by Ariel Taylor | So here I am just three days away from what will surely be a life-changing three months living in one of Latin America’s most notorious cities, Havana. While a large majority of the world subsists almost exclusively on beans and rice, my privileged North American pedigree can’t help but groan at the thought of my future diet. Cuba has always been known more for its political radicalism (and iconic t-shirts) than its cuisine, but restaurant culture is enjoying its own quiet revolution on an island long saturated by the all-inclusive mega-resorts that have always felt decidedly more American than Cuban.

Once the elephant in the room of Cold War American foreign policy, this island nation has largely disappeared from many international headlines despite over a decade of speculation over its always “impending” collapse. Whatever your own leanings, you’ve got to admit Castro and his compañeros have succeeded in governing one of the world’s longest standing Communist countries, just 90 miles from You Know Who. But without a Soviet-size bankroll to prop up an already struggling economy, Fidel (and brother Raul) concluded over a decade ago that the government couldn’t afford to employ an entire country. Tourism was their best chance at obtaining some much needed foreign dineros. The result was the legitimization of what had been operating illegally for years: the Cuban paladar.

Run largely out of family kitchens and dining rooms, these impromptu, locally-owned restaurants offer tourists a closer and more authentic look at life and culture on the island. Rice and rum figure highly. While subject to often painstaking regulations (12 seat maximum, certain foods and alcohols banned, advertising forbidden), some paladar owners have proven impressively successful in a country where austerity and redistribution have defined the official tone for decades. In many ways, food is helping to redefine Cuba’s political and economic future and the paladars – tiny ‘islands of capitalism’ – will surely play a central role.

So on Saturday I’m officially defecting and spending the next three months living and dining in Cuba’s capital. Under the guise of research, I plan to take my academic funding and run (kidding of course, I do need another degree out of the deal). So that’s that. I’ve said my goodbyes to my faithful Vancouver watering holes and will trade them in for something a little more homely for now. Next up, a damn good mojito…

——————————————— top photo: Malias