"A Conveyor Belt of Human Beauty"

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 “A conveyor belt of human beauty” is the phrase that first-time travellers to Cuba might find appropriate to describe their initial impression of the local population. That was how the renowned author Graham Greene so eloquently portrayed Cubans when he wrote “Our Man in Havana” in the 1950s and things have changed little since then. In fact, given that the population has practically doubled in the interval it would be true to say that the streets and parks of every city and town abound with stunningly good-looking men and women, and these are just your average passers by; the above average Cuban makes international top models and heart throbs look positively plain by comparison. 

No matter how long visitors spend in this country it is always possible to encounter a Cuban whose appearance is even more dazzling that the last local you saw, the most perfect, exquisite specimen of humanity ever to have been born… or so you thought until this one came along. And so on it goes… this “conveyor belt of human beauty.” However, foreigners are not the only ones to gawp at this spellbinding pageant, it may surprise you to learn that the locals, particularly men, probably get more out of “Cuban watching” than we do. Glamour, elegance, shapeliness, sex appeal, style and sheer daring when it comes to dress, any or all of these attributes will get a woman noticed as she strolls down the street… and doesn’t she know it! Most Cuban women, but not all, enjoy the attention and will sometimes actively solicit it with by making more of an effort with their appearance or simply by glancing coyly in the direction of the nearest male, who will respond with a piropo, a compliment. 

This is the art of flirting, and it is an art form in Cuba that has been perfected over decades, if not centuries. It has nothing to do with the obscenities or sexual harassment that travellers might expect when they visit a traditionally machista society, and Cuba is machista; however, piropos are well-meaning, they are meant to be enjoyed by both parties, and are rarely followed up on, unless of course, the woman invites her admirer to take the encounter one step further. She rarely does, but will frequently respond with a smile and a thank you, although the more original or funny piropos may even elicit an equally humorous rejoinder. A particularly shapely woman might elicit the piropo, “Oh God help me! Here you are with so many curves and me with no brakes!” Motion, or to be more precise, the way in which a woman carries herself, can turn dozens of male heads in her direction all at the same time, like radar panels that become have stuck at a certain angle, and will attract some of the more typical piropos: “If you cook like you walk darling, I’ll marry you here and now!”  Or, “If you keep on moving around like that honey, you’ll wake the baby.”

 Take it all in your stride!

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