Is Cuba too taboo?

I feel like I should start out by giving you a little history lesson about your favorite 'eyed traveler. I keep trying to come up with a great means of telling you about my family and the gorgeous culture I come from, but I thought a quick story from my grandmother's journal (that my aunt translated for me) would be much more fascinating.

In1925 the Spanish government wrote to Don Berriz Negrini  telling him they planned to auction his ancestral home in Spain but before doing so they wanted to offer him the chance to take back the Title of Marquis, the land, and home because he was the direct descendant. He turned it down, and decided to stay in Havana. Havana is were he had his wine store called "La Vina" (the vineyard). He ran it with his sons and later opened another location which his son ran for him


So there you have it, I'm Cuban, I come from a rich and exciting back ground with thousands of stories about incredible men and women, some brave, some just brilliant. So imagine my total joy when word of of mouth reached my waiting ears and I was told that we might be able to plan a tour there. The excitement made me explode. I started doing research, I watched so many documentaries that my boyfriend had to ground me from them. I was so, excited! There's just no other word for the feeling I had. 


But, unfortunately I found that the red tape one had to cross to take a tour group to this gorgeous place was just too much. I felt deflated and just sad. There is a lot about this country that is wonderful and hypnotizing. The whole island is like being taken to a beautiful time capsule, the cars are these amazing cruisers like you see in car shows. The architecture is brilliantly preserved true art deco from the 40's and 50's. And the food... Oh my god the food is so dynamic it is pure decadence. It's all this passionately cooked, slow roasted so the flavors come together in beautiful melody. There's nothing like it. And what is interesting about food cooked in Cuba is none of it is imported, it's ALL organic and all locally grown. It's just savory and delicious, for those of you who haven't tried a real Cuban dish (I'm not talking about something called a Cuban dish in a multi cultural ritzy cafe, I'm talking about a hole in the wall where the men play domino's on the patio) then you are missing out on one of the greatest pleasures in life.


I huffed and puffed about how sad I was that I wasn't going to be able to share my love for my families culture. And as stubborn as I am I decided NAY, I will not sit back and let a little set back like not being able to book tours to this gorgeous island hold me back. If I can't take the masses to Cuba, I will take them to my kitchen! I broke out some good old fashion Cuban recipes and come next Friday, I'm going to have people come to my home for a wonderful night of dining. Just like the Paladares in Havana I'm opening up my home for people to come and taste some of the most exquisite  food Cuba has to offer.  From Ropa Vieja, to fried yuca, and hopefully some Tres Leches.  It's been ages since I've smelled the sweet and garlic-y food that reminds me of my Aubelita's kitchen. I made this dinner a covered dish party so I'm interested to see what my friends bring over.  

Before I go, I'll let you in on a secret when it comes to the deliciousness of Cuban cooking, it's slow, it's all about bringing wonderful rich ingredient s together and letting them just fuse slowly. There isn't anything as powerful as the great meals you'll taste when you dine on some divine Cuban cuisine.