Rediscovering Cuba

Book excerpt: This is the riveting story of a family's trip to their native land of Cuba. In 1998, the author was informed of his grandmother's terminal illness. Curious to unravel the mystery that for many years has enshrouded Cuba, he convinced his mother and aunt to accompany him and revisit their native land, the country they had left behind forty and twenty years, respectively. This book, part diary, part memoir, is based on this memorable and nostalgic trip. We are taken to Santiago de Cuba and to Boniato, a small town on the outskirts of the city rumored to have been built atop an old Indian cemetery. Along the way, we meet colorful characters and eccentric family members set against a rich background of folklore, local color and politics: we meet the author's aunt Mimi who as a girl thought a cow was her mother; his great grandmother who died of a stroke after arguing with a flock of pigeons; and even ghosts rumored to haunt his small family house in Boniato.