Havana Real
Havana Real

Author: Yoani Sanchez

Publisher: Melville House

Published: 2011-04-26

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 1935554913

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She's been kidnapped and beaten, lives under surveillance, and can only get online—in disguise—at tourist hotspots. She's a blogger, she's a Cuban, and she's a worldwide sensation. Yoani Sánchez is an unusual dissident: no street protests, no attacks on big politicos, no calls for revolution. Rather, she produces a simple diary about what it means to live under the Castro regime: the chronic hunger and the difficulty of shopping; the art of repairing ancient appliances; and the struggles of living under a propaganda machine that pushes deep into public and private life. For these simple acts of truth-telling her life is one of constant threat. But she continues on, refusing to be silenced—a living response to all who have ceased to believe in a future for Cuba.

Havana Syndrome
Havana Syndrome

Author: Robert W. Baloh

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-03-19

Total Pages: 203

ISBN-13: 3030407462

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It is one of the most extraordinary cases in the history of science: the mating calls of insects were mistaken for a “sonic weapon” that led to a major diplomatic row. Since August 2017, the world media has been absorbed in the “attack” on diplomats from the American and Canadian Embassies in Cuba. While physicians treating victims have described it as a novel and perplexing condition that involves an array of complaints including brain damage, the authors present compelling evidence that mass psychogenic illness was the cause of “Havana Syndrome.” This mysterious condition that has baffled experts is explored across 11-chapters which offer insights by a prominent neurologist and an expert on psychogenic illness. A lively and enthralling read, the authors explore the history of similar scares from the 18th century belief that sounds from certain musical instruments were harmful to human health, to 19th century cases of “telephone shock,” and more contemporary panics involving people living near wind turbines that have been tied to a variety of health complaints. The authors provide dozens of examples of kindred episodes of mass hysteria throughout history, in addition to psychosomatic conditions and even the role of insects in triggering outbreaks. Havana Syndrome: Mass Psychogenic Illness and the Real Story Behind the Embassy Mystery and Hysteria is a scientific detective story and a case study in the social construction of mass psychogenic illness.

Havana Noir
Havana Noir

Author: Achy Obejas

Publisher: Akashic Books

Published: 2007-10-01

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 1936070235

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“[A] superb collection . . . The 18 stories by current and former residents of Havana are gritty, heartbreaking and capture the city.” —Orlando Sentinel To most outsiders, Havana is a tropical sin city. Habaneros know that this is neither new nor particularly true. In the real Havana—the lawless Havana that never appears in the postcards or tourist guides—the concept of sin has been banished by the urgency of need. And need—aching and hungry—inevitably turns the human heart darker, feral, and criminal. In this Havana, crime, though officially vanquished by revolutionary decree, is both wistfully quotidian and personally vicious. In the stories of Havana Noir, current and former residents of the city—some international sensations such as Leonardo Padura, others exciting new voices like Yohamna Depestre—uncover crimes of violence and loveless sex, of mental cruelty and greed, of self-preservation and collective hysteria. Other authors include: Pablo Medina, Alex Abella, Arturo Arango, Lea Aschkenas, Moisés Asís, Arnaldo Correa, Mabel Cuesta, Michel Encinosa Fú, Mylene Fernández Pintado, Carolina García-Aguilera, Miguel Mejides, Achy Obejas, Oscar F. Ortíz, Ena Lucía Portela, Mariela Varona Roque, and Yoss. “[A] remarkable collection . . . gritty tales of deprivation, depravity, heroic perseverance, revolution and longing in a city mythical and widely misunderstood.” —The Miami Herald

Find Me in Havana
Find Me in Havana

Author: Serena Burdick

Publisher: HarperCollins Australia

Published: 2021-02-01

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 1867213486

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The dazzling true story of one of Hollywood’s most celebrated Hispanic actresses and her daughter’s search for answers. Cuba, 1936: When Estelita Rodriguez sings in a hazy Havana nightclub for the very first time, she is nine years old. From then on, that spotlight of adoration — from Havana to New York’s Copacabana and then Hollywood — becomes the one true accomplishment no one can take from her. Not the 1933 Cuban Revolution that drove her family into poverty. Not the revolving door of husbands and the fickle world of film. Not even the tragic devastation of Castro’s revolution that rained down on her loved ones. Thirty years later, her young adult daughter, Nina Rodriguez, is blindsided by her mother’s mysterious, untimely death. Seeking answers no one else wants to hear, the grieving Nina navigates the troubling, opulent memories of their life together and discovers how much Estelita sacrificed to live the American dream on her own terms. Based on true events and exclusive interviews with the real Nina Rodriguez, Find Me in Havana weaves two unforgettable voices into one extraordinary journey that explores the unbreakable bond between mother and child, and the ever-changing landscape of self-discovery.

