Cuba raises glass in Washington
Source: Agencies |
December 10, 2011, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE United States and Cuba have had an icy relationship for decades, but the Cold War foes now have a place to share something else: chilled drinks.
Last month, Cuban officials inaugurated an invitation-only bar at the mansion in northwest Washington where they have their offices. The bar is named after Ernest Hemingway, the iconic American writer who had an affinity for Cuba.
Born in 1899 in Illinois, Hemingway traveled widely and lived in Canada, Paris and Florida's Key West before buying a home in 1940 in Cuba with the profits from his novel, "For Whom the Bell Tolls."
He lived for two decades at his home Finca Vigia - now a museum - and wrote "The Old Man and The Sea" there.
Hemingway was a regular at the Floridita, a Havana bar, where his favorite drink was the Papa Doble - a sugarless daiquiri with rum, maraschino liqueur, lime and grapefruit juice.
But Washington tourists shouldn't expect to drop in and order a Papa Doble at the new watering hole. The bar is in the Cuban Interests Section, the Latin American country's quarters in Washington, and getting in requires connections.
The United States and Cuba haven't had diplomatic relations since 1961, so the building, on 16th Street NW, 2.5 kilometers north of the White House, isn't a traditional embassy. But the bar there, like the many monuments to Hemingway across the island, illustrates Cuba's ongoing fascination with the writer.
For those with an invite, black-and-white photographs of Hemingway line the walls and a 1.8-meter bronze reproduction of his signature hangs above the bar. The writer died in Idaho in 1961.
The bar has been open just three times since its inauguration in November, when 150 guests celebrated by drinking Havana Club rum and smoking premium Cohiba cigars.
Chris Simmons, a retired Defense Department intelligence officer specializing in Cuban spy operations, said the bar was likely a thinly veiled attempt to recruit spies among officials and media.
"It's less of a drain on resources to have potential spies come to you," Simmons said.
The head of Cuba's Washington operations, Jorge Bolanos, said the bar's opening was "not political at all."
Last month, Cuban officials inaugurated an invitation-only bar at the mansion in northwest Washington where they have their offices. The bar is named after Ernest Hemingway, the iconic American writer who had an affinity for Cuba.
Born in 1899 in Illinois, Hemingway traveled widely and lived in Canada, Paris and Florida's Key West before buying a home in 1940 in Cuba with the profits from his novel, "For Whom the Bell Tolls."
He lived for two decades at his home Finca Vigia - now a museum - and wrote "The Old Man and The Sea" there.
Hemingway was a regular at the Floridita, a Havana bar, where his favorite drink was the Papa Doble - a sugarless daiquiri with rum, maraschino liqueur, lime and grapefruit juice.
But Washington tourists shouldn't expect to drop in and order a Papa Doble at the new watering hole. The bar is in the Cuban Interests Section, the Latin American country's quarters in Washington, and getting in requires connections.
The United States and Cuba haven't had diplomatic relations since 1961, so the building, on 16th Street NW, 2.5 kilometers north of the White House, isn't a traditional embassy. But the bar there, like the many monuments to Hemingway across the island, illustrates Cuba's ongoing fascination with the writer.
For those with an invite, black-and-white photographs of Hemingway line the walls and a 1.8-meter bronze reproduction of his signature hangs above the bar. The writer died in Idaho in 1961.
The bar has been open just three times since its inauguration in November, when 150 guests celebrated by drinking Havana Club rum and smoking premium Cohiba cigars.
Chris Simmons, a retired Defense Department intelligence officer specializing in Cuban spy operations, said the bar was likely a thinly veiled attempt to recruit spies among officials and media.
"It's less of a drain on resources to have potential spies come to you," Simmons said.
The head of Cuba's Washington operations, Jorge Bolanos, said the bar's opening was "not political at all."
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
