Felice Anos Neuvo

New Years Eve is a big celebration with many people celebrating this with their friends.

I was staying at a casa particulares (or private house rented out for tourists).

There are many of these that are licensed and cost about $20 US per day.

The unlicensed ones are cheaper. After people celebrate with their families many go out.

Midnight is not strictly observed but parties go throughout the night. I asked one man how late they go and he just parties till he gets drunk enough and then goes home to sleep it off.

Outside the jinteras had staked their usual stations and tried to sell them selves as usual.

One thing I had realized is that they only go for foreigners with US dollars. Because it was New Years Eve many Cubans were buying their special cakes for their families.

I bought a cake for the family I was staying with and when I walked down the street I was effectively off their radar since I was doing a very un-tourista type activity.

The family invited me to go with them to a neighbor's house for dinner at 10 pm. There must have been some change of plans because when I arrived at 8pm they had already eaten, but brought me the leftovers. I was a bit confused by this but they continued the party in the living room.

They were rich enough to afford a CD player and started dancing to a variety of songs (all Latin with the excerption of the "Best of the Beegees"). It was during the dancing that I started to notice the problems and although some Spanish words were spoken the body language of these people best described what happened next.

The husband and wife initially were happily dancing with each other when another woman started to join in. He had obviously been drinking nearby and banged his wife in the head while dancing with this other woman. She then danced specifically away from him the rest of the evening.

The husband then started to harass this old man who must have been his wife's uncle, by grinding against him in his solo dances.

At first this was taken as a joke and the old man rebutted him several times but it became worse after a few minutes. Eventually the old man left the room and the husband exploded.

He and his wife argued, and then we were all told to 'vamos' and that included me even though my rent included my bedroom and the common room.

I went to my room to finish packing (as I had planned to leave even before that evening's events). I met a friend on the street who explained that unlike the rest of the world there were no fireworks marking the New Year.

I walked into a few restaurants, which were marking the New Year more in the traditional North American way. The large hotels also have big celebrations without cover charge and live music.

This is also a place of refuge from jinteras and jinteras as they are politely blocked at the front doors.

When I returned later that evening everyone was still awake. I went to sleep but still heard yelling for about another hour.

The next day the husband apologized to me.

The particulare is a good idea but I wouldn't stay at that one again.