun things planned.. Friday morning seeing them train in the Conjunto. At night, the private party with all the instructors and friends. Saturday 2-3 different shows which will fill their day.. Sunday a full day in Vinales and possibly seeing a cigar factory. Then the 26th of July on the streets and then their tour ends in a big bang and they have a day on their own before they all fly back… exciting stuff…

Visit to doctor and seduction at the pool

noreply@blogger.com (Chen Lizra) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 20:09:00 +0000

July 22 – ok so I just got back from the pool.. at last I can slow down and relax.. it’s been a very intense week and a half with ten women, running around. But I am happy to say that they are now street savvy and they can see the game. As such, they each have a different preference for what they would like to do and since they asked me to each do their thing, I have let them go till the evening. This is what I love about the trip the way it is set up.. once they got smart enough to hold their own, they can tailor it the way they want it. In any other organized tour you’d continue doing what was planned for you, if you liked it or not. I am not worried about them anymore. They can hold their own and they are loving it. What tour offers that. It’s very organic. And each tour is different depending on what they would want to do and how much they would want to be together.. As Denine put it nicely, it sucks with ten women when it takes 3 hours to eat.. I could do so many things and explore at that time.. and they are now. So we meet each night at 9 PM and plan something for the evening. This weekend we have a great Sunday planned in Vinales and some other show plans for Saturday.

So while they are loving the new freedom they gained to do what they love… I am also loving the first opportunity to join the Cuban time at long last.. woohoo! People on the streets here always watch you and lately people that I don’t know keep telling me:”you are always running.” Which is not the custom in Cuba.. they are watching me. And I explained with ten women with me, there is no time to relax but I will have two weeks at the end.. woohoo!

I just climbed 14 floors up to my room since both elevators are now broken.. but at least after a week and a half I got warm water in my shower.. woohoo! Welcome to Cuba..

So Danine today came to meet me in the morning and we went to a friend’s house to see a doctor for her. She got injured in her foot and cannot walk. There is a clinic in Playa but that is very expansive so I asked a friend to see what could be done and he arranged something. The doctor told her to put her foot up and not dance for three days and suggested some medication. But that meant no alcohol for ten days and in Cuba you might as well kill yourself. So I asked Zuyima and she said that it should be enough to put it in salt water to make sure there is no infection and stop dancing if she feels pain. Danine was much happier with this answer. Then she said to me:”You know, it feels like I live here. And it seems like it’s all about whom you know.” I was so happy that she got it. I wanted to show people real Cuba.. If she came back to Vancouver and asked people that went to Cuba as tourists they could not tell hr anything about the kind of experience that she has had. She is inside the life, around Cubans who are genuine and are beautiful inside and out. She is seeing how the system works for them and how they care for you without wanting anything in return. She is seeing what I see when I am inside.. she is seeing real Cuba. I am so happy that she got it. The tours are doing exactly what they should be doing.

So next it was time for me to relax a bit.. yesterday I sucked in class. I was so frustrated. I felt so bad about my Salsa. I came down from the washroom and said to Zuyima that I felt like I was dancing like a Baron (guy). She said to me we were just talking about it that you are. Compared to two days ago when I was on fire with styling this felt so bad and I was frustrated. When I asked her for thoughts she said that the problem is my mind is too occupied with things. That I need to let go and not think, just dance from the heart. When I told her that in that moment I didn’t know how to do it, she said to me:”have you ever had a boyfriend that you broke up with?” And I responded that yes. And she added:”Did you ever take him out of your heart and mind?” And I said yes. And she said that it was the same thing. I get it with my mind but not with my body and soul. So today at the pool as I was feeling relaxed, I realized today I would dance well and she was right.

Besides that here is a funny story. As my status at the pool is set I went to the other hotel to swim for a bit and at last relax in the sun and water. I usually have it every day in my hotel.. The life guard knows me by now and he came talking to me. He said:”you are not like the others. There is something different about you. I’ve been watching how you do things.” I explained to him that this is why they call me La Cubanita de Israel. That they consider me Cuban yet I am not. That I like doing things the Cuban way because they make sense to me. He said that he really liked me.. welcome to Cuba.. In any other country there is an age range of when women are considered sexy and when they are not.. in Cuba the age range is till about 60 and so all women that come here feel sexy even if they are not 15 or 20 anymore..

In any case, in the third round of him coming to tell me how much he liked me and my lips.. ha ha ha.. he said that he wanted to invite me to a club to go with him. So I said to him but what about your wife and two kids.. he was shocked. He said:”how do you know that I have two kids.” I said because most people do and I run into this conversation every day.. do you know how many invitations like yours I get a week? And he guessed 4. I said that much more. So his response to this was:”I want to invite you as a friend only.” And I told him that this game is known too. He said no really. I said, fine I might come but just know that I do not get involved with married men. I have no problem saying no to the sexiest man in this country. If I do not want them to get to my heart, they cannot. I know the game and it doesn’t get to me. It took some learning to get to this point. Now I can hang out with many people but does that are married and try and try, never stay my friends for long because they cannot shift this to a real friendship, I get tired of it and drop it. But I sometimes give them a break to try and prove me wrong. But since they come on to me I tease them back and hit their heart with sweetness.. Cuban sweetness is seductive. And that’s why they say about me here that I will break many Cuban hearts.. ha ha ha.. Hit my heart deep and I will hit it back with the same kind of seduction…

Anyway.. today at last I danced well.. yesterday was painful. I truly and utterly sucked ass… And I really mean it. Even Zuyima and Maikel said that they noticed it and that I had suddenly styling of a man. It’s interesting that the energy of male dancing comes to me so easily and learning the seduction in Salsa is much harder.. Maybe because I have such a strong personality or because for many years I grew up with a brother and a father with no female energy to guide me.. or maybe it is my tomboy personality. I really do not know. I just know that sensuality and seduction feel a lot better.

