Souvenir 

The Plaza de las Armas is a little one block square park in Old Havana, surrounded by book stalls and booksellers in the style of Paris' Left Bank.  Most tourists in Havana eventually pass through the Plaza to browse through the books.  I had already decided what I wanted to find as a souvenir of my first trip to Cuba—a book or perhaps a map would be perfect.  This choice was aided by US government attitudes towards buying anything in Cuba and bringing it back to the US.  Basically they don't want you to buy anything or to bring it back unless it is printed material or works of art.  Books, magazines, maps, etc. are obvious choices as souvenirs, and the friendly merchants of the Plaza are there to help you find them.

The book stalls encircle the park nearly completely facing outward toward the square of sidewalks and streets.  I had thought about maps as they could be framed easily and displayed on a wall of my study at home.  Thus the first merchant who asked was told I had an interest in old maps.  "Just a minute," he said and disappeared behind his stall   He came back with a worn old Texaco road map of Cuba—the kind that years ago one could get free in a gas station.

I tried to explain that gas station maps weren't what I wanted, and he began another search behind the stalls.  This time we walked on, slowly perusing the books and magazines on display.  I hadn't yet come to the end of the block when he appeared and showed me his second choice.  I was surprised at how well he had chosen this time.

The map was produced by the Cuban Tourist Commission in 1951 for tourists.  It was 20 x 24 inches in size and was a perspective drawing of the entire city and all the major buildings.  The artist's (Rogelio L. Mirabal) viewpoint was about one mile above the Plaza de las Armas looking down on the city in a southwesterly direction.  Thus Havana Bay was in the lower left, and the airport was in the upper left.  The entrance to Havana Bay guarded by El Morro Castle was in the lower right, and the far-flung suburbs of Miramar and Playa were in the upper right.  Street and Parks were shown and tiny letters named all the streets.  Notable buildings were numbered and identified by a legend placed in the open waters of the Florida Straits.

The map was worn, but restorable, and I knew I could look all day and not find a better choice, as I rushed to find he 5 CUC (about $5.00) he was asking.  I couldn't believe my good luck.

Well, the booksellers at the Plaza seem to be a tight knit community, and it took no time at all for them to know what I had bought.  As we walked along the other three sides of the Plaza, several of them offered me maps as well.  One even had a 1953 edition of the same map, which I bought for 3 CUC.

At home I found a fine art restorer who was able to lay the map flat and mount it on a board that matched the color of the faded paper of the map in color.  This made practically invisible several worn holes at the fold lines.  His careful matting and framing created a finished product which now hangs at a focal point among the picture on my study wall.  The 1953 edition was passed on to my good Cuban friend, Dulce.

I've been in the Plaza de las Armas several times since then, but I don't spend much time browsing.  Instead, being a public place it is a gathering spot for stray dogs.  They seem to know that handouts of food are more likely to come from tourists.  Nora and I and my fellow travelers often have lunch in any one of several restaurants nearby, and, as is standard practice in Cuba, we always come away with delicious leftovers.  It is never hard to find a happy canine recipient of these scraps.

Bella, a sweet long haired Daschund mix, about which I have written in the past, was found there in the Plaza by a British Airways flight attendant, Angela.  Her prompt attention and search for help led to Nora and finding the sick little Bella, and today she is a beautiful, healthy resident of Aniplant's headquarters.  I might add, Angela has made two trips back to Cuba since Bella's rescue to see the lucky little dog.

I have several reasons for remembering the Plaza de las Armas.

Les Inglis

Les Inglis