Latin America
Related: About this forumHavana’s biggest tourist trap is reborn as Cuba anticipates U.S. tourist influx
Havanas biggest tourist trap is reborn as Cuba anticipates U.S. tourist influx
26 Jan 20131:13 am
by Peter Orsi, Associated Press
A half-century later, Jose Rafa Malem remembers the balmy breezes blowing through the bars arching porticos, the grain of the tall wood stools, the whiff of Pedro Domecq brandy on his fathers breath.
And how could he forget the tangy ground-beef-and-tomato-sauce sandwiches synonymous with what was then one of Havanas hippest hangouts, playfully dubbed Sloppy Joes? I ate so many, I got tired of them, said Rafa, a 59-year-old Havana native who grew up to become a bartender.
Soon, Rafa will be able to relive those boyhood memories as the original Sloppy Joes reopens in Havanas historic quarter, giving residents and tourists from all over the chance to belly up to the same bar that served thirsty celebrities such as Rock Hudson, Babe Ruth and Ernest Hemingway.
Its part of an ambitious revitalization project by the Havana City Historians Office, which since the 1990s has transformed block after block of crumbling ruins into rehabilitated buildings along vibrant cobblestone streets.
More:
http://skift.com/2013/01/26/havanas-biggest-tourist-trap-is-reborn-as-cuba-anticipates-u-s-tourist-influx/
dipsydoodle
(42,239 posts)of Canadian , European, Russian and Chinese tourists.
Having said that I prefer the little bars which the locals use.
dipsydoodle
(42,239 posts)Can anyone give me a clue ?
Bossy Monkey
(15,863 posts)Usual caveats: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sloppy_Joe%27s_Bar,_Havana
dipsydoodle
(42,239 posts)Thanks.