So yesterday I was so upset about my dancing and in Trinidad I danced so bad too. Zuyima tells me that my mind is full of things and that I need to relax. After the pool today and two Cubatas, I knew that I’d dance well… Zuyima was right. I showed up t class. I danced an hour with her working on technique of Afro-Cuban Contemporary and it looked a lot better and felt better.. not as awkward as he day before. Not that I shine at it but the change is major. Then I danced with Maikel and seriously I put on everything that she taught me and I had. The old lady who cooks at the house and as I was playing and teasing Maikel with all I had, she was laughing at the teasing jokes. I didn’t even need to look at Zuyima, I knew that I was did well. I felt it. And Maikel just said, she just needs 2 Cubatas… great now I need to turn into an alcoholic to dance well.. ha ha ha..

The important lesson is that I do not need to doubt my dancing.. I have good dancing days and bad dancing days.. the problem is that my mind is so busy with business stuff and as long I was running around organizing so much, it could not free up for simple things… So it worked out for the best that they now want to see the kind of things that they want to see and I get free time to do what I want and it’s all part of the tour. I am just about to go and see them all and we’ll go out for dinner.
I might have repeated some of the things but I’ve been writing at different times of the day and I really don’t have time to review what I wrote. Oh yes and I am so happy that at last the elevator is working again – both of them.. Now there is elevator and hot water in the shower.. woohoo.. it’s like Xmas.. The little things that make you go emmm…

Sunday we are going for the day to Vinales.. It will be stunning and I am looking to see if we can stop amt a Tobacco factory. Usually the one next to Vinales is closed on Sunday but they just told me today that there is another one on the way that we can stop at.. so perfect… Alexei arrives tomorrow and on Sunday the girls from the second tour. I can’t believe that the first tour will end in a few days. It went by so fast.

2 AM and I just got back from Casa de la Musica in Miramar so disappointed and to some degree pissed off. Adalberto Alvarez did not play tonight, whom ever told me that he will play tonight lied. He is with his group in Europe. I guess they just figured a Yuma (foreign woman) probably doesn’t know much about the music, we won’t tell her, she won’t know the difference. Some shitty group called Son Yoruba was playing. I stayed for one song and it was as they say here “de mierda.” So I did my thinking quickly and decided to go back to the hotel and call it quits, I’d rather sleep early so that I’ll do well in classes. Jodi, Taisa, Vida, Michelle, Shay and Natalie stayed.. they decided to enjoy the show since they were already there. I love Adalberto’s music. I listen to his CDs all the time. I am so so deeply disappointed. And as always welcome to Cuba.

Oh yes and I forgot.. I get back to the hotel all pissed off about the experience and I get into the elevator. The guys from the security always come on to me.. usual ceremony. One of them which I have never seen before goes into the elevator with me, like he is interested in me. I push the button and the elevator doesn’t go… I push it again and it doesn’t work and he is bugging me about something… coming on to me.. and I have no energy for him.. I wasn’t listening.. So I get out of the elevator and move to the next one hoping that I won’t have to climb now 14 floors.. that would be a painful ending… he follows me.. I push 14 and here we go.. then he asks me:”do you have a novio? (boyfriend)” and I answer that no. And he asks me:”Are you staying with your friend in the room or by yourself?” I say by myself and it is now clear where this is going.. Then he takes it one more notch up and starts to say:”you lip is amazing, something that needs to be kissed..” The fact that it is swollen a bit from the heat makes it seem more African to them and I’ve been getting comments about it the last couple of days.. to them it is soft and tempting.. It’s amazing how that’s all they have time to think about - seduction… So he keeps trying and trying and I think to myself.. ok this is cute because it did made me feel a little better but this ride up to the 14th floor seems longer than ever.. I had no energy to deal with him at that moment.. So I just got out of the elevator and went to my room.. he stayed on the floor hoping he could still get an invitation and as I walked away he said something but I wasn’t paying attention.. And that’s the security in the hotel.. try to imagine what they protect the tourists from… h aha ha.. sexual energy is everywhere and seduction is none stop. I like the energies in general, they make me feel beautiful and sexy. It’s just that at that moment it was too much. They talk in such a sexy way that even if you are not interested, the desire comes up and you feel the draw from the inside… Cuba is very seductive..

They try to rip us off but get their ass kicked

noreply@blogger.com (Chen Lizra) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 20:06:00 +0000

July 21 – I just got back from dinner with a great story about what I call the sophisticated jinetero. But before I will go into it, I have something else to tell..

When the group arrived, I set it up so that they’d have to join the culture rather than the culture joins them. The idea of the trips is to transform your life to whatever degree you need it to. For each person the trip is different as a process as they get exposed to the culture and mentality. But what it is not is a tour when the guide tries to do things in Cuba for example in a Canadian way. For the Israelis that are here, it is easy.. they find it very similar to what they know. For the Canadians it is hard at first. They are not used to talking openly about personal thing in front of everyone, such as dealing with conflict. They are not used to everyone knowing what they do, as I get phone calls all the time when there are things that are not working, they are not used to me being so direct the way I am in Israel with them.. in Canada I tone myself down.. not because I want to but because I have to.. because it is impossible to behave the way I do here or in Israel.. it is not acceptable in Canadian society. I cannot get mad at someone and say it to their face and have a short fight and then ten seconds later be friends and joke about it. It just doesn’t work the same.

