Next Year In Havana

It is the next day in 1958. After reading a letter from Pablo, Elisa falls asleep in her father’s library as she reads one of Pablo’s favorite political philosophers. She wakes to the sound of Beatriz going through Emilio’s desk. Beatriz, it turns out, is rifling through the desk for money to give to Alejandro, who is her twin. Elisa remonstrates with Beatriz about associating with Alejandro, whom Emilio disowned for participating in a plot to assassinate Batista. Beatriz refuses to listen. Elisa has her own rebellion going on: She is scheduled to meet Pablo at a Chinese restaurant, a date for which she departs shortly after.

As Elisa walks through the Chinese quarter to meet Pablo, she thinks about the shamefulness of sugar as the source of the Perez family (and Cuba’s) fortunes. Cultivating sugar is brutal work that relies on the exploitation of many, including Chinese workers. Elisa realizes, “It was sugar that kept us under the yoke of the Spaniards, they brought slaves to our shores, workers languished under harsh conditions, gave the Americans are heavy interesting control over our fortunes” (84).

Elisa is as attracted as ever to Pablo when she finally sees him. Meeting in the Chinese enclave was his idea, an effort to avoid the places Elisa’s rich circle is likely to be.