Papa in Cuba

Papa in Cuba

For all the animosity that flows back and forth across the Florida Straits between the Cuban and US governments, the two nations celebrate one literary hero in common. That man was Ernest Hemingway. Papa Hemingway made his name in the US literary world, but, after a stint in Key West, he decided to make his home in Cuba, and landed there to stay in 1939 with Martha Gellhorn, his third wife. Martha, wanting roots in the area, soon began a search for a home to replace the hotel rooms they were using.

Finca Vegia is the home she found and talked Ernest into buying. It is situated on a high hill south of Havana, and from its front porch one can see the entire city of Havana and the sea beyond. Every tall building is identifiable in the hazy distance. Papa and Martha bought it, fixed it up, and lived there for the rest of his life. Ernest loved cats and dogs (some say cats more than dogs) and even established a little pet cemetery on the grounds. A half hour away is the village of Cojimar, where he kept his fishing yacht, Pilar.

Life at Finca Vegia was idyllic for them. They traveled; he fished; they received famous visitors; and they played in the Havana of the 40’s and 50’s, scene of tropical revelries and the city at their feet. Papa built a four story tower for an even better view of the city, and he fashioned a writing studio on the top floor. The first floor became a cattery for his many feline companions.

Today Finca Vegia (roughly “farm with a view”) is a Cuban national treasure and a first class museum. You can’t walk in the house, but you can walk all around it and peer into every window, all open for your photographic convenience. Fresh off a full restoration, the place is perfect and kept spotless with Ernest’s personal effects, like reading glasses and pens precisely placed on desks and tables, just as he left them. 9000 books strain shelves built in nearly every room. Ada Rosa Alfonso Rosales is the museum director, and, with her friendly staff are prepared to answer nearly every question about the Hemingway years at the Finca. The museum offices are in the old garage where Papa’s 1947 Lincoln Continental convertible and his 1956 Chrysler New Yorker convertible used to sleep. (Ada Rosa told me last November that the museum had found and acquired the Chrysler, and had plans to restore it.) Today’s descendents of Papa’s animals range through the area.

On my first visit to the finca, Nora Garcia and I were walking up its long driveway. I had just given her a donation, and she said, “That’s great, now Aniplant can become guardian of the animals who live at the museum.” In later years she has kept that promise, and I’ve seen her bring flea treatments and inoculations to the dogs and cats on our return visits. Aniplant has even conducted a spay-neuter clinic in the nearby town of San Francisco de Paula.

Thinking about those little dogs and cats, I can’t help feeling a connection with Papa, his characters, and his life.

Les Inglis