{"id":841,"date":"2017-12-31T04:11:49","date_gmt":"2017-12-31T04:11:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/excrcl.com\/?p=841"},"modified":"2018-01-13T04:47:00","modified_gmt":"2018-01-13T04:47:00","slug":"la-embajada-britanica-and-playita-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/excrcl.com\/?p=841","title":{"rendered":"La Embajada Brit\u00e1nica and Playita 16"},"content":{"rendered":"

Miramar, a neighborhood just west of Vedado, was another location on the agenda. I originally wanted to see the Anfiteatro de Marianao where Los Pac\u00edficos played, but judging from the maps and my knowledge of the taxi system in Cuba, I was dubious I could find it or even get there. For all I knew, the building could be abandoned. Instead, I thought I could perhaps go to the British Embassy, where Ernesto Juan Castellanos (organizer of the Beatles colloquium) first went in his pursuit to create the event. I found it quite easily, but of course, it was closed. I wondered, however, if it was what I was looking for \u2013 would it really give me a Cuban<\/em> perspective of the Beatles? I eventually decided not. However, it was still worth the visit; posters around the embassy of Ed Sheeran and Emeli Sand\u00e9 saying MUSIC IS GREAT demonstrate the continued presence of British musicians in Cuba.<\/p>\n

\"Posters<\/a>
Posters outside the British Embassy in Miramar.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Emeli<\/a>
Emeli Sand\u00e9 poster outside the embassy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Undeterred, I went down to the seashore to find \u201cPlayita 16,\u201d a little beach where Cubans supposedly would secretly tune into the Beatles\u2019 radio channels during the 60s. Like so much of Cuba, the beach was a beautiful ruin. Dilapidated benches, tables, and huts stood determinedly as waves crashed mercilessly on shore. I was reminded of a poem I had read in class the year before, \u201cUn Lagarto Verde,\u201d by Nicol\u00e1s Guill\u00e9n, which describes the island as a lizard beaten by relentless elements \u2013 waves, wind, sun. Behind the beach, small snack bars puttered along, only a few customers and a waiter inside each. I was glad to have found it, just to be able to envision its glory years of young rebels jamming to \u201cDay Tripper\u201d in its wake.<\/p>\n

\"Playita<\/a>
Playita 16<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
A beautiful ruin.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Panoramic<\/a>
Panoramic view.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Miramar, a neighborhood just west of Vedado, was another location on the agenda. I originally wanted to see the Anfiteatro de Marianao where Los Pac\u00edficos played, but judging from the maps and my knowledge of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-beatles"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/excrcl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/excrcl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/excrcl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/excrcl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/excrcl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=841"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/excrcl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":853,"href":"https:\/\/excrcl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841\/revisions\/853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/excrcl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/excrcl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/excrcl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}