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The background to this month’s Freewheelin' cover is taken from a small canvas that I purchased from a street trader in Cuba. Wandering through the wonderful markets in Havana, I found that if you made eye contact with any stall holder for more than a nanosecond, a whole host of hustlers would descend upon you, imploring you to spend. But this guy was different; very softly spoken as artists sometimes are, he seemed to be embarrassed by his obvious gift. The few dollars I paid for the canvas probably kept his wife and family in bread for weeks. The painting depicts Empedrado street in old Havana, and the centre piece is the La Bodeguita Del Medio bar where, in the days before the stars were torn down, Ernest Hemingway used to take cocktails with his best buddy Errol Flynn. Can you imagine the conversation out on Empedrado street when this pair left after a drinking session? In this reproduction of La Bodeguita, Dylan is tearing through the quarters of the old town on his trusty Triumph, having no regard for the one way system. Then, at the junction of Empedrado street and San Ignacio, another pair of best buddies are standing in the middle of the road, deep in conversation. I can’t offer you Hemingway and Flynn so this odd couple will just have to do! |
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