Walking Cuba: El Camino del Cimarrón

Kick-off Event-Sagua la Grande Museum

We kick off the walk the day before I put boots on the ground at the history museum of Sagua la Grande. The museum director, a short thin woman eager to see us arrive relatively on time, ushers Miguel and me to the front of a long room filled with rows of chairs separated by a walking aisle.

We sit in the front row, across from a small table with two chairs. The director faces the crowd and welcomes everyone. And,” she says smiling our way, “most importantly, welcome to Miguel Barnet and Guillermo Grenier, El Caminante, (the Walker) to this event commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of our most famous book.”

In our honor, she adds nodding to Miguel, she introduces a dancer in a long, flowing yellow dress who performs an enthusiastic Afro-Cuban dance, with the music provided by a black boom-box in on the floor. A young girl, early teens, takes the floor as the dancer takes her bow. After a brief speech expressing the inspiration she received from the book and lauding my desire to transform it into a living experience, she presents us with her original art work — charcoal on…