When I read or watch something, I like to think of about the cultural significance or want to visit the places I read about/see. Learning About Culture is a segment on the blog where I take what I read or see and explore and learn more about it. This is about the book A White Rose which is based on a true story, set in Cuba.
Read the review here.
Hotel Inglaterra
Photo via Hotel Inglaterra website
This hotel is the one that Karl Decker stayed at while in Havana. The beautiful hotel opened up in 1875, which is about 15 years before the story takes place. The hotel has had poet, José Martí as a guest. The architecture and design detailed, beautiful, and elegant. The ceramic tiles comes from Seville. If I ever find myself in Cuba, this hotel is definitely somewhere I would want to go.
Source: Hotel Inglaterra website
Isles of the Pines
In the story, Evagelina’s dad was taken to a jail in the Isles of the Pines. It was renamed the Isla de la Juventud (Island of youth) during the communist years. This is the second largest Cuban island. The island is used in the stories Treasure Island and Peter Pan as a place where pirate hide out. The majority of the land is covered in Pine trees. It is also home to a prison. It looks like a beautiful place, but not visited often.
Source: Isles of the Pines
Puerto Principe
By Unknown – The Project Gutenberg EBook of On the Spanish Main, by John Masefield
“I was born in Puerto Principe, the capital city of Camagüey. It’s in the mountains, inland. And you in America, call it the Kentucky of Cuba.”-Evagelina Ciscernos, A White Rose.
Puerto Principe is the old name of the city, which is now Camagüey. The original city had several pirate attacks, so it was moved inland in 1528. It was built like a maze so that attackers had a difficult time moving around the city. Today the city is the third largest city in Cuba with 321,000 inhabitants.
Source: Camagüey
In the book, there wasn’t too many things that made me wonder about Culture. These were the few things that I encountered. I hope you learned a little bit more about Cuba.
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