Despite repetition and disjointedness (some chapters seem like separate essays), Ariosto’s insights are plentiful, and amid erratically evolving Cuba-U.S. relations, such personal perspectives, even from a yuma, provide the best portals to mutual understanding.
This Is Cuba... ★★★ out of four... goes deep behind the sugar-cane wall of an island nation where resilient yet poor people have struggled to eke out decent lives under the iron fist of Fidel Castro and later, his brother Raul.
Ariosto also illustrates day-to-day life, vividly describing Cubans’ baseball obsession, the 'steamy salvation' of cafecito, and the local color ... Ariosto is on a mission to discover authenticity, a relatively subjective idea, but he does not idealize Cuba, and he is refreshingly aware of his privilege as a white American man. With his firsthand experience, Ariosto brings modern Cuba to life, with all its complexities and eccentric charms.
