Cuba Open from the Inside
Travels in the Forbidden Land
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Cuba Open from the Inside
Buy Now for $26.99
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Narrated by:
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Kevin Haberer
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By:
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Chris Messner
About this listen
Cuba occupies a place of undisputed fascination in the American psyche. Despite its proximity to America, this island nation remains a mystery to most Americans. Few Americans have traveled to Havana, and still fewer have traveled deeper into this isolated country. Chris Messner, a photographer, is one of the few Americans who have been able to travel extensively throughout this island. In his book, Cuba Open from the Inside, Messner documents the character of Cuba's people, its rich history, and the vast culture of the country. As Cuba's leaders age and the possibility of travel to Cuba increases, this book acts as an exceptional resource for would be travelers. Through multiple journeys, Messner has covered more than 4,000 miles on the back roads of Cuba. Through his words, he provides a snapshot of this island nation and documents the Cuba of today - the 1950s time-capsule country 90 miles from the US coast.
©2011 Chris Messner (P)2015 Chris MessnerMessner clearly tries to balance his passion for Colonial architecture with descriptions of lives and culture of Cuba's people, with the high school book report style providing an unpretentious account of what is seen and experienced. Unfortunately, the result is at times both superficial and lacking awareness of the author’s own cultural lens, with ethnocentric assumptions monitored but still leaking through. This was particularly notable in the guidebook style histories, with repeated reference to European ‘discovery’ of Cuba, lacking even the briefest acknowledgement of impact of colonisation on indigenous inhabitants. A final brief summary attempted to address the Cuban conundrum, but ultimately served best to highlight the importance of editorial guidance when providing historical/political context.
In spite of these limitations, at times, particularly when describing architecture, Messner does manage to capture the uniqueness of Cuba. Accompanied by his many photographs this would no doubt have provided a colourful account. Unfortunately, as an audiobook this dimension is unavailable. If however, there is a photo essay version of Messner’s travels, that would be a book I’d like to see!
The challenges of travel in Cuba … and writing about it
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