Recreating the Life of the Condesa de Merlin - Havana, Madrid, Paris
Those who have seen the new book trailer for La Belle Créole have probably noticed the song performed throughout the video. A pianist plays at a grand piano while a soprano sings an emotional, Spanish-like song in a beautiful room in an early nineteenth-century house. The general idea is a recreation of a performance at […]
After tracking Mercedes through the streets of old Havana, I thought that Paris would be a relatively easy task. After all, Paris is so well known, so well documented and so well loved. Its famous sights are endless: the grand boulevards, the Tuileries Gardens, the Louvre and Notre Dame. I even had exact addresses, the […]
While walking the streets of La Vieja Habana in my quest to retrace the steps of Mercedes Santa Cruz, the Condesa de Merlin, my friend Gerry and I found ourselves caught more than once in a tropical downpour. One day, we were repeatedly drenched. In the former Casa of […]
What can one say about Cuban music? The island’s rhythms are as closely identified with Cuba as are its sugar, rum, cigars and palm trees. This play list is based on some of the songs which formed an inspiring soundtrack for chronicling Mercedes’ Havana days. While some of these songs are quite well known, I […]
Mercedes and her sister Pepita loved to dance, sing and play Spanish dances and songs. They learned the traditional music, including the popular fandangos, seguidillas and boleros. The sisters happily played piano, flashed their castanets and dressed up as typical majas to do their dances. Mercedes never lost her love for these Spanish airs, and […]