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Rumble in the Jungle: a Brotherly Feud in Manaus

mayo 23rd, 2012 | Posted by Iberostar Hotels & Resorts in The View - (0 Comments)

Igreja Manaus

A good book really is an object of magic. While a movie is able to instantly provide an image on which to project the story that is being played out, the nature of that image is decided by the director. With a book on the other hand, it is the reader who gets to paint the scene in which the action takes place. An author might provide plenty of hints, but it is the fact that each reader experiences a book differently that makes a novel such a special medium.

Family Feud

If you’re looking for a book that helps paint a rich, evocative picture of Manaus in Brazil, look no further than Milton Hatoum’s novel The Brothers (Dois Irmãos). The story follows two identical twin brothers and describes their life-long feud. They argue over a girl as teenagers and come to blows as grown men. One brother leads a relatively successful life while the other looks on in bitter hatred and jealousy. Hatoum explores the role of the boys’ parents, who look on with sad helplessness as the two men go through their entire life with little sign of reconciliation.

Brazilian Melting Pot

While describing the family tearing itself part, Hatoum also lets us into a world which we would otherwise never know. The characters belong to the Manaus Lebanese community, a small group into which Milton Hatoum himself was born. In describing the changing life of Yaqub and Omar, the two protagonists in the story, Hatoum paints a vivid picture of Manaus from the perspective of a native in a local Arab community. The descriptions of the markets, of the street sellers and of the mixture of ramshackle and grand buildings that make up this Amazonian metropolis all come from the author’s own intimate knowledge of Manaus.

The World in Manaus

It is easy to imagine that the city of Manaus, hundreds of miles from the other major Brazilian cities that mostly pepper the Atlantic coastline, would be quite an insular place. Yet in The Brothers Hatoum vividly portrays the city as deeply multi-cultural with a high degree of tolerance between the many communities that have settled here.

Step out from your hotel in Manaus today and you’re likely to find Lebanese food alongside many other ethnic cuisine from the many communities that make up the rich fabric of life in the city on the edge of the Amazon. And if you hear some angry Arabic shouting, look out; Omar and Yaqub might just be in town!

Photo: Salles Neto via Wikimedia Commons

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Happy Cinco de Mayo!

mayo 4th, 2012 | Posted by Iberostar Hotels & Resorts in Snapshots - (0 Comments)

There are of course a bunch of Mexican patriotic holidays that come around every year.  But that’s caught on most outside Mexico is Cinco de Mayo – especially in the next-door United States, most notably out on the West Coast, but really, pretty much wherever there’s a taco/burrito/ chimichanga emporium (I mean, when you’ve reached Omaha…).  As with St. Patrick’s Day, for many CDM has had its origins obscured and become just another excuse for carousing, so I’d like to take a moment to remind everyone what in fact is behind this momentous occasion whose name is nothing more than the Spanish for “the fifth of May.”

When in 1861 the Mexican republic’s iconic president Benito Juárez declared a two-year stop-payment on debts to European creditors, the relevant countries actually sent warships to collect (yeah, it was a slightly different time). One of them, France under Napoleon III, decided to go one further by trying to set up a pro-French empire in Mexico. So the hotshot French army landed and took Veracruz but then, amazingly, got its cul kicked by a Mexican force just half its size near Puebla. This Mexican victory at the Battle of Puebla was naturally a big-time boost for the young country’s national unity and patriotism.

And though in 1864 France finally got its wish and installed Austrian Habsburg Archduke Maximilian as “emperor,” in spite of actually instituting some pretty humane reforms, just three years later Max ended up getting deposed and put in front of a firing squad, and good ol’ Benito was back in the saddle again.

Ironically, these days Cinco de Mayo festivities are actually more widespread in the States and elsewhere than in Mexico itself, where it’s most touted in and around Puebla and in some of the border areas and tourism centers (such as Cancun, the Riviera Maya, and Cozumel, where Iberostar has its Mexico resorts). But regardless, as a celebration of Mexican pride, bravery, and overcoming overwhelming odds, this one’s totally a keeper.

Photo | iStock/Kelly Richardson Photography

If you plan to celebrate Cinco de Mayo in Mexico next year, you should stay at one of the  Iberostar Hotels!