So when they arrived you could tell that they were having a hard time adjusting to what I set them up with which was a tour that was nothing like what a Canadian would expect. For some such as Danine, Vida and even Sam this was not a big deal but for some of the others it was hard to adjust.

As time has gone by from week one to week to, you can see them open up and adjust and realize that none of this is personal.. that it is just another way a of being. I feel it because they are not resisting as before and they have one by one opened up.. you see it in the warmth, you see it in the way they suddenly tell me what they really want and they stand more their ground when they don’t want something.. You see it with the fact that they don‘t think anymore that I will be upset with them or something of the sort. It’s a real pleasure to see this happen. Tracey for me has gone through the biggest transformation. She has this little treasure hidden inside.. So sweet and warm.. When she arrived she was quiet, she dressed in a very conservative way and she barely talked. As she mentioned today she is very shy around people at first, but it is more than that. She was walking with just the top of a bathing suit the other day with no shirt, she is dressing more sexy and she has become more aggressive (in a good way) in opening up and investigating into conversations. I am very happy for her. As she said to Shay, she hopes that she will not lose it.

Marion suddenly kicked in yesterday for the first time.. you could tell that she was on and she joked that yes now that the tour is ending.

I’m very happy that the tours have done this for them.. that it gave them an experience that affected their lives for the best and that they will come back with great memories. I told them that I wanted them to give me some feedback about the tour once we are done so that the next ones could be improved. I know that now they will tell me what they really think with no fear and no need to censor who said what. They are learning that directness is not insulting but a very honest way to just be with what is.

Now to the story of the night… we went out to probably the best Flamenco place in Havana to watch the show and eat dinner, in old Havana. Flamenco is huge in Cuba and is taught in schools from a young age. They have some incredible dancers there. The relations with Spain are so tight that the culture really exists here with authenticity.

Danine barely made it since her foot is hurt and tomorrow I will see what we can do about a doctor. They have a free morning to do what they want as they requested. Jodi burned pretty bad (according to what I heard) on the beach today – they went to hang out before the classes for a couple of hours. The rest went with me. Shay and Natalie joined us later.

So as we arrived and sat down to the table the waiter was being really weird, like he hasn’t had sex for about a week. He was just sour. I wanted to take two small plates of things that I have wanted. But when I told him what I wanted, he told me that one of them wasn’t available today. But offered one that was double the cost instead. So I asked him if it was big or small and he said that it was very small. Since one cost double the other it seemed suspicious and my red lights went on again. So I told him that I would take the more expansive one and see if it was enough for me and if not I will order the other one. He made a very unhappy face.. red light.. red light…

So as everyone ordered they all said that he was being weird and really negative and I was joking that his wife probably didn’t give him any.. haha ha

Anyway, the drinks and the food arrive… Michelle had some confusion about what she ordered. It seemed to be resolved… Then Marion said that she wasn’t eating her fruit plate because the fruits were bad. So I called him and told him that they were bad. He started arguing with me that they were not. I was starting to get annoyed. So I told him to take it and then called him and told him to remove it from the bill.
The girls ask for the bill and I find out that two girls asked for a bread order and didn’t’ get it, one for rice, one drink, another steamed vegetables and Michelle’s food was not what we ordered it was more expansive. So I call him back and I point out to him all these things. He shows me the bill and says that only the bread is a mistake but none of the other things were not ordered and in other cases he argues that they were already given. We argue for about 5-10 minutes and I am saying to him:”Don’t you think that is a problem if people ordered food and never got it. And he says – it’s not on here, they never did.” If it was one person I’d understand but 5! Red light.. red light… So as he argues with me and his colleague whom I’ve treated very nicely saying:”I don’t know what is wrong with him today, I have nothing against you, him or the restaurant.. but this is just not ok”, she behaved strange too.. like I wasn’t getting to her either… red light.. red dark light…
And he keeps arguing with me. I just turned to the table and said “no tips” right in front of him. He got pissed off. So they each calculate according to the menu what they owe and give the money. I add it up and we are short about 15-20 CUC. I start looking closer at the menu and I see my drink twice in the bill, I ask around I only had one. I call them again and ask where this came from.. She says she will be back in a minute, she needs to ask him. I say to the table, he is afraid of me now, she will be back.. so she is back and the bill is now less a few dollars. I added all the numbers in the meantime and it doesn’t add u to the number. So I ask her to bring a piece of paper and a pan and I start to break down the bill… As I go over it I ask at the table who had it and check the cost. By the time I finished going over all of it, there were 11 limonadas, we only ordered 7. 6 bottles of water, we only ordered 4. 4 mango juice, we only had 4. We never got the bread. One bad fruit salad. One Cubata drink which I never had. And I think that was it.. as if it wasn’t enough.. So I add it all up and do all the math in front of her and it adds up to 53.25 CUC, compared to about 70 dollar bill we originally got. Ooops.. did I mention sophisticated jinetero? He made the bill bigger s he could make a bigger tip.. He didn’t expect us to be on top of it.

The woman was so embarrassed that she said, fine give me what this comes to. I’m sure that she was in on it. They spread the drinks all over a few pages that it was impossible to tell what we got charged for exactly. We didn’t leave even a dime more than what we had, needless to say that I will come back for a drink to watch the flamenco but will never eat there again. The table next to us started checking their bill to as they were listening in on the drama as I was making a scene and asked three times for the jeffe prior to breaking the bill down. They were trying to avoid this. As we left, the other table were getting upset about their bill. The guy who did all of this was on a chair outside smoking, all nervous.

