J(ew)bans!

I step over Jewish stars and lions engraved into stone walkway as I enter into one of the 3 Jewish synagogues in downtown Vedado, la Habana, Cuba. It is a lazy Monday afternoon, and an older scruffy man who freakishly resembles my grandfather is sitting in the doorway on a fold out chair resting his arms and chin on his black shiny cane. “Buenas tardes,” he says with a low grumble in his voice- clearly a Cuban accent with a hint of Yiddish flair. He has bright blue eyes and a very white scruffy beard. I shyly tell him that I am an “extranjera judia de los Estados Unidos”- a jewish foreighner from the US, coming to visit the temple and learn more about Cuban Jews. He starts speaking to me in Yiddish and I have NO idea what he says. He goes back to Spanish. Do you have Polish blood? He asks in Spanish, ironically our only common language (he doesn’t speak Hebrew). I affirm that I do have polish ancestry. His face lights up with a big toothy gaping smile and leads me to the main office. “I want you to meet La Presidenta!” he says. I assume that he is taking me to meet the president of the congregation. As we stroll through the Synagogue hallways, I am taken aback at how well taken care of the building looks. It is one of the more modern and renovated buildings I have visited in Habana. We walk into the office where a woman who also looks like she could be any one of my relatives greets me with a slight smile and takes off her pearl string glasses. We introduced ourselves and I begin to fire out some burning questions about “Jewbans” that have been brewing for the six weeks that I’ve been in Cuba….

There are 1500 Jews in total living in Cuba. Only 1,200 of them are living in la Habana. There are 3 main synagogues in Habana. Interestingly, 90% of the Jewish population that existed in Cuba left with the revolution of 1959. Upon asking why, la presidenta told me “for economic reasons” which I’ve come to learn means that they owned businesses and had their wealth taken away from them with the new political regime. 10% stayed, however and I didn’t get clear reasons why. My impressions were that they had already established a community and family ties with the land and didn’t want to uproot themselves if they didn’t have to. With the revolution, however, did come certain religious restrictions.

To my surprise, there are no security guards outside or inside of the temple. Not only did this surprise me because generally Jewish institutions have some sort of security system in response to anti-semitism or threats due to the Israeli political stigma, but also because many buildings such as cultural houses, banks, museums, embassies, have some sort of security guard outside the building.

Another observation I made was the incredible syncretism of Cuban and Jewish cultures. I was lucky enough to be at the temple when the synagogue youth were gathering to do a dance workshop. My eyes lit up when I saw traditional Israeli folk dancing mixed with Salsa en rueda!!!

Questions that I have that remain to be investigated (I am planning on going back to the Synagogue to follow up) :

-Were Jewbans involved in the revolution on either side?

-Why did some stay?

-What kind of businesses were the Jews involved in pre and post revolution?

-How did the castro regime treat the Jewish religion or all religions for that matter?

To be continued-

La Comida Cubana

To find tasty and healthy food in Cuba requires patience, willingness to go on adventures, and a stomach that could be growling for hours due to a lack or abundance of food. A traditional Cuban plate is Congri (sometimes called Christianos y Moros, Christians and muslims), which is a mixture of white rice and beans, some sort of “salad” which 98% of the time has col (cabbage), tomatoes and sometimes, if your lucky, fresh cucumbers. For the meat of the dish you can almost always count on a “bistec de cerdo” which is a cutlet of pork, sometimes grilled or fried chicken or shredded beef. I eat a plate of this almost everyday and have grown to love these very filling platos de comida. The food is almost always flavored with garlic, onion and lots of salt. Cuban food is NOT spicy. Due to the embargo, many spices are not available or very very expensive. Garlic and onion in our residencia are bought in bulk. On my way up the 13 flights of stairs I pass by a huge back of onions hanging by the window that slowly diminishes with everymeal! Cuban food is complex and diverse, often can be disappointing but always surprising: pizza, platos tradicionales, Chinese-infused, ice cream, tamales, empanadas… OH my!

Places to eat…

17^th & C- Best sliced pork!

Near our school (Casa De Las Americas) there is an amazing restaurant based out of a garage that has plates of congri, sweet potato, ensalada and moist sliced pork- what I love about this pork is that its not only juicy and flavorful but it’s a good cut ( I think from the thigh/leg) so it has little fat. Fat is really popular to eat here (sometimes you can find sandwiches on the street just filled with pork fat as the main part of the sandwich!) Not being a huge fan of the texture and health indications of  pure fat, I stay away!! But 17^th & C is the best place for some delicious pork meat with out the fat!

