I've always wanted to travel to Cuba, and it's a beautiful place to relax and because I've never found a chance to confirm my friend's praise for Cuba.
Cuba, a familiar and unfamiliar country, the whole country in the Greater Antilles, is the largest island in the archipelago.
Because of its resemblance to a crocodile, it is also known as the "green crocodile of the Caribbean".
Cuba's natural beauty gives it the reputation of the "Pearl of the Caribbean".
By chance, I got a documentary book about Cuba, which was presented by a Chinese journalist after 9 in-depth explorations to show the daily life of Cubans, thus unveiling the "second face" of Cuba and letting me understand a different Cuban world.
The book is called "Hurricane Sweeping Over Cane Fields" and written by Liu Xiaoqian, a Chinese journalist --- on the front line of international news. As a member of the bureau, he entered the world of Cubans 9 times to discover the unknown Cuba.
In the preface to the book, the author has this sentence: "Whether in terms of the depth of time or the interpretation of theory, Cuba is an overly large and complex object of observation, far from being able to use its area as a reference." What I'm trying to record is the atmosphere of the moment and the state of people, without which even the most important news events would be filtered into an expressionless phrase. ”
Through his personal experience, Liu Xiaoqian took me through Cuba.
Hemingway, who lived in Cuba for 22 years, is rarely known by locals.
Once, Liu Xiaoqian saw the house where Hemingway had lived for 22 years, which was the only property Hemingway had purchased outside the United States.
In this house, there were books such as "For Whom the Death Knell Sounded" and "The Old Man and the Sea", and Liu Xiaoqian thought that there were more than 9,000 books in this house, which was proof that Hemingway wanted to live in Cuba for a long time.
However, seeing that the daily weight that Mingwei once recorded on the wall was cut off on a certain day and has not been continued since, it also represents evidence that the house has been abandoned by the owner.
There is a saying in the book that goes like this: "The young Hemingway recorded the Spanish Civil War on the front line, and the fearlessness of other writers is more metaphysically stuck on the manuscript paper than this." ”
As a famous American in Cuban history, Although Hemingway did not show enthusiasm for Cuba, it does not mean that he did not have feelings for Cuba.
Strawberry and chocolate, the collision of two ideologies.
There is a Cuban film "Strawberries and Chocolate", which was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Award at the 67th Academy Awards, and is the only Cuban film to be nominated for an Academy Award.
The story is about an artist and a college student who order strawberry-flavored and chocolate-flavored ice cream.
There was such a film review: "The pink color of strawberry ice cream symbolizes capitalism, and the advance and retreat of the two ideologies is the real theme of the film." ”
This reflects the fact that Cuba was oppressed at that time, as evidenced by the once-popular "Gloria" ice cream, which witnessed Cuba's difficulties from prosperity to decline.
Liu Xiaoqian through the ice cream to take us to understand the history of Cuba and the development of film, although I did not know the history of Cuba, but through this book, I have initially entered the World of Cuba.
The past is like cigar smoke
Speaking of Cuba, we have to mention cigar smoke.
Cuba is home to the world-famous "Havana Cigar Smoke", and most of the cigars produced are hand-rolled to ensure that the highest quality is maintained.
In 1492, Columbus discovered tobacco in Cuba and brought it back to his own country, and since then Cuba has become the world's most famous tobacco leaf and famous cigar.
Liu Xiaoqian personally experienced a roll cigar, for the details of the depiction of meticulous, like cigar smoking people, interested can check out this book.
There are also stories about the Cuban attitude towards Castro's death, the story of the hurricane sweeping through the cane fields, etc., without obscure words, and it is easy to read.
Although the book is only 265 pages long, it is enough for me to savor the Cuban chocolate ice cream.