We left with a smile on our face happy about catching them and setting them straight. Shay and I were joking that he was such a sophisticated jinetero that we should go and congratulate him on the mastery.. that was very slick how he did it and all.. We almost appreciated the skill.. and being Israelis we do like black humour… ha ha ha…

So that was our little adventure today and as they said:”welcome to Cuba!” They are learning fast… ha ha ha

Out of my comfort zone

noreply@blogger.com (Chen Lizra) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 20:02:00 +0000

July 20 – Today was a Monday day which is a slower day after everyone partied hard on the weekend – the Cubans were ready to retire for a few days. We woke up in the morning and went to the Museum of the Revolution for them to learn more about the whole process and to see the Batista palace which is well kept and stunning. Then we went to get Music and cigars. Afterwords we had lunch at a friend’s house and finally everyone had classes. I was so tired and it seemed that I was just running around trying to get so much done. Zuyima told me that I needed to relax. She taught me today some Afro-Cuban Contemporary.. we just started touching on what I’ve wanted to learn. I lack so much technique when it comes to this style. It was super challenging for me.

During the tour I cannot get the kind of focus I usually have when I am just here alone focusing on 5 hours a day of classes… That will come when everyone will leave. But for now I am doing one hour of Sueltas and women styling and one hour of Afro-Cuban stuff. I’m loving it. I am waiting to see if I get far enough with the Afro-Cuban contemporary to create new class.

I was so out of my comfort zone today. I’ve been the most awkward that I’ve been since I got here. And I found out that I am crooked. What does that mean? Zuyima was teaching me some base coming from ballet which I lack for my Afro-Cuban contemporary. As she was correcting me she asked me if I was walking with a big back pack hanging always on my Right shoulder. I said yes and was surprised she could tell. She said that my posture got messed up and that one shoulder was higher than the other. When she corrected me she told me it would feel weird and it did. 6 years of business school and here are the effects of carrying those smart books on my one shoulder. So now I am only allowed to walk with it on both shoulders or not at all and I have to bring awareness to my shoulders and correct my posture because it’s messing up my movements.. It’s not symmetrical.

Also, I have a hard time with the more rigid stance coming from Ballet. I am used to curving out my hips from gymnastics.. 10 years are hard to get out of my body and system. But Ballet stance is all tacked in. And I honesty right now suck at it. But I know that it will give me a new flow so I am working on it. And I love expanding myself. Zuyima told me that tomorrow she will give me a special class that has to do with Yoruba base because I need it. I am starting to get what she is very strong at and what is not her specialty. This kind of base is her specialty.

I love the Ochun stuff we did today because she was explaining to me the story behind it – how Ochun is the queen of the party yet the whore and that she doesn’t just use her fan to show pride, but that as she does she looks for the guy of her interest in the crowd. That made it much easier to try and get into character and imagine myself looking for a guy I desired.. It suddenly made sense to move like this and as I felt the character I started smiling… She kept saying.. big eyes.. big smile… open your eyes wide… and I couldn’t help put laugh.

Desert was sueltas and that was amazing. I loved it. I’ve done now some many different moves with her and incorporated them all into my dancing with Maikel – Mambo, chachacha, son, Salsa variations etc. I love it… We did today a bit of chachacha and it was my first time doing traditional Chachacha with a partner in Cuba. I used to hate this dance but now that I am learning traditional stuff.. I am loving it. Before I’ll leave I’d like to do with Israel an hour a day of Chachacha. So if all will go according to plan I’d like to teach in Sept Chachacha, Advanced Sueltas and styling for those coming back from the trip or been dancing for a long time (All the suletas and how to play with a guy and add them in). And we’ll see what else… There are going to be some interesting things coming up… I can’t wait to learn more.. I also hope that I can get to go to Seattle again and bring some more knowledge. I got some amazing e-mails from people asking me to come back and telling me how professional they thought I was. It was heartwarming.

I’m traveling right now with a group of 10 Canadian women and 2 Israelis. It’s very interesting t watch the mix. Shay and Natalie are very much like me – direct, everything is out in the open… they get why I do what I do. Canadians tend to do the same things inside. So to them many things seemed strange or rude at first. At first they were criticizing from the side. I could feel it. But as time goes by they are learning to say it out in the open. They are a big range of personality with Tracey probably being the most reserved and each and every one of them is opening up. Tracey’s way of dressing even started changing.. it’s becoming more relaxed. She is so sweet inside. You couldn’t tell before.

Yesterday we went to a friend of mine’s. He gives me music. We didn’t have a lot of time. As he started getting sucked into other things I was constantly pushing him to focus and move forward. After a few times they started telling me how I lack patience. I explained that this was not about patience but about knowing him. We’ve been friends for 4 years. We come from a similar culture. I can push him to move forward because I know that he will take 5 hours if not.. and we didn’t have it.. Then he was trying to glue this thing on the case and the thing didn’t have glue, so he told his mom to bring him another one. She started telling him that it had glue since she was holding it in her hand. And he said: yes, but not the one with the image on it. The white part does goes to the garbage and the glue is on it. So she said: yes, but the glue is working and he just snapped. I smiled to myself because in Israel we would react the same. Some of the girls were offended by it and said: that’s how he speaks to his mom. I explained to them how we think.. you can say yes I’ll do it, or no I will not.. but don’t drive me nuts arguing with me that what I don’t need, I need. Natalie was smiling because to her it was natural too.

