Barrio Getsamani

Tall palms swaying
Gentle winds
Wind corridors

Maria Mulata
Colibri
In squares pecking on the ground
On walls
Emblazoned forever

Gentrified now
Murals abound
Street Art
Admired by tourists
Backpackerlandia
Hostels galore
Boutique hotels galore

Pozo Square
Charming trattoria
Thin crispy pizza
Buskers good and bad
Starving cats and kittens
Devouring my discarded mozzarella cubes

Night time
Trinity Square
Under the gaze of the church
Uneven pavements
Hard circular low wall
Bothersome insistent hawkers
Always ‘promocion’
For a paltry few pesos
A tough life

Locals gather to talk, eat, listen and watch
Squatting on the dirty pavement or the low wall
Facing in or out
Live music
Pizza
Backpackers mingle with locals

Street food in abundance
Unhealthy fattening fast food with Coca Cola
Mangoes, pineapples and papaya
Pushcarts magically move around the noisy streets
3, 000 pesos each plastic pot of sliced mango
A delicious bargain

Talent in the Square
Always for meagre pesos
A talented Mime
Marcel Marceau inspired
Rappers who penetrate and mimic
Tourists’ conversation
In your personal space

Six rubber Afro Colombian boys
Breakdancing
Holding up the slow moving yellow taxis
With captivating smiles

Rocking mahogany chairs
Mesedora
Or poor broken metal rockers
Tradition
Doors open to life
Inside and out
Dim low wattage bulbs
Locals crowded around large old TV sets
Front door gated or not
Open or not, as in Havana, to passers by


Outside in the sultry heat of the night
Plates of fried arepa and yucca
Families gather
Animated conversation
Gossip
Woes
But with sparkling smiles
And mobile phones

Black skin
White teeth
All shapes and sizes
All loved
Love conquers all

Viva Amor
Viva Barrio Getsamani