Chevrolets, Cigars & Men in Graham Greene’s Cuba

By Lisa Selvidge

I arrive in Havana, Cuba, at the end of 2010 together with a guide book and several men: Our Man in Havana, The Old Man and the Sea, and Paul, my partner. I wonder whose footsteps I’ll follow in, but after a single night in Havana it becomes clear that Hemingway’s footsteps have been well and truly trampled. Hemingway = Cuba = CUC (the Cuban peso).  CUC is tied to the dollar and necessary for purchasing anything other than marketplace peppers and potatoes. Hemingway, it turns out, is big business. Every bar and restaurant Hemingway frequented (or simply stepped foot in) cas...