|
CUBA
It’s Greenwich Village
For A Taste of Havana
By Edward T. Callaghan
 OU
don’t need a ticket much less a passport to sample a taste of
pre-Castro Havana now that Cuba has opened its doors on Thompson
Street in Greenwich Village.
On opening night the air was filled with
soft, sensuous Samba music that was as warm and inviting as
manager Tony Juan’s Cubano and Cubana staff.
Platters of spicy treats that included rellenos and croquetas
de pollo were all the fuel the crowd needed to
spontaneously take to the floor, especially when a Tango was
played.
Downtown’s young movers and groovers dined
on such traditional dishes as Ropa Vieja (literally, old
rope in Spanish but, actually, braised shredded skirt steak) and Vaca
Frita (pan fried steak with fresh majo and lime).
Toasting with their mojito cocktails were
dashing young composer Keith Pruitt, PR guru Guy Bowman,
John Wegorzewski, super-hot pop art dealer J.J. Fondrisi,
and the very charming actor Robert Cambeiro (who dazzled
the staff with his pure Castilian Spanish) with his gorgeous
gal-pal Karen Stanion.
Karen is leaving on a national tour with Golden
Girls’ Rue McClanahan in Hank Williams: The Last
Highway. The gang
all toasted Karen on both her birthday and her success in scoring
a plum role.
By midnight, there was literally dancing in the streets
to the sweet strains of traditional Cuban music, and no
government-approved access was required – a delight for those
who remember Havana’s golden era, or those who long to
experience a magical time.
|