21^st & H- ***TAMAL Place- Favorite Garage Restaurant in Cuba***

Serves amazing plates of Congri, Shredded Steak (Bistec), Ensalada con Pepinos (Salad w/ Cucumbers), and TAMALES!! These Tamales are usually DELICIOUS! Corn-based products are rare ( NO TORTILLAS to be found anywhere) so these Tamales are a nice refreshing addition to the palate. (Pictured above with Guayaba juice (Guava juice)

3ra y A- Burger Stand-

GREASY pork burgers that are very hit-and-miss- beware of uncooked patties with a lot of fat- will make your stomach turn. Sometimes delicious when cooked very well-done. On occasion the patty comes with lettuce and a green sauce that taste like it has a base of chicken stalk.

3ra y A- Angel’s Sandwiches

Cuban ham and cheese sandwiches are everywhere, however finding a good Cuban sandwich is quite challenging. Even with the 3 ingredients: bread, cheese and ham, a lot can go wrong. Angel’s Cuban sandwiches is the best place to find a cheap and good sandwich. Luckily for me, his shop is literally right next to the building that we live in. He sometimes has cabbage and puts that in the sandwich for a little crunch.

PIZZA EVERYWHERE! Pizza? In Cuba? Who would have known that it is one of the most popular foods- and you can it find anywhere! Cuban pizza is VERY different than any pizza in the US. The dough is a lot softer, the sauce is basically just tomato paste, and the cheese is spread very lightly and has a very sharp and biting flavor. Pizza is extremely cheap- about 10 cents for a personal pizza that will fill you up for a good couple of hours. The flavors, however, are not the most satisfying. Toppings are limited or non-existent. 

Linea entre B y C- Pizzeria Roberto

“Me da una pizza, por favor,” I say to the woman behind the large metal stove. She runs to the house next store where there are 3 people making the pizzas on the table in their living room. She grabs a raw pizza, runs back to the oven and shoves it in. I tell her to cook It for a little longer so the dough gets more crispy. The cheese at Roberto’s taste a lot better than other cheese I’ve tried, so I have become a loyal customer!!

Rare Finds:

Last week I made a trip to El Barrio Chino (Chinatown) with a couple of friends in hopes of finding some orange chicken or chow main to refresh us from weeks of eating pork steak and rice & beans. The BEST Chinese food I have found is at a restaurant called “Flor de Lota” (Lotus Flower) which served the most delicious fried rice, shrimp dishes, sweet and sour chicken and fried wontons called “maripositas” or “butterflies.” After eating this food my spirit felt fulfilled. I had an emotional reaction to this delicious meal! I can’t imagine how I’m going to feel when I get back to the states and I eat my mom’s homemade dinners and at all of my favorite restaurants!!

The best part of the Cuban cuisine in my opinion are the fruit juices and the fresh fruit that you can find in the mercados. I make at least 3 trips every week to the open-air Mercado where I buy fresh guayabas (guavas), clean shaven and washed carrots in a bag, mani (little hand packaged bars of crushed peanuts and honey), and platanos (bananas that are about the size of my finger- perfect for a small snack). The mangos have just come into season and are getting a lot cheaper by the pound. The mangos are my favorite fruit here by far. When I took a trip into the difference provinces outside Habana (more to come on that), I saw acres and acres of mango trees with dangling ripe mangos- what a beautiful sight!!

HELADO- ICE CREAM

Ice cream is EXTREMELY popular here- I’m not sure if it’s the hot weather, the extreme amounts of exercise and walking, but the ice cream tastes SOOOO delicious!! The flavors tend to vary day-to-day, meaning whatever flavors one store or gas station will have, every other store will have that same flavor! One day only Mantecado (butterscotch), Fresa ( Strawberry) and Almendra ( Almond) will be available, and then the next it’s Dulce De Leche and Chocolate.

My absolute FAVORITE flavor is Dulce De Leche- I wish I could bring this ice cream home for everyone to try but it melts in about 5 minutes. Interesting enough, these ice creams are mainly WATER based (probably why they melt so fast!) Milk is not widely available. 

CUBAN CAFÉ

Being a coffee lover myself I have to discuss my experience of the famous Cuban coffee. First and foremost when you come to Cuba as a coffee lover you have to throw out your expectations of getting large cups of straight black coffee – it doesn’t exist anywhere. Expect small dainty cups of very strong and VERY sweet espresso. It is absolutely delicious and very different from your average cup of joe in the morning. Cubans consider coffee-brewing an art. They take pride in the coffee they serve. Maria, the woman who lives and takes care of us at the Student Residence has a special method to brewing her coffee. Her brewer is a skinny metal pot. The trick is she pours the hot water for the first drips, then takes a bunch of sugar and beats the sugar into the first drips of fresh coffee. She beats it until it has a little layer of white foam. Then she continues to pour the rest of the hot water and adds a bit more sugar.. y ya! El Café cubano! Delicioso!!