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Trinidad, Cuba’s Sweetest Colonial Sugar Plum

mayo 2nd, 2012 | Posted by Iberostar Hotels & Resorts in Snapshots - (0 Comments)
Trinidad, Cuba

Trinidad, Cuba

Certainly Cuba has no shortage of charming Spanish colonial and early post-colonial architecture, from Pinar del Río out west to Santiago in the east. But for me the place that most makes me feel like I’ve actually stepped into the past of a century or more ago is Trinidad (Spanish for “trinity”), an almost ridiculously photogenic UNESCO World Heritage Site which in 2014 will commemorate its 500th anniversary.  In the province of Sancti Spiritus, on the south coast of the island’s midsection, it can be visited as a day trip from Havana or the resorts of Varadero or Cayo Coco – but to really soak up the singular atmosphere, I highly recommend spending at least one night here, and a stylish, luxurious choice is the 40-room Iberostar Grand Hotel Trinidad on peaceful little Céspedes Park.

Once you’re settled in, there are several interesting little museums to see, as well as landmarks just outside town like the Valle de los Ingenios (Valley of the Sugar Mills) and nearby beaches such as Playa Ancón. But more than anything else, the main appeal here, for me at least, is just spending a leisurely day and evening strolling (or perhaps riding in one of the horse-drawn carriages that have proliferated to cater to the tourist trade) along the cobblestone streets of the historic center. And don’t forget to have a bite in one of the paladares (private restaurants), as I do on all my visits (that gives you the double bonus of a peek at a local home; last time I dined in a lovely tiled courtyard that I would’ve never seen from the street outside). And nighttime is even more delicious. The sun can be bright and the heat  intense during the day, but when the sun goes down, the calles come aglow with streetlamps and often echo with chatter and music drifting from bars and restaurants.

You know, some might tell you that it’s too late, that Trinidad has already been Disneyfied and commoditized and ruined by mass tourism, but don’t let them discourage you. Because while it’s true that the growth of tourism has certainly changed the town since I first started visiting in the late 1990’s, there are still plenty of quiet corners to discover, where you can still very much feel the vibe of the past in one of the Caribbean’s best-preserved historic towns, de la Cuba de antaño – of the Cuba of yesteryear.

Photo| Jzielcke



Next time you travel to Cuba , stay at the Iberostar Grand Hotel Trinidad on peaceful little Céspedes Park. Located in a quiet art of town but still only a 10 minute stroll to the famous Casa de Musica.

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The Ceiba: Latin America’s Most Storied Tree?

marzo 23rd, 2012 | Posted by Iberostar Hotels & Resorts in Snapshots - (0 Comments)

I have this kinda funny (as in funky, not ha-ha) tree growing right smack in the middle of my front yard in Miami. It’s admittedly not a particularly cuddly or friendly looking bit of botany, its trunk prickling all over as it is with conical thorns. But for me it’s all about the mystique, being as it is a ceiba (English names include “kapok,” “silk cotton,” and “silk floss”). This is a genus of tropical tree I’ve come across constantly on my travels through Latin America and the Caribbean – and so might you, if you’re staying at one of the Iberostar resorts in Mexico’s Yucatan, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, or Brazil (it’s the official tree of Puerto Rico and Guatemala, has a city in Honduras named after it, and found as far afield as Asia and Africa).  The one in my yard is still practically a sapling, still skinny and maybe 20 or so feet (6 meters) tall. But ceibas can grow to be giants, with heights of more than 200 feet (61 meters) and dramatically gnarled trunk bases nearly as wide as small houses.

Ceibas play a central role in the lore of Mexico’s and Central America’s Mayan cultures – in fact, they are depicted in Mayan mythology as the “world tree,” linking the underworld, the terrestrial world, and the heavens  (doesn’t get more central than that, right?), and you may come across representations of ceibas at Mayan archaeological sites and museums, especially in items like incense holders and burial urns.

But it wasn’t so much in Mexico that I first became aware of the cultural impact of the ceiba, but in Cuba, at a landmark called El Templete (pictured above). It’s a small neoclassical temple-type structure, built in 1828 on Havana’s oldest square, the Plaza de Armas, which I learned marks the site of where a ceiba once stood – a legendary tree under which the Catholic mass was celebrated to mark the founding of San Cristóbal de la Habana in 1519. That long-gone original tree is represented by a marble column, but another large one grows out in front, and it’s venerated particularly by the followers of the afro-Cuban religion santería (the ceiba is also held sacred in West Africa, where this religion has its roots). It’s the focus of an annual tradition on November 16, the date of the city’s founding, in which Cubans of all ages and beliefs make three circles around the tree and throw throw down coins before it while making three wishes.

