Last dance in Havana

by Eugene Robinson

"In power for forty-four years and counting, Fidel Castro has done everything possible to define Cuba to the world and to itself - yet not even he has been able to control the thoughts and dreams of his people. Those thoughts and dreams are the basis for what may become a post-Castro Cuba. To more fully understand the future of America's near neighbor, veteran reporter Eugene Robinson knew exactly where to look - or rather, to listen. In this work, Robinson takes us on a tour of a country on the verge of revolution, using its musicians as a window into its present and future." "Despite Castro's attempts to shut down nightclubs, obstruct artists, and subsidize only what he wants, the musicians and dancers of Cuba cannot stop, much less behave. Cubans move through their complicated lives the way they move on the dance floor, dashing and darting and spinning on a dime, seducing joy and fulfillment and next week's supply of food out of a broken system. Then at night they take to the real d