The History of Havana
The History of Havana

Author: Dick Cluster

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2008-04-29

Total Pages: 324

ISBN-13: 9780230603974

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This is the first comprehensive history of the culturally diverse city, and the first to be co-authored by a Cuban and an American. Beginning with the founding of Havana in 1519, Cluster and Hernández explore the making of the city and its people through revolutions, art, economic development and the interplay of diverse societies. The authors bring together conflicting images of a city that melds cultures and influences to create an identity that is distinctly Cuban.

Next Year in Havana
Next Year in Havana

Author: Chanel Cleeton

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2021-03

Total Pages: 401

ISBN-13: 0593337204

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A HELLO SUNSHINE x REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICK "A beautiful novel that's full of forbidden passions, family secrets and a lot of courage and sacrifice."--Reese Witherspoon After the death of her beloved grandmother, a Cuban-American woman travels to Havana, where she discovers the roots of her identity--and unearths a family secret hidden since the revolution... Havana, 1958. The daughter of a sugar baron, nineteen-year-old Elisa Perez is part of Cuba's high society, where she is largely sheltered from the country's growing political unrest--until she embarks on a clandestine affair with a passionate revolutionary... Miami, 2017. Freelance writer Marisol Ferrera grew up hearing romantic stories of Cuba from her late grandmother Elisa, who was forced to flee with her family during the revolution. Elisa's last wish was for Marisol to scatter her ashes in the country of her birth. Arriving in Havana, Marisol comes face-to-face with the contrast of Cuba's tropical, timeless beauty and its perilous political climate. When more family history comes to light and Marisol finds herself attracted to a man with secrets of his own, she'll need the lessons of her grandmother's past to help her understand the true meaning of courage.

Take Me with You
Take Me with You

Author: Carlos Frias

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2008-11-18

Total Pages: 374

ISBN-13: 1416594043

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An evocative and unforgettable memoir from award-winning journalist Carlos Frías about his journey to Cuba where he retraces his family's history and encounters the realities of Cuba under Fidel Castro's rule. Carlos Frías, an award-winning journalist and the American-born son of Cuban exiles, grew up hearing about his parents' homeland only in parables. Their Cuba, the one they left behind four decades ago, was ethereal. It existed, for him, only in their anecdotes, and in the family that remained in Cuba—merely ghosts on the other end of a telephone. Until Fidel Castro fell ill. Sent to Cuba by his newspaper as the country began closing to foreign journalists in August 2006, Frías begins the secret journey of a lifetime—twelve days in the land of his parents. That experience led to this evocative, spectacular, and unforgettable memoir. Take Me With You is written through the unique eyes of a first-generation Cuban-American seeing the forbidden country of his ancestry for the first time. Frías provides a fresh view of Cuba, devoid of overt political commentary, focusing instead on the gritty, tangible lives of the people living in Castro's Cuba. Frías takes in the island nation of today and attempts to reconstruct what the past was like for his parents, retracing their footsteps, searching for his roots, and discovering his history. The story creates lasting and unexpected ripples within his family on both sides of the Florida Straits—and on the author himself.

All the Way to Havana
All the Way to Havana

Author: Margarita Engle

Publisher: Henry Holt Books For Young Readers

Published: 2017-08-29

Total Pages: 45

ISBN-13: 1627796428

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Showcasing the colorful buildings and iconic classic cars of Havana, this verse picture book follows a Cuban boy and his family on their road trip into the city.

Havana Before Castro
Havana Before Castro

Author: Peter Moruzzi

Publisher: Gibbs Smith

Published: 2008-07-01

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 142360993X

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Take a trip to the golden age of Havana in this gorgeously illustrated volume of vintage photographs, postcards, brochures, and other ephemera. Featuring hundreds of historic images and cultural artifacts, Havana Before Castro documents how the Cuban capital evolved from a Prohibition Era getaway destination to a heady blend of glittering nightclubs, outrageous cabarets, all-night bars, and backstreet brothels. Here, captured in one amazing book, is the drama, passion, intrigue, and opulence of a legendary city during its heyday—before the Castro regime took over and Americans were banned from travel to this tropical paradise. In chapters covering such topics as Cuban rum and cigars, the world-famous Tropicana Club, and Havana’s association with the mob, author Peter Moruzzi provides essential historical context for the many fascinating and evocative images.