Photo | Steven Colebourne

Wherever the ceiba grows, it seems, it has long cast a spell on the local peoples, providing them over the centuries not just with practical products like oils, stuffing for pillows and mattresses, and medicinal substances, but spiritual inspiration as well.  Next time you stay at an Iberostar resort in Mexico’s Yucatan, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, or Brazil you might see one!

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The Mystique of the Quetzal

marzo 21st, 2012 | Posted by Iberostar Hotels & Resorts in Snapshots - (0 Comments)

There are few animals – and offhand I can’t really think of any birds – with quite the mystique of the iridescent emerald-green denizen of southern Mexico and Central America known as the resplendent quetzal. Since they’re fairly rare (officially “near threatened”) and even more elusive, you’re very unlikely to spot one if you go birding in the scrub forests of the Yucatan or the highlands of Chiapas (they’re somewhat easier to spot further south, in places like Costa Rica and Guatemala). But if you delve into local indigenous culture and history a bit by visiting Mexican archaological sites and museums, will certainly notice evidence of pharomachrus mocinno’s dramatic impact on Maya and Aztec culture (a connection recognized by Iberostar in naming one of its resorts in Playa del Carmen the Iberostar Quetzal).

One of the most important and recognizable figures in Mesoamerican mythology is Quetzalcoatl, the “feathered snake” (known by other names such as Kukulkan by the Maya), who became associated, depending on the culture, with learning, the sky, fertility, the martial arts, even creation itself. The quetzal, meanwhile, according to an old Maya folk tale was chosen king of the birds because of its brilliant plumage. So it’s hardly surprising that Mesoamerican warriors, priests, kings, and emperors sought to adorn themselves in quetzal-feather headdresses, capes, and other verdantly plumed finery. It was a crime to kill the birds for their plumage, so they were caught, plucked, and released. You can imagine how tricky that little feat usually was.

So if you get to climb the Temple of Kukulkan at Chichen Itza, or get to see some of the wonderful bas reliefs of Quetzalcoatl at the National Archaeological Museum in Mexico City, or get to witness a Maya quetzal feather dance in Chiapas, you’ll be struck by how much this shy, retiring bird of the highland forests has shaped one of the world’s great civilizations.

Photo |  Fabio Bretto

The Quetzal Dance is one of the most colorful folkloric dances in Mexico. Next time you visit one of the Iberostar hotel in Mexico, you just might see the Maya quetzal feather dance.

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An A-maze-ing Place in Crete

febrero 16th, 2012 | Posted by Iberostar Hotels & Resorts in Snapshots - (0 Comments)

If you’ve got even a passing knowledge of history and/or Greek mythology, you’ve probably heard of the Minotaur, the monster with the body of a man and the head of a bull, imprisoned in a labyrinth by Minos, king of Crete, and fed human sacrifices. Obviously the bull-headed thing is a little bit of a stretch, but on this island that’s home to no fewer than five Iberostar resorts, you can visit the spot where this legend may well have originated.  On Mount Kefala, a couple of miles outside Crete’s capital Heraklion, lie the ruins of the remarkable (and yes, pretty mazelike) six-acre palace complex of Knossos.

So you’re wondering what’s so remarkable about it, right? Greece is pretty much crammed with ancient ruins, after all. But it pretty much doesn’t get more ancient than this. Knossos predates – by a lot — classical ruins like the Parthenon; this UNESCO World Heritage Site is a remnant of a Bronze Age civilization at least 4,000 years old. It’s hard not to feel at least a little awestruck while wandering corridors, stairways, roads, and rooms like the “throne room,” which holds an alabaster seat that might’ve been a ruler’s throne or might’ve been meant for a statue. There are colorful frescoes and mosaics galore, too – actually, there was a bit of controversy about that when archaeologists were uncovering the site in the late 19th century, because here and there they had contemporary artists, er, “touch up” and embellish ancient artwork that was mostly fragmentary (like the bit of business in the snapshot above, actually). They also stabilized some of the structures with cement, which these days would be a huge no-no in archaeology but is thought to have helped keep more of the complex from crumbling into dust. And by the way, if you make it here, don’t forget to also pay a visit to the museum in town, which houses a lot of objects found at the site and others around Crete.

