Dias de la Madre

May 12th is Mother's Day in Cuba. I met a Cuban family and was invited to celebrate Mothers Day. Cubans go to visit their mother late in the evening the day before and wait for the clock to reach midnight to be with their mother from the first moment. It is like waiting for the clock to strike 12:00 midnight on New Years Eve. Except everyone kisses their mother and there was no champagne. Beer was the drink of the night.

That night, on the walk back to my casa particular, the power for the city when out. The lights went dark and suddenly the stars lit the sky. It was a short walk to the rented room and the owner was waiting with a candle to illuminate my room. Not long after the power was restored...and the air conditioning came on.

On Mother's Day people line up at the bakery to buy a cake. You can see people carrying cakes down the street everywhere.

Even a neighbor stopped by with a piece of cake and best wishes for the matriarch of the family. The whole family stops by to wish "felices días" (happy days) to their mother.

Grandmother Resina rocks her grandson to sleep on Mother's Day.

It would have been possible, but difficult to get the motorcycle up a large curb and turn into a secure porch at the casa. So I stored my motorcycle in the family's backyard. When I return to their house on Mother's Day I discovered that Rafael had washed the bike. There was a serious layer of crud around the chain and on the wheels. I was knocked out by his care for my motorcycle.

In the evening someone nearby launched a small display of fireworks. We finished the night watching HBO and playing dominos.