Everyone is talking about Cuba.
Fidel Castro's death combined with uncertainties about the incoming U.S. administration's stance on trade and aid in Cuba has put the island in the spotlight once again.
It's a land of contrasts, that's for certain. It's also a compellingly beautiful place with warm, funny, smart, resilient people.
My interest in Cuba started with the music, naturally. Most of the music played on Jazz Caliente is Afro-Cuban jazz, and that's the accepted definition of the term "Latin jazz" --although that label really has expanded to include rhythmic jazz from Brazil and other South and Central American countries and the Caribbean, and there's even a wonderful hybrid of Spanish flamenco dance music and jazz.
In the past at knkx, we've been fortunate enough to have partnered with Earthbound Expeditionsfor listener travel adventures, and I was delighted to host a Travel Club trip to Cuba in 2013. Other knxk staff have hosted trips, and all of us agree that we'd go back to Cuba in a heartbeat if the opportunity presented itself.
I asked the knkx staff to each contribute one favorite photo from their Cuba trip for this week's post, as a tribute to the Cuba we love. Of course, most offered more than one photo (myself included). Mine are in the slide show above, the rest are below.
Enjoy this sampling of our memories of Cuba!
Jazz Caliente airs Saturdays at 5:00 p.m. The program is hosted by Robin Lloyd and produced by KNKX Public Radio.