They met at a party, danced salsa, had drinks, talked for hours and ended up having sex up on the roof terrace. A passionate string of events that left my foreign friend dazzled.
I was privy to their romance. She would believe the cheesy things he said to her and put stock in what he said about Cuban art. He fooled her that way. To top things off, they would then have fantastic sex. A passionate romance blossomed.
But he convinced her that it would be spiritually rewarding to get married under the Yoruba religion. She gave in; taken away by the mystical stories he wove for her. A dark seed began to sprout at the heart of that peculiar wedding, however: he wanted her to fully commit to the religion, as he was a Shango initiate and he wanted to be with someone who shared his beliefs. So they started a series of ceremonies involving Inga which she of course had to pay for.
She spent a lot of money and, in addition, had to be initiated into the religion. That was the end of that sham-relationship. She went back to her country, disgusted from it all.
Irina Pino: I was born in the middle of shortages in those sixties that marked so many patterns in the world. Although I currently live in Miramar, I miss the city center with its cinemas and theaters, and the bohemian atmosphere of Old Havana, where I often go. Writing is the essential thing in my life, be it poetry, fiction or articles, a communion of ideas that identifies me. With my family and my friends, I get my share of happiness.
