June 2, 2010
Elevation: sea level
Havana, Cuba
An easy dinner w my friend, trying to wrap my head around this very different adventure that I am on.
I came down here w the intention of collaborating w my friend to create new work, in addition to new images for Wok the Dog. This will not be a regular backpacking trip of mine where my LP guide is the bible, where one backpacker follows another. After all, there is not the usual hostel circuit here in Cuba. This trip is about digging in and digging further down and not simply gloss through and only find depth when I am at the market. I am blissed w not just a local guide but an artist friend. It might be slightly out of my comfort zone but it is always good to step out and push those boundaries.
We take a walk on the Malecon, 8KM stretch on the shore that is full of meaning for the Cubans. 90 miles straight north is the American coast line. The wall along the Malecon is dotted w clusters of friends and lovers. Something about the way Latin lovers express themselves is always mesmerizing to me. Bodies ever so casually intertwined with such degree of intimacy in such public places. Lovers atop of the wall on the Malecon, staring out to sea. I wonder what they are thinking of. Is this just a place. Or is there hope and longing in behind those eyes?
The distant sky flashes w lighting as my friend and I stroll along making plans of our own.
Charlie Grosso
www.charliegrosso.com
310-592-0895