Sunday night when we got back from Vinales, they said they wanted the night off but a few hours later they changed their mind and they all went out. Shay told me the next day that it was so hard to move the whole group because so many people have different wishes. That he valued more what I did. The interesting thing is that when he described to me what made it work – how I was at times part of them having fun and at times with a bit of distance to manage the group.. it seemed so familiar… my army training. That’s exactly what I did as a commander.. And who would have guessed that this skill would turn into exotic tours to Cuba run by me.. ha ha ha

Shay and I fight all the time.. we fight like Israeli brother and sister.. we get upset at each other about something then two seconds later hugs and kisses.. He’s funny, he keeps saying that he is the Israeli version of the jinitero.. he keeps us all laughing as he goes and makes friends with the jineteros and gets closer to them to see how they operate and to see the effects the system has on them.

So traveling with a group of 10 people who have different wants and desires is not an easy thing to keep in control but I think that this is going very well… People are having fun and we have a good flow. They understand what goes on around them and more and more, they do what they would like to do.

In the afternoon Zuyima and I went looking for her friend who DJs in one of the clubs to make sure the girls will get the kind of Reggaeton night they hoped for.. We drove from one place to the other to make it happen at set it for the evening..
Night time arrived and we went after dinner to check thing out.. to see what this was about.. when we got to La Red.. it was empty and the woman told me – Monday! There was not even one person there.. so we walked at night on the Malecon back. On the way back Natalie was so excited about learning how to walk sexy that she was working the hips on the Malecon and the guys were noticing and enjoying the view. We got some of the other girls to walk sexy using their magic hips and it looked loose and fun. I was in my Via Uno red shoes from last night and hips on these shoes are easy to work.. ha ha ha

I can’t wait to get another pair of Via Uno.. I know which pair I like.. but I have to wait.. the right size hasn’t arrived yet.. uff…

The tour goes on an Afro-Cuban Trinidad adventure

noreply@blogger.com (Chen Lizra) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:21:00 +0000

July 19 – Don’t forget that you can comment about all that you are reading.. The next time that I will be online I will read the ones which will get posted. I love finding out about people that read my blog and like it.

We are back from Trinidad. That was one hell of a weekend. We got up and left for Trinidad which is 6 hours away. It as super hot but we had our own private tour guide and bus. The tour guide – Dago – spoke fluent English. Usually tours are set here by a few companies run by the Gov. and from trying them, they are super boring. You drive to the place, they talk a lot, get off take pictures, drive to the next place. So I tailored a special tour for them, the kind which would be fun.
The tour guide got instructions to tell them interesting stories about what really happened in each place.. the local stories.. which are the most interesting.. Everyone that had questions had the chance to ask as many questions as possible about the things that interest them.

When we stopped to get some food and drinks Dago asked me if I wanted to take the interesting route or take the highway straight. I said, the interesting. Then on the way he proposed to stop at the crocodile reserve. The group wanted to see it, so we did… Danine, Diva and Julie got some cool pictures with a little one they had to hold and they were each freaking out in turn. It was major cute. Vida was being Vida, causing a lot of little trouble.. the good kind. She got the nickname lately of “la locita.” Really suits her. We then got to see them crocodiles being fed which was amazing. I filmed it. I’ll post it here with all the pictures that tell the story when I am back…

Then we drove for a while and saw some amazing stops at amazing reefs that looked like they were as blue as deep eyes. But we had no time to stop there since we had to get to Trinidad which was still pretty far. We stopped for lunch as Cienfuegos exactly where I ate last year, after we saw the Arab Palace with all the cool ornaments. As usual they wanted to stay for a beach party with hot guys but there was no way we would even see any of Trinidad if we did.. So we continued.
The drive was so funny.. Vida, Danine and Taisa were all the way to the back and they were singing songs and dancing Reggaeton moves and partying hard. We got such a kick out of it. It was the best party bus to be on and Dago said to me that he never had 10 women in one tour, not a tour like this. Him and the driver were enjoying this as much as we did. He said that they usually get old people aged 40 and above. So to be on a bus with 10 hot women who love to party.. let’s just say that those smiles didn’t come off even for one second. Not only that but they have volunteered to be with us the following weekend when we’ll go to Vinales. Oh the pain.. ha ha ha
When we got to Trinidad it was about 6:30 PM, we stopped at one of Dago’s house to call the woman who was organizing the casas and to find out at which gate to come to. The idea was to send them each to their casa to change and then go with Dago for a tour so he can explain a bit about the city. But turned out that the organizer that I spoke to didn’t tell him that he would need to do that so he had to run around to arrange his casa and the driver’s and that meant that he could only meet us at 8:30 PM. So at that time it was already dark and the tour was interesting but I wish it could have been the way I planned it. Welcome to Cuba! So I spoke to Dago in order to find out how Cubans do things to make sure that next time I’ll get what I want which is better for the group. He explained it all. He also laughed and said that the people are looking funny because with all the years that he’s been going around with tours, n one has ever done it at this time at night. But the tour is for the people that joined it and they get to chose what they like to do based on the direction the group takes. And they all decided that they would want to go to the beach in the morning, so a morning tour was not possible.

So to go back Trinidad.. they were electrified by the beauty and could not believe how beautiful, calm and colonial the little town was. We were staying at the historic part. They were just stunned by the Trinidad and if before they wanted to go here, then there.. do this.. maybe do this.. as soon as we got there, they understood why I kept them focused on Trinidad. When they left their things at the casas, I stopped casa de la musica, casa de la trova and el Palenque to find out what shows they will have. It turned out that there would be a Folklore group performing that night at ten and I got us reservation.