Photo | Eliza Minea

 

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Tunisia’s Ancient Glory: The Ruins of Mighty Carthage

enero 18th, 2012 | Posted by Iberostar Hotels & Resorts in Snapshots - (0 Comments)

Chances are you’ve heard of Hannibal, and maybe even that he and his army tried to invade Italy by crossing the Alps with elephants. The city-state he fought for, Carthage, was classical Rome’s biggest rival in the Mediterranean, and one of the big kahunas of the entire ancient world. Even if you’re coming to Tunisia mainly for a warm beach vacation, you owe it to yourself to not miss this important UNESCO World Heritage Site (especially if you’re staying in Hammamet, less than an hour’s drive away).

Just across the bay from the modern capital Tunis, “Kart-hadasht” was founded even earlier than Rome, in the 8th or 9th century BC, as a colony of Phoenicians from farther east along the Mediterranean coast, under a queen that history most commonly knows by her Greek name Dido; eventually the city became a commerce-oriented republic rich and powerful enough to rule over hundreds of other Phoenician (aka Punic) cities along the coast, as well as coastal areas of what are now Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, and Spain. But its rivalry with Rome led to what are called the Punic wars, and Rome finally defeated, invaded, and refounded Carthage in 146 BC. It was later overrun by the Vandals, then became part of the Byzantine Empire until it was conquered by Arabs in 698 AD. So the ruins you’ll find here today include various and sundry cultural and historical influences.

The sprawling and utterly fascinating modern-day archaeological site includes ports, an acropolis, necropoles (cemeteries), an amphitheater, temples, baths, residential areas, early Christian churches, Islamic mosques, and more (there are also several nearby archaeology, oceanography, and history museums). There’s a lot of ground to cover, so bring a hat, water, sunscreen, and good walking shoes!

Photo | Unitopia

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Santo Domingo’s Colorful Colonial Zone, Birthplace of Latin America

enero 13th, 2012 | Posted by Iberostar Hotels & Resorts in Snapshots - (0 Comments)

More than a few towns and cities of Latin America certainly boast their share of atmospheric old town centers left over from centuries of colonization by mother country Spain. Several of these are so striking they’ve been included in UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites – place like the colonial cores of Havana, San Juan, Panama City, and Cartagena de Indias in Colombia. The zona colonial in the Dominican Republic’s capital is also on UNESCO’s greatest-hits list, although it’s less well known than many of the above because most visitors tend to stick close to the resort areas.  But if you’re spending your vaycay at any of the Iberostar resorts in the Dominican Republic, you should definitely carve out the time for a day trip or overnighter to Santo Domingo, because what makes this particular colonial quarter so awesome is the fact that it was the first, where it all began back in 1492 when Columbus sailed the ocean blue. And I don’t mean just this country – I mean the whole Western Hemisphere as we know it today.

This mile-and-a-half-square district today is a compelling mix of old and new. There’s the Calle de las Damas, where you can stroll on cobblestones laid in 1502. The 501-year-old Alcázar de Colón, where Chris Columbus’ kid Diego once made his HQ as governor of the colony, is now a fascinating museum of period history and furnishings. And these days, some of these historic buildings are occupied by museums and high-quality restaurants, shops, and places to stay. Top example:  The former shipyard, the Atarazanas, is now a cool shopping haven for merch both international and local (such as handicrafts, art, cigars, and amber). And by the way, the newest of those museums, just a couple of months old, is the Museo Memorial de la Resistencia Dominicana, documenting  the movement against the Rafael Trujillo dictatorship,  which dominated this country for most of the 20th century’s first half.

Now let’s be honest: Will you tear yourself away from our fabulous beaches to check out the earliest colonial capital of the Americas?

