Havana is sound. Music. Traffic. Kids. Street vendors. All of them loud. But the sound mix is not the same across the city.  In fact, I can probably identify each barrio with my eyes closed, just by listening. Vedado, Vieja and Centro all have their very own unique mix of sounds.

Take Havana Vieja for instance. Whether you visit it for the very first or the 40^th time, what will hit your eardrums the moment you set foot in its most central parts is the són being played everywhere. The first time visitor will say, ohhh…how, wonderful,  listen to the salsa! While it is in fact són being played, a genre not widely listened to in today’s Cuba. But the visitor’s expectations of what Cuba should be like, often heavily influenced by the movie Buena Vista Social club, is what decides the musical menu. When you hear Guantanamera for the 3rd time in less than 15 minutes you do not need to doubt that you are in Havana Vieja.

Yo soy un hombre sincero
De donde crecen las palmas
Y antes de morirme quiero
Echar mis versos del alma
Guantanamera guajira Guantanamera

The warnings from the bicis as they career down the street is another ingredient in the Vieja sound mix.  These can vary from the traditional and more subdued pssst…. To the truly load and scary honking horns,  that many bicis have taken to in later years in the frustration that their psssst…. Does nothing to alert the many tourist walking the streets. The Cubans, however, completely tuned in to the meaning of each sound, move casually out of the way without breaking their stride. The tourists, not being able to decipher the significance of any sound,  scatter this way and that in panick  at the last moment before getting hit. Another typical ingredient are the whispered offers to buy cigars and rum from the street hustlers.  Not to mention the cheerful Lady where are you from that all solo female travellers are met with in the most commercial areas.All adding to the sound mix of Havana Vieja

In Centro Habana, where I live in casa Nini, the conga and bata drums are a constant pulse accompanying daily life. The inhabitants of Centro Habana carry a strong musical legacy.   “Los Componedores de Batea” with roots 100 years back was founded in the part of Centro called Cayo Hueso (derived from the Spanish mispronunciation of Key West). In generations to follow many Cuban musicians have originated from Cayo Hueso and the musical heritage is still very much alive in today’s Centro Havana. 

The numerous caretilleros , street vendors, makes up the next layer in the sound mix. Shouting out their goods ranging from bread to fruit and mattress repairs. The volume in their voices is truly impressive too. No need for loadspeakers here. Some, the pregoneros, even have poetic creativity in the chants and rhyming. Pregon is an old tradition of singing and rhyming with a lot of slang and double meaning,  to promote your goods. With the revolution and the end of private enterprice it was almost wiped out, but now definitely on the way back.  As my Spanish improves, I often end up laughing out loud alone listening to the street below from the roof terrace.  My favourite is the local manisero (peanut selling guy) passing Casa Nini around the same time every afternoon:

Maní, maní,  manicero llegó…
no te acuestes a dormir/
sin comerte un cucurucho de maní..
tengo que vender mi mani
para comprar mi nuevo zapati

The traditionally more upmarket Vedado has an entirely different sound mix. Cultural influence was originally more Spanish-American, less Afro-Cuban. Even if Vedado is just 5-6 minutes away with an almendrone from my own neighbourhood, the sound mix could not be more different

In Vedado the musical backdrop is leaning towards jazz or even Latino house. Being home to much of the farandula nightlife, trendy bars like EFE and Esencia abound here as do some of the best jazz venues.  But does sounds characterize the night ambience, not the day. Vedado has bigger thoroughfare roads, so traffic noise rather than people noise is dominant in some parts.

In other parts I am surprised at realising that I am actually listening to bird twitter and lawns being watered as I walk by. That says something about how quiet it can be in some of the residential side streets where elegant casas with private gardens dominate. The street vendors, bici taxis, kids playing on the streets etc, are almost completely absent in Vedado

So is it something that binds it all together? The answer comes quickly to mind. If you have been to Havana ask yourself: What is blearing out from stores selling DVD’s in Vieja, the bici-taxis moving through deserted Centro Havana at 3 in the morning and the almendrone coming down the 23 in Vedado?  Reggaeton of course. It’s like having an ever present slightly aggressive, unbelievably sexist and amazingly fun and danceable latest hit parade always within airshot. Wherever you go in Havana you cannot escape the reggaeton. It’s todays Cuba.