Los Orishas come from a mix of African beliefs and Catholicism. It is interesting and entirely complex. This is called Santería. This mixture comes from when the slaves were forced under Spanish rule to accept Catholicism in their lives. I'm so far from being an expert on this topic. Animal sacrifices are common. Santeros are paid good money to preform ceremonies. They dress only in white for a determined length of time.
The videos of the Orishas do an excellent job of capturing both urban and country life in present day Cuba.
Cuban can be very hard to understand at times. S is almost completely dropped out of their speech pattern. In comparison Spain is much more restrictive in their Castellano.
This first video begins with some young Cubans walking through the street. These streets are the way they are in present day. Each one being an integral part of history. The party you see is in most likelihood not recreated. Sure, some parts are probably staged.
][/link]http://youtube.com/watch?v=M0foTPbJNAgThis second video is amazing. It starts with un camello or camel. Named so after its camel like shape. You wouldn't believe how many people can jam on this guagua or bus. Watch your pockets! Drums and los tambores or drums de La Habana.
I still don't know the secret to the whitest whites. They know.
Much rap about specific locations. Calle 23, el Malecón, el Prado, Miramar, etc.
Most of this I would say is not recreated.
]The third is much more el campo, the country. It isn't like the country side here where you would think they are much more conservative. Se baila en todos los lugares. They dance everywhere.
The clouds are so beautiful. Always.
Libertad
Amy's on Main near UB has decent veggie food. Not great, but decent. But it was packed, so maybe i am in the minority on that.. or my choice wasn't a good representation of the food there.
We've only been there once, but i had a really nice corn meal crsuted tofu thing at Off the Wall for dinner.
Falafel Bar and Sahara Grill both have good food with decent veg choices. Sahara Grill has shit service, though.
I tend to like asian food, and my first picks on places to eat tend to be thai or chinese. Taste of Thai on Hertel is pretty good, but i find their Pad Thai a bit too sweet for me. I love the yellow curry tofu at Saigon Bankok on Niagara Falls Blv.
Mexican can be veggie friendly, too. I really like Salsarita's on Chippewa.. more Cali style Mexican, but the choices are good -- everything comes with lots of choices of toppings and fillings.
I don't know much about Italian or "American" (whatever cuisine that actually is!) food places, though, since they are more rare for us to eat out in. Veggie choices at Italian places are easier to make at home. And generally, we tend to go ethnic when we eat out.
I will say, however, that i really liked the veggie burger at Fudruckers.
Hope some of that helps! Happy eating out! :O)