We made it by midafternoon, rejoicing in the sun and sand. We'd taken the Autopista, an enormous highway that runs through much of Cuba which, if there were lane markers, would be roughly eight-lanes wide. Since it is not a land of cars, we saw few along the way and dozens of folks flagged us as we chugged past. Of course Franqui, roughly the size of a large novel, was filled to capacity and we couldn't pick up any stragglers. This was to be our only day free of Franqui anxiety.
Relatives eat, drink, dance and open small gifts from each other.
One of the guests cut sprigs of bougainvillea for us so we'd not feel left out as they opened gifts. The hysteria that gripped the U.S. seemed to have escaped Cuba entirely. When I confirmed this rumor, he howled. But Castro's original Revolution deserves some credit. When he took power in 1959 he outlawed racism.