Monthly Archives: May 2012

Dulces de Coco: Coconut Sweets

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Coconut Sweets and deep fried pasta!

Every country has its junk food and street food and Cuba, despite all its shortages is no exception!

”Necessity is the mother of invention”  so the saying goes, and never a phrase more truly represents all aspects of life in Cuba today. Locally sourced home grown food is no luxury here, is all that’s available, and Cubans make the most of what little they have.

You need not search for pre packaged bags of potato crisps, colourful snack size bags of peanuts nor huge selections of biscuits and cookies in beautiful plastic wrappings!

What you will find out on the streets are snacks made at home by hand, displayed on trays and advertised by voice! Some of the voices are amazing in their volume and your sweet dreams might be interrupted as you wake in the early morning in old Havana to the sound of “Tamales fresco” (fresh Tamales) “Coco! Coco!” (coconut)

Out on the streets, in the popular plazas and especially on the Malecon (the walled sea front where lover go to stroll at night and fishermen spend their days casting out to sea) these are the haunts for the street sellers. Frequently you’ll find old ladies and gents in straw hats carrying a bundle of cone shaped paper packages and ambling along in the sunshine. These old folks will be calling “mani mani” (peanuts) or “chicharrita” (which is a general term for junk food)   Some cones they are clutching are the size of an icecream, others thinner still, and here size matters! The thin ones are mani and the fat ones chcharrita!

If you are lucky the peanuts will still be warm from the roasting, they are small, salty and very tasty!  The chicahrrita is a totally Cuban invention, its deep fried pasta and comes crunchy, crisp and salty in the style of a pasta tube, like penne or macaroni.

For a few pesos MN (moneda nacional) any child or adult can crunch their way through these simple snacks that fill a gap between lunch and dinner!

Younger stronger bodies are needed to carry the trays of “Dulces de Coco” (coconut sweets ) that glisten in the sunshine attracting children like bees to a honeycomb! These street hawkers need strong biceps and walk the streets selling their wears which quickly disappear.

Coconut is the main ingredient and grows abundantly on the island, then you need a generous helping of sugar for which Cuba is famous. The resulting globes of sweet coco gleam like jewels on their trays. Irresistible!!

We can recommend you try a dulce de coco and a cup of Cubas delicious coffee, the perfect partnership!

Why not book your tour today to Cuba today and taste for yourself!

A Cuban Snapshot is our 7 day tour
https://encompasstours.com/tours/a-cuban-snapshot-7-days/

Mi Cubita is our 14 day tour
https://encompasstours.com/tours/mi-cubita-cuba14-days/

The sweetest sugar in the world!

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Guarapo Frio!

Celia Cruz was not the only Cuban to cry “Azucar” with delight and eager anticipation, but she put the island on the map for many people!

“Azucar” or sugar, is and has been the life blood of the island and an essential ingredient without which Cubans could not survive!

Life is sweet in Cuba and coffee comes automatically sweet…”Sin azucar???” (without sugar) you must be crazy!

The plantations of sugar cane are now much reduced from their peak following the revolution of 1959 when vast areas of land were cut and burnt to boost crops and foreign income. Sugar prices were high as was demand, but markets fluctuate and during the last three decades Cuban sugar industry has all but disappeared! Many of the the “centrales” or sugar refineries, have been closed down or even pulled down, and in some cases only the elegant tall chimneys remain. Workers have had to move on to other industries, and communities have shrunk or moved away. The trains too that were so important for the transportation to the ports are mainly to be found in the museums or abandoned and rusting at the end of the line!

Home consumption of sugar will always be  high as Cubans have a very sweet tooth, and one way of getting your sugar hit for the day is a delicious cup of “Gurapo Frio” cold sugar juice!

Kiosks selling Guarapo are popular all over Cuba and the juice couldn’t be fresher!  A stack of recently cut cane is piled ready and you can watch the machine as it crushes and squeezes the sweet sticky liquids from the stalks. It’s comes trickling out a light brownish colour and is collected in a bucket as it runs from the rollers.

Next a block of ice is pulverised in your mug and the liquid poured over!  Its quite frothy, very sweet and will give you a huge energy rush! Cubans love it!! On a boiling hot summer day what could be better mid morning!!

Holidays to Cuba available now!

“Mi Cubita” 14 days tour
https://encompasstours.com/tours/mi-cubita-cuba14-days/

“Cuban Snapshot” 7 days tour
https://encompasstours.com/tours/a-cuban-snapshot-7-days/

For the sounds of Celia singing “Azucar Negra” you tube link below!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCSAHyvslhU&feature=related

In search of Cuba’s National Symbols!

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What do symbols tell us about ourselves and our aspirations?

Columbus is not the only person who has exclaimed that Cuba is the most beautiful land ever created.

Cubans and thousands of tourists share this opinion. The island is fertile for agriculture with a beautiful climate and plenty of rain, providing an ample diversity of vegetation. Its geographic location is an ideal stop off point for migrating birds and there are some endemic species too! Cubans are rightly proud of their island and the national symbols that they have inherited!

