Page 66 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Cuba

64 ❯❯ The Top 10 of Everything

Things to Buy

Papier-Mâché
1
Models
Cuban artisans are
skilled at making papier-
mâché items, and pre-
revolutionary American
auto mobiles are a very
popular theme. These
cars can be incredibly
lifelike or have comical
distortions. Look out as
well for papier-mâché
muñequitas (dolls) of
the orishas, or figures
of baseball players and
cigar-smoking mulattas Painted papier-mâché model cars
(Cuban women of mixed
racial heritage). which make good souvenirs or gifts,
are exaggeratedly slender nude
Guayaberas
2 female figures made of mahogany,
This Cuban cotton shirt worn
ebony, and lignum vitae. Bowls and
by men is ideal for beating the heat. plates are also available, as are
It features a straight hem and is chess sets and humidors, often
worn draped outside the trousers. made in colorful combi nations
Either long- or short-sleeved, the of different types of hardwoods.
shirts usually have four buttoned
Fans
pockets and are emb roidered with 4
twin vertical stripes down the front. Traditional, handmade,
and prettily painted Spanish fans
Wood Carvings
3 or abanicos make a great gift. The
fans are hand-painted in an age-
Carved wooden statues are
a staple of craft markets found all old tradition. Gift shops through out
over Cuba. The most common items, Cuba also sell them.
Che Guevara T-shirts
5
Almost every Cuban souvenir
store and flea market sells cotton
T-shirts for men, women, and
children. The most common image
is the iconic photo of Che Guevara
in his trademark black beret with
the five-point revolutionary star.
Music CDs
6
CDs of everything from son
and jazz to timba and salsa are
widely available in casas de la trova
(see p60), souvenir stores, and shops
run by the state-owned recording
entity EGREM. Musicians who
perform at restaurants and other
such venues often offer recordings
Wooden carvings at a street market of their music for sale.

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