Cuban Beans and Rice
Sam traveled to Cuba with Global Exchange, a group which leads cultural exchange tours in all parts of the world. This purpose of this particular trip was to attend the Afro-Caribbean Music and Art Festival in Santiago. In addition, the group attended lectures about life in Cuba and visited a number of political, historical, and cultural sites in Havana and Santiago. Their days in Santiago were filled with concerts of music and dance from all over the Caribbean. Most of the time, the group at together at hotels, but on one day, when there was the option for a free afternoon, Sam and his friends decided to go to the cigar factory and then to lunch on their own. The bus driver had picked up a hitchhiker earlier in the day and when Sam asked him about a place to eat, the young man told him that he would take him to a good place. He met them when they finished at the cigar factory and took them to a house for lunch. There were very few actual restaurants in Santiago, and the main way to get a meal was to look for a sign at someone’s house saying meals were available. There they had a very traditional lunch of fried chicken and beans and rice prepared by the woman of the house. Besides the food, they enjoyed the opportunity to have a private and unrehearsed conversation with the young man about his life in Cuba. Now you can enjoy Cuban Beans and Rice from Sam Cooks , a vegetarian version. Buen Provecho!
