LA HABANA

JB: “So, in the 1950s one of my four uncles, Gunnar, went to sea where he stayed for nearly thirty years. When I was a kid he would tell me stories of all the exotic places he’d visited like Japan, China and Australia. And time after time he returned to his memories of Cuba. 

It was so different then, before the revolution. The most beautiful caramel-colored showgirls all dressed up in feathers and headdresses at the Tropicana. Everywhere casinos and vibrant music venues offered the very best of Habanera, Latin Jazz and Salsa music.” 

“You know, Havana was very much like a rose”, my uncle told me. “It had petals, it had thorns. It was so sensual, yet had a darker side to it. They were all there: Sinatra, Nat King Cole but also Al Capone, Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky, staying at the Hotel Nacional. There were the horse races at the Oriental Park and the small alleys, church towers, and roofs of terra-cotta. 

I can still recall the different smells lingering like saffron from a kitchen window. The music that was everywhere and the cigars. My friend who worked for a big hotel drove us around in his Cadillac. After the revolution things changed. But on one visit I met a girl and decided to stay. Marry her, have a few kids, you know. I let the ship return to Sweden without me. Though, it didn’t take long for the police to catch the escapee. I was sent to jail for three months until the next boat arrived. However, jail was not bad. I spent all my time in this mafioso’s jail cell, playing poker and drinking Bacardi.” 

The Fragrance Journey is based on a sailor’s reminiscence of La Habana, Cuba.