In every village and community you will see these representations lovingly painted on the walls; a tall palm tree, a delicate white flower, and small bird with an unusual long tail!

Cuba has many types of palm trees, and this one is not an indigenous species, but it is sure to be the first palm tree that you see when you arrive in Cuba.  The “Palma Real” (Roystonea regia) or Royal Palm, originates in Florida and Mexico. It can reach an amazing 40 or 50 feet in height and stands majestic with a characteristic crowning crest of leaf fronds.  It grows everywhere on the island and despite its great height and slim trunk, can withstand hurricane force conditions. The Royal Palm embodies and represents the endurance of the people.

The choice of another non native species for national flower reflects the non indigenous nature of the islands population. The “Mariposa” (Hedychium coronarium) or White Butterfly Jasmine originates in Asia, Indonesia and India and is part of the ginger family and is found commonly flowering in the rainy season as it like damp conditions. The flower is a beautiful and delicate white with large petals and the flowers emerge from an encased and layered flower head. The scent is a deliciously fragrant, delicate jasmine aroma. During the wars of Independence the Cuban ladies wore this flower in their hair and it’s said they hid messages passed between rebels in the flower stalks! Today it’s a popular flower for religious offerings and personal decoration. This exquisite flower represents the purity, independence and rebellion of the people.

Cubans are fond of putting small birds in small cages but the national bird will never withstand this form of captivity!  It’s a shy bird that values its freedom and if caged will fly repeatedly at the bars until it batters itself to death!!

It’s not an abundant species but it’s indigenous and endemic to Cuba. It’s likely that most Cubans have never seen this bird in its natural setting and so we hired a guide to help us find it. The lovely elusive “Tocororo” (Priotelus temnurus) or Cuban Trogon can only be found in particular locations and it’s well worth seeing. The plumage is of white, red and blue, the colours of the Cuban flag and its name reflects is song “tocororo tocororo”. This beautiful bird is a representation of an idea of freedom and patriotism that all Cubans aspire to.

If you’d like to see these lovely species and more why not book a tour to Cuba?

“A Cuban Snapshot” 7 days
https://encompasstours.com/tours/a-cuban-snapshot-7-days/

“Mi Cubita” 14 days.
https://encompasstours.com/tours/mi-cubita-cuba14-days/

Padre Olallo. First Cuban Beatification

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One more miracle and he will become a new Saint and Cuba’s first!

 

Becoming a Saint is no easy matter and can take centuries to achieve.

Padre Olallo is well on his way to this exalted position. He was beatified in Cuba by the Pope in 2008 after a life of saintly deeds and unwavering faith and the occurrence of a miracle attributed to him.

Jose Olallo Valdez dedicated his life to the care of the sick and the poor of Camaguey for whom he was always a saint!

He was born in 1820 in Havana, to parents he never knew. Luckily for him he was born in and cared for at “Casa Cuna”  a type of  orphanage/ hospital for expectant mothers/ and school. He was baptised and educated till the age of 13 or 14 when he entered the order of Hospitalaria de San Juan del Dios (Saint John of God) in Havana.

A cholera epidemic was his reason for moving to Camaguey in 1835 where he remained till his death in 1889.

In Camaguey he started his work as a helper in the hospital, nursing the sick and injured, but eventually progressed to being the best doctor in the hospital and was made the superior of the community from 1856. In 54 years of dedication to his calling, he was only absent from the hospital one night and that was for reasons beyond his control and against his will.

He lived a life of self sacrifice with a strong spirit!

During ten years of civil war 1868 to 1878 the hospital was declare a military hospital but he continued to treat all who were in need without prejudice; regardless of political or religious belief, regardless of colour or wealth.  Spanish suppression of religious orders made no dent in his dedication and commitment to his order or his faith and when the last brother died in 1876 he continued his mission single handed, never wavering and with devotion.

His personal attributes of modesty, devotion, generosity, and bravery in dedicating himself to his faith and his calling shone out. For the people of Camaguey he was a saint, and after his death his fame spread. The long process of recognition and proof of his worthiness for sainthood were initiated.

The first posthumous miracle attributed to Padre Olallo was the cure of a 3 year old girl Daniela Cabrera Ramos. This child was dying of cancer with little time left to live. Her community, family and friends all prayed to Padre Olallo for a miracle and the following day the child began to recover to full health which has continued and she is now living a normal life.

Religions have had various periods of difficulty in Cuba, but since 1992 religious freedom was granted to the people, and organised religion has begun to grow in popularity. This year March 2012 the Popel visited for 2 days which received much media coverage and political speculation world wide.

The statue of Padre Olallo can be seen in Camaguey in the church where he dedicated his life.

Our “Mi Cubita” 14 day tour visits Camaguey which is a UNESCO world heritage site.
https://encompasstours.com/tours/mi-cubita-cuba14-days/

For a shorter holiday try “A Cuban Snapshot” 7 days tour
https://encompasstours.com/tours/a-cuban-snapshot-7-days/