At 10 PM we sat down over mojitos, cubatas and Cuba Libres to watch the show. It was the real deal and so beautiful. I have never seen this kind of a show people. They had a style from Haiti that I didn’t know existed and I didn’t understand a lot of the stories behind the dances. The ones that were like in Havana had the same story line but very different costumes and very different style of dance. For example Palo in Havana is danced more with shoulder shakes where a in Trinidad more with open skirts and shoulder movements that have a flow. I got some beautiful videos. I was super happy that at last we could catch a folklore show. Usually I see a lot more but this week Yoruba Andabo was out of the country touring and the Conjunto didn’t have a show. Some of the dances were really intense and I looked at them, they were not afraid. On the contrary, they were all glowing with this huge smile on their faces saying that this is exactly what they had hoped to see and experience in Cuba… the Trinidad magic was working.

After the show they went to Casa de La Musica and I stayed to talk to the group and get the director’s contact info. I want in the future to organize a tour which would be one week of classes with professionals in Havana and one week in Trinidad. Miguel, they director, is such a nice guy.. he had this glow in his eyes which reminded me of the Bedouin in Sinai. And it made me happy to see that familiar smile again.. I only saw it in the desert and it had to do with the heat and the simple and slow lifestyle full of magic. I’ve missed this. Now here is a cool thing, turns out that he knows one of my dancer friends in Havana and he was sending kisses and lots of love which will be delivered tomorrow. What a small country. In any case, I told him to come and join us in casa de La Musica for some dancing.. and he said he would.

I went to join the gang and here they were all standing watching but not dancing. Hey are still afraid and don’t always get that Cubans don’t care, they are just out to have fun. I jumped right in and started dancing. Then I ran into Israel Ortiz. It was cool because we also ran into each other at the stop where we had food and drinks, the first stop after leaving Havana. So I knew we’d meet there and it was so cool to reconnect after all the dancing. I was very tired but I love dancing with him and it was a pleasure to get a few rounds. The heat was intense and I was dripping.. and I am not joking. Israel had to grab my bandana and wipe my sweat off my face and hands in a jokingly way before we continued to dance and laughed about it. He was there with his students and I got to meet the ones that I didn’t know before. We actually suggested to maybe start doing tours together which might be an interesting idea.

So that was it and at around 1 AM, while the party kept on till 2 AM, we left. The girls went to sleep way before that. They were ready to end the beautiful day. Israel and I said goodbye and he was off the next morning to Santiago. I really want to go and see Baracoa and I hope that I’ll be able to do it n my free weekends. So we’ll see, we might connect again in Santiago.. I’d love to dance with him again and I’d love to see the city through his eyes because he is from Santiago and I have never seen the place.. we’ll see how things will unfold.

In any case, that was it for me. I crashed with a bit happy smile. I was also happy that the group had such a great experience and that they were all feeling very high from it, like what they saw so far got topped.

The next morning they had free time till 10 Am to go around and check out the place… Trinidad and Baraco are the only places in Cuba that the Cubans say time stood still. The rest is old and broken but not like these places. Baracoa is on the beach and they both have music and dance scenes but Trinidad is the more authentic one when it comes to music and folklore dance.

Anyway, after the free time where they go to check out the market and buy a few things, they all got together and we met Dago. Before that I went and found out about the Casa de La Culture and the other folklore group which the local friend I have made – Jesus – told me about. He said that they have a better show than the one we saw and I am thinking how can they keep topping things. In any case, these shows were morning shows around 8 AM and they were every morning besides Sunday.. doh. I didn’t have time to talk to them and get the contact but I’ll do it in the next round. Jesus explained how things work.. I have to admit that it’s much easier to meet people in Trinidad even though jineteros they have in every city. So Jesus gave me his number and here we go again, I am starting to make friends who are from the inside in Trinidad and starting to learn the ropes of the city.

On the way to get breakfast at the house a guy offered me to buy a mango. I said that I was going to eat at the house. So he gave me a mango for free and said don’t worry about it and smiled and walked away. That’s something that’s hard to get in Havana. I had a couple of interesting conversations with people there, they all think that I am from Spain. It is amazing that they can pick up on my roots just like that. When I walked in the market showing Vida and Danine around I heard someone say:”Mango con mango.” I started laughing so hard. Mango is slang for someone that you desire and a way to come n to someone. He was basically saying that I was a Mango holding a Mango.

Dago the tour guide who had a crush on me which he wasn’t even trying to hide, told me that I have a way with men, that I get what I want. I say – in Cuba! And as he pointed it out I did start to see that as he said it I was getting what I wanted. Miguel came to meet me the night before at the Casa de La Musica.. it was super sweet because I wanted to dance with him. But he was so tired that I understood when he needed to go home to sleep. The way I looked at him made him feel good about it. If I asked him for anything I'd need, I know he'd say yes. When we were on the bus and took a stop for the bathroom the guy who showed me where it was said:”This is the public one but this one is for you” and the driver got a good kick out of this. When we went to get food they told me that there was no grilled chicken but after talking to the cook he agreed to make me one and Dago and the driver were making fun of me. And when we went to the crocodile reserve the guy at the gate who sold the tickets agreed to reduce the price from 5 CUC to 3 for everyone. So as we were going around Dago kept pointing out to me all these things that I do and asked me stunned – how did you get the price down to 3? How did you do it? As I was seeing myself through his eyes and the driver who was joking about this with him all through the tour, I started to understand how Cuban I have become in some ways. Cubans use what they have.. They charm you with their magic that’s special to them.. So for example someone who’s cute will use that cuteness to get their way doing it in a cute way. I have not realized how much Cuba has shown me a new part of me, what my magic is. So for the rest of the tour I was smiling to myself every time they laughed about this. Oh yes and of course Dago is married with kids and that didn’t stop him from wanting to be with me and telling me this about 20 times.. welcome to Cuba!

