Havana-Cultura
Miguel Iglesias
Calle Armas, n° 757, Lawton
"If you asked me what I love most about the Cuban atmosphere, I would say dusk at 757 Armas Street, my home in Lawton. In front of the house there’s a ceiba tree whose colours make me thank my lucky stars every day that I’m from Havana, that I’m a Cuban. Like palm trees, you can find the ceiba all over Cuba.
The ceiba is a very powerful tree and it just so happens that one I have opposite my house.
According to the Yoruba religion it’s a sacrilege to cut down a ceiba tree. You have to ask permission from lots of Orishas before you're allowed to cut one down.
But the power, the centre, the place where Chango sits, is a ceiba or palm tree. It’s the symbol of Cuban virility. For me it’s about the tree that is in front of the place where I was born and which is older than me."
