You know the old adage that when you get lemons, make lemonade? Well, yuca is plentiful in Cuba, so the indigenous people of the island, the Taíno, found a way to use the abundant tuber to make cazabe, the equivalent

Columbus landed in Baracoa, Cuba on October 28th, 1492 calling it the most beautiful land eyes had ever seen. He encountered the Taíno Amerindians, descendants of the Arawak who populated South America and the Caribbean.

The treatment by the Spaniards of

After a twenty hour plus trip on a charter bus from Havana to Baracoa (see posts from 2016), a small group of us visiting or doing research in Baracoa checked in to our rooms around 1 a.m. at El Castillo

I remember a lunch at the Florida House Inn on Amelia Island one sunny spring morning that changed the trajectory of my nascent work on a prequel to my first novel, Mango Rain, and which opened a world of new

The second sad news from Baracoa is the passing of Víctor Pérez Rodríguez, Baracoan storyteller, author and keeper of local lore, mythology and herbal/natural medicine.

This great foto was taken by noted Cuban photographer Jehovanny R. Saname (in second picture on

“La vida es un hilo” – In translation, life is a thread, and something I would hear my grandmother say whenever she heard the news of someone passing. In the last few weeks, I’ve heard sad news from my friends

If any of you can get to Charleston, South Carolina in March, treat yourself go Karen Keene Day’s art exhibit at the Mitchell Hill Gallery at 438 King Street (karenkeeneday.com).  

I have known Karina as I affectionately call her in Spanish

Another amazing archeology story from Baracoa!

The photo shows a replica of a Taíno stone figure recently returned to one of the caves in the Yara (Baracoa) area of eastern Cuba. Archeologist Roberto Orduñez and colleagues from the Archeology Society Cacique Hatuey

More interesting news from Baracoa!

In the photo is my friend, Roberto Orduñez, with artist/sculptor Bernardo Milhet who lives in Baracoa in the Cabacú neighborhood. Both men are standing in front of the Baracoa Museum of Archeology which Roberto arduously developed

¡Hola amigos!  Yes, it has indeed been a few months since I last posted on my blog. My apologies and an explanation. Sí, han sido varios meses desde mi último blog.  Me disculpo y les explico.

The last 4 months of 2016