So we finished what we came to do and left for the beach in Ancon close to Brisas del Mar. Stunning beach. The only one that’s down south that’s as beautiful as was explained to me. This is usually more typical of the North.

We were on the beach for an hour and then we got on and started driving back. The drive back was one hell f a party. This time I hung out in the back with Diva, Danine and Taisa and I encouraged them to get some rum. Before we got on the bus at the gas station I was posing with an extreme sexy pose with a mango juice on my back and me bent over so that I would have this pic. It was hilarious.. I was on! Ha ah ha.. the party was on. So we got on the bus and I started dancing Raggeaton in the back and seriously this was the best moving bus to be on according to Dago and the driver.. We got down and dirty and kind of rowdy.

Once we ran out of Rum because the bottle was so small, I asked him to stop at a place where we could buy some more and I got us Kola and Anejo Reserva and mixed it in an empty bottle a Cubata. Dago told me – ¾ rum and ¼ Kola – the way Cubans drink it. I love it. So here we were on the bus, driving and dancing and partying making the whole tour back a lot more interesting. The guys in the front had this huge smile on the face. When we stopped Dago and the driver told me that it’s amazing how I dance.. better then Cuban women.. They were blown away… I’ve unleashed.. not all the way.. but hair was down with Danine’s orders and my moves then become a lot more sensual and sexy. Shay was filming all of this so I am so glad that at last I’ll have some footage of me dancing really well… at long last..

At the end of the tour at the last stop Dago explained to me things that I didn’t know about Cuba. He said that it is possible to get a status here and live here for a foreigner.. depends if temporary or for good if my business idea was accepted by the Gov. But that they would own 51% and me 49%.. Cuba for you.. So it got me thinking.. emmm… I love Cuba.. I am sure that in another life I was Cuban. I love Israel and Cuba but I feel here even better than I do in Israel.. like there is one more part of me that comes out in Cuba that has to do with my Sabor. Cuba didn’t give me Sabor.. Sabor you cannot teach, you can just unleash. I’ve always had that in my blood but here it came out. My strong personality fits well here and I am happy here. I love it. So I don’t know… what I’d want to do in Cuba would be close to impossible according to what he explained about my specific idea…

In any case.. so much more to tell but it is now 2 AM and it is time for me to pass out for the day so I will stop here even though I so want to keep telling all the little magical things… So good night from Havana where the Malecon is full tonight and the heat broke down a bit and the wind feels nice on the skin.

Jinetero in denial

noreply@blogger.com (Chen Lizra) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:14:00 +0000

July 18 – 7 AM I already woke up.. couldn’t sleep anymore. Was buzzing from last night. We went to the market but the market was closed. In 4 years that I come and go that has never happened. Usually the market is open every day besides Wed and it’s solid unless it rains. All you’ll have to do is show up.. but turns out that a cardinal died, the cardinal of the cathedral, and they were having a mass for him so the whole week was different.

So instead we walked the streets of old Havana in search for little stores that have the crafts.. generally speaking I know where most of them are but obviously not all. One time a guy took me around, he was trying to work out a commission so he showed me the generic “route.”

The day was intensely hot and we were soaking wet.
It was an interesting dynamic to go shopping with them all together – some just did their own thing and others noticed they were in a group and needed to manage their time in a store. One thing for sure, I am watching them and the dynamics and understanding how some things need to be changed a bit about the trip. This is the first tour that’s this big and there were things that were coming up that didn’t in past trips. Yesterday at dinner I was talking to Vida and asking her for some feedback about the trip – the good and the bad – through her eyes. She had some really great and strong ideas on how things could be improved. Her suggestions will for sure affect future trips in order to make them better. The trips are very dynamic and organic but there is still a certain amount of structure that people have to follow, so the changes have to work with this. And I believe that Vida’s suggestions will actually point the tours an even better direction.

Anyway, after a few hours of going around and finding all the stores that everyone wanted to see and the little markets, the vibe was pulling in different directions.. so I cut them all loose and we set the time for dinner to meet again.

Dinner we had close to the hotel at the restaurant they all like and after most of them had their own plans. They are getting more street savvy and more aware of what to do and not to do, so they are claiming more freedom and getting it. The idea is to cut them loose when they want to, when it works with the trips as a whole and when they are safe. They are doing very well and it’s great to see.

S at the end of it Taisa, Jodi, Shay, Natalie and myself went out after dinner. We decided to do something simple which is go to La Floridita because of the time which was perfect for it. On the way, we saw a club that Shay thought looked interesting and it did look like the Cubans were into the place. We ran into one of the professional dancers that I danced with the other night at Casa de La Musica. So we decided to hang out there and wait for it to open with all of the Cubans and the guy’s friend started chatting with us telling us that he used to live in Germany and was married and eventually came back. Surprising because most Cubans that leave can never come back emotionally and get used to the lifestyle again. So that was a bit strange but I wasn’t sure what this was about. Anyway, he befriended most f the group and we stood there chatting and waiting. Then the club opened and we were waiting for our turn to go in. The professional dancer and his friend who said that he was professional too,, had another friend who was with a foreign woman – a situation that was for sure not about love. Their energies just did not match.
Anyway, they were trying to figure out something with some paper to go in and suddenly this whole drama started. The guy who lived in Germany said something about some paper that was supposed to be signed the other day and was not and that he doesn’t have the money to get in… red light.. red light… Usually that’s how people work the system. They get to your heart and then they set you up in a situation and they you cannot refuse. Oh, but I can.