Photo | Patrick Flament

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Dubrovnik: Jewel of Croatia and of Europe

diciembre 19th, 2011 | Posted by Iberostar Hotels & Resorts in Snapshots - (0 Comments)

Croatia’s Dalmatian coast is chock-full of historic, architecturally charming towns and cities, but few would question that the queen of them all is the walled old quarter of Dubrovnik, thought to have been founded in the 7th century but according to some theories dating back even much earlier, to ancient Hellenic times. In any case, this eight-square-mile cluster of stone buildings and red-tile roofs has as a result become one of Europe’s more popular cities and tourist destinations – not to mention a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And it’s just a dozen miles from the trio of Iberostar resorts down the coast in the small, also quite pretty town of Cavtat.

For most of its history the city was called Ragusa, in the Dalmatian language of its founders and early inhabitants as well as in Italian, which became its official language due to the influence of the Venetian Republic (like Italian, Dalmatian is a Latin-descended Romance language ); it got its current Slavic name Dubrovnik when, after World War I, it became part of the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. From the Middle Ages through the early 19 century, Ragusa was an increasingly powerful, tolerant, and progressive maritime republic like Venice at the time – although due to the ups and downs of history and politics it became subject to various kingdoms, states, and empires including Venice itself, Hungary, and the Ottomans. In the 19th century it became part of the Habsburg Empire of Austria-Hungary.

A Full Recovery

Dubrovnik tourism benefited from the boom in Dalmatian tourism in the 1980s during the last years of Yugoslavia, but was extensively damaged by bombardment during the war that followed the declaration of Croatia’s independence in 1991. I remember visiting in 1997 and seeing shattered buildings and teams picking landmines out of the surrounding hills. But by the middle of this past decade, everything had been made good as new, and tourism came back stronger than ever.

It’s not that there are a huge number of “sights” to see (though there are some not to miss, including St. Blaise’s Church and several fine museums). For me, more than anything it’s about basking in the beauty of the Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque architecture; people-watching at sidewalk cafés; shopping for traditional jewelry; and taking in cultural events like the delightful Dubrovnik Summer Festival. At night, especially, the main street, the marble-paved Stradun (above), takes on a romantic, almost magical gleam. It’s good to see Dubrovnik back.

Photo | Jeff Miller

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Exotic Churches a Fascinating Part of Travel to Bulgaria

noviembre 16th, 2011 | Posted by Iberostar Hotels & Resorts in Snapshots - (0 Comments)

When you think of travel to Bulgaria, what comes to mind first? For me, one of the cool things about visiting this fetching little Balkan country is its touches of exoticism, part of an ancient cultural heritage that stretches back to 5,000 BC, and which I find most noticeable in its Eastern Orthodox churches. As with church architecture in Russia, here you’ll find plenty of onion domes, but in Bulgaria you’ll also spot features you won’t find in Russia, such as arches influenced by Islam (not surprising, since the Ottoman Turks ruled here from the late 14th through late 19th centuries). You’ll come across them in almost every town or city of any size – including Bourgas (below right), site of Iberostar’s Sunny Beach Resort and Tiara Beach.

Here are several of my favorite Bulgarian churches (now that’s a phrase you don’t read every day, eh?):

Alexander Nevksy Cathedral, city of Sofia (above) All I can say about this one is: wow. One of the world’s largest Orthodox cathedrals, it’s a majestic multi-tier confection of domes, arches, and gilt mosaics that can hold a whopping 10,000 people.

Church of the Assumption, village of Uzundzhovo This squat domed building is notable because it was built as a mosque during the Ottoman era and turned into an Orthodox church in 1906.

Church of the Holy Trinity,  town of Svishtov Less ancient – built in the 1860s – but an interesting mix of neo-Baroque and more traditional; inside there’s a huge and gorgeous panel of Orthodox icons.

Dormition of the Theotokos Cathedral, city of Varna Golden domes outside and impressive Byzantine-style frescoes inside are the hallmarks of the seat of the local bishop, built in 1882. Not far from Iberostar Obzor Beach Izgrev.

Shipka Memorial Church, town of Shipka A pointy, soaring belltower and a cluster of golden onion domes distinguish this impressive church finished in 1902.

St. George the Conqueror Chapel Museum, city of Pleven Built in the first decade of the 20th century, it’s in neo-Byzantine style, with lots of red-and-white striation and round arches.

St. John of Rila, town of Targovishte White and a bit simpler in style than the churches above, but with plenty of classically Orthodox domes.

Photos  Glabber/Wikipedia, Andrew Griffith

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