Missive #12 - Cubadanzón

#12 With love from Cuba

November 20, 2011
Sunday afternoon
Matanzas, Cuba

Cubanism of the day:  Si es un perro, me muerde (lo tenía a la vista y no lo veía):  Literally: If it is a dog, it will bite me. Means “it was in front of my eyes, and I couldn’t see it.”

Generación Y name of the day:  Yanisel

I forgot to take my camera to the second night of Cubadanzón 2011.   The 20 dance couples were divided differently:  first to compete on the dance floor together were all the younger pairs (under 40), then the older pairs numbered 1 to 10, and then the remaining older dance couples, numbered 11 to 20. 


I found the costumes to be much nicer than on the first night.  All but one of the younger women wore short dresses or skirts, and the young men all wore formal and outdated two-piece suits, which looked very (literally) hot, but they weren’t sweating profusely. Their partners were using their fans (which were exquisite!)  throughout much of the danzones while on the stage.  The older women, by contrast, nearly all wore full-length dresses or skirts.
And the dancing! And the music! The audience would suddenly explode in applause in the middle of a dance, and at first, I couldn’t tell why.  The musicians playing on stage behind the competitors, I soon realized, were stealing the show!


At one point, I turned to the enthusiastic spectator sitting next to me, who had been cheering couples by their numbers throughout the competition, and I said, “I think the musicians are going to win!”  She laughed heartily and nodded--several of them were dancing up a storm with their feet, while their hands played flutes and drums and violins, and a mess of other instruments I’ll have to try to photograph tonight...the finale begins in less than an hour.

I still like No. 14 the most.


Update, November 21: My favorite pair, No. 14, came in second place!