Not all Cubans are opportunists.. my friends are not like this. They have values that are very strong and they are very proud. And in that moment I wasn’t sure if he was a good person or not anymore.. but he made the mistakes of setting up a situation to ask for money from a person he just met 5 minutes prior. I personally have enough friends.. I don’t feel I need to gain new ones. None of my friends ever asked me for money and those who did never became my friends.

So I split us up on purpose and they Cubans were standing on the side and we were standing by ourselves trying to figure out the dynamics. I went to see what was going and saw how he was working on setting us up emotionally more so it will be hard to say no. That to me was it.. time to cut him loose. So the girls asked me what was going on and I started explaining while he was calling me to come back as if I am part of the group and we need to make decisions together. No we don’t. So I told him to wait which was a very clear signal.

Based on all of this we announced that we were going somewhere else and took off leaving them all behind and walked to La Floridita where we knew would be lots of jiniteros but also great dancers.

So we are walking and talking and about half way through the guy pops out of the side street with great enthusiasm and says, I’m coming with you.. dark red light.. dark red light.. as Shay and me were saying – the bank left so he left after the bank. The shows in both places cost the same – if he didn’t have money to go into one, he wouldn’t go into the other without help either and I was watching him work the situation waiting to pop the question. Usually they ask to “borrow” money as a close friend and you never see it again.. it can be a very small amount but nonetheless I have friends and I do not need to fund people I do not know. I actually never did which is why I have such great friends because Cubans explained to me that those that really want to be your friend will not ask you, they will do things with you the Cuban way (which is way more interesting anyway).

So we get to the place and go in and sit down and he is with us. The guy will come in a second to collect the money and I can see how he is waiting for the right opportunity. As all of this is happening I am explaining to Taisa, marion and Natalie what is going on and they are very curious to see this unfold.

The guy comes to collect the money and guess what happens.. he comes to me with the nicest energy ever and starts to say:”Listen, I have 3 but I am just missing 2, can you land me the money?” I said no. It wasn’t how much.. It was the principal. I don’t fund opportunists in Cuba who will just keep working the tourist. I have seen what honest Cubans do. People like him are the most dangerous because they are not bad like the other type, and they get to the tourist’s heart.

When I said to him no, I also said to him – you know why? Because you cannot ask me for money after just 20 minutes that you met me. And he said never mind.. never mind…and went to try to find the money so that he won’t be kicked out. When I said that to him, it was to see how he would respond.. his answer to this would tell me a lot about who he is inside, in case I was wrong.

So he went and did his thing and 10 minutes later he comes to talk to me a serious talk. And I thought, ok, maybe he is a good guy. He started saying that he is not like this and he never asks for money and that this was just because he was short.. that he lived outside and Cuba and suffered and he knows what it is like. If you’ll check the posts from last year almost exact conversation with another opportunist. I thought, ok, let’s see where honesty goes here. So I said to him, look I’ve been coming and going for 4 years – I’ve seen how the jineteros work here, how they use the tourists. For me it isn’t about money, it is about value. You lived outside the country and you know the situation. Outside the country I won’t give money to a person I just met 10 minutes ago let alone in Cuba with the whole situation. He said – I don’t care about your money but your friendship. And I added – this is not the way to gain I, not if you want to have foreign friends. I was very strict and clear that this line could not be crossed by him. He looked at me intensely in the yes, almost making an eye fight. So topped him. Don’t play this game with me.
He asked me what a jinetero meant for me and I said anymore trying to use the tourists. He defined it differently in a way that would not include what he did which I have seen Cubans do before. They still consider themselves good but a little short all the time. As Jodi pointed out later – it’s like a jinetero in denial. Nice one Jodi. And as he was trying to convince me that asking me for money is ok because it is a normal thing between friends.. sentences which I have heard many times before in this format exactly.. I basically said – sorry doesn’t work for me. And then he snapped – I wanted your friendship but you are a bad person and his tone turned nasty and he started bad mouthing me.. he couldn’t get what he wanted how he wanted it.. And he was done right there. I ended the conversation and the opportunity for him to show me that he was a good person for real.

Taisa and Marion who were sitting with me were saying that this is like sociology and that Marion would probably be all over this next day because she is so into these things. Natalie said, wow, I really thought he was a good guy. Yes, they are silk. I said t Taisa and Jodi, that’s why I don’t just cut loose people who don’t know what goes on. None of them would have picked on it right away getting the game. Now that they see it, they will see it in the making. They are getting Cuban street savvy.

Jodi is so deep.. she said to me:”You can see in his wrinkles and his look in his eyes that he suffered.” She connects to the core of the person. And I agree. The problem is that people like him work it on you and use it as a tool. I am immune now. They cannot get to my heart if I do not want them to and the friends that I have are not like that at all and I can share such a great and wonderful warm love with them.

Oh yes and I got t dance one song. I was too tired to do much from everything but at one point I just had to dance. There was a Cuban guy there who danced who’s style was interesting. So I danced with him one song. Everyone was looking and talking about my dancing again. Shay who was talking to a Cuban woman told me when I was done.. She said that you dance like a Cuban. I explained to him that it is unique for them to see a foreigner dance like a Cuban with all the energy and playing and all but that also it is my professional training that makes me stand out. Cubans can tell that I dance professionally. Here it is an amazing achievement. One that makes me very proud. I wish my dad could be here and see it. He’d be very proud.
Ok.. time to pack for Trinidad… leaving today and coming back tomorrow night.. I can’t wait to get t Trinidad…