We can only speculate on what Cuba would look like today had the Revolution not taken place. Would it have become the Mob-controlled City-State envisioned, and largely realized, by American organized crime figures such as Meyer Lansky? Impossible to say with any degree of certainty, but is surely a provocative question. In the book Havana Nocturne by the author T.J. English, the full extent of the Mob's control of Havana's decadent entertainment industry is revealed. And, with the "benevolent" Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista as their partner, the sky really did seem to be the limit.
T.J. English manages to accomplish the remarkable feat of making this reader feel nostalgic for the world that Castro obliterated when he came down from the mountains. Havana Nocturne brings that world to vivid, colorful life and what a story it is. The protagonist of the book is clearly the Jewish-American mobster Meyer Lansky, who is the driving force behind the Mob's colonization of Cuba. Lansky stood at the pinnacle of success in 1958 having achieved his dreams of creating an off-shore criminal empire that was beyond the reach of American law enforcement. In 1958 Havana a perfect nexus of crime, show business, and politics existed to a degree impossible to realize in the United States.
The book is chock-full of fascinating characters and events. I never knew that when Desi Arnez would cry out "Babalu" as he was banging on his bongo drum, he was actually invoking the Santeria God of percussion. The wildly popular 1950's sitcom I Love Lucy, which featured the Cuban-American musician Arnez and his wife actress Lucille Ball, exposed American television audiences to Cuban music and dance culture.
In today's wired and digital world, a book need not be a stand-alone experience. A taste of the sights and sounds of 1950's Havana was as close as a youtube search. This video I'm embedding serves as a splendid companion to a book which I highly recommend...
No comments:
Post a Comment