Book description
The face of modern-day Cuba is in many respects still frozen in the
1950s, with its classic American cars, horse-drawn carriages and
colonial Spanish architecture. In a country where taxi drivers earn
more than doctors, understanding Cuba is a compelling but never-ending
task.
In the early 1990s, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Cuba was
plunged into crisis. Having been subsidized by the Soviet Union to the
tune of million a day, the country's economy entered freefall. The
ban on the US dollar was lifted, the floodgates of tourism opened and
the salaries of Cubans in contact with foreigners went into orbit.
Into Castro's fortress of dollar-fuelled hedonism and communist
austerity came the American wife of a European energy consultant
posted to Havana, and their two small children. Isadora Tattlin
befriended Cubans from all walks of life, gave dozens of parties -
even Fidel Castro came to dinner! - and kept a daily diary. The result
is a remarkable testimony to a unique period in Cuba's history when el
triunfo de la revolucion was beginning to clash with the powerful lure
of multinational consumerism.
Isadora Tattlin was born and raised in California and spent her early
adulthood in New York City. She lives wherever her husband's job takes
them and their two young children.
