{"title":"Herman Portocarero","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"havana-without-makeup-book-herman-portocarero-9781933527888","title":"Havana without Makeup","description":"\"Part memoir, part history and part travelogue, Havana without Makeup … take[s] you places you would never find in a guide book.\"—Mimi Whitefield, Miami Herald  \"The story Portocarero weaves here is rich and fascinating, and vital to understanding an often mysterious place.\"—Patrick Oppmann, CNN Havana Correspondent and Bureau Chief  Havana without Makeup is the ultimate insider’s view of Havana, a wide-ranging exploration of its complex facets as seen by few. Its aim is to capture the soul of a city and a society that have evolved on their own terms at the moment before they face inevitable transformations.  Opening on the eve of the announcement of reconciliation between the U.S. and Cuba, the book then looks back at the cultural, political, economic, and religious influences that led up to this historic moment and beyond. Readers are led by a brilliant renaissance man and writer who has been at the vanguard of the city’s struggles for more than twenty years. Portocarero’s anti-tourist guide to Havana examines the built environment of “the most sensual ruin on the planet”: why are large parts of the city so neglected, and what changes may we see over the coming years? Examining all things Cubania--racial issues, la revolución, baseball, Hemingway, communism, synagogues, Santeria, Cimarron culture, and much more--Portocarero overturns every stone in his endeavor to bring us inside the city he loves.  Illustrated with original photographs, this is a unique and essential account of Havana’s history, its present, and what its future may hold.  Herman Portocarero is a Belgian-born writer and diplomat of Spanish and Portuguese descent. He has published more than twenty works of fiction and nonfiction, including the Hercule Poirot Prize-winning crime novel New Yorkse NachtenNew York Nights). Between 1995 and 2017, he was ambassador in Havana for his native country and later for the European Union, where he developed a deep professional and personal relationship with Cuba, Havana, and her people.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50322938233105,"sku":"CIN1933527889VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50402384052497,"sku":"CIN1933527889G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52349418242321,"sku":"NLS9781933527888","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52756773601553,"sku":"NIN9781933527888","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1933527889.jpg?v=1751156564"},{"product_id":"all-demons-day-book-herman-portocarero-9780595465712","title":"All Demons' Day","description":"For Rey, a young pirate, being on the run is a natural condition. When the \u003ci\u003eVision Quest's\u003c\/i\u003e crew votes him off the ship to undertake Captain Trench's latest mission, he's not surprised. He's never been regarded as one of them. Set ashore near Havana in 1766, Rey ventures into San Crist bal de La Habana, finding it afire with raucous music, dancing, and drunkenness. A temporarily free soul between the worlds of land and sea, Rey gets caught up in the yearly African carnival of Epiphany-All Demons' Day. In a drunken stupor, Rey is stripped of his contraband by thieves. While obsessing over the loss of Mr. Trench's goods, he is taken in by a street girl, Epifania. Dodging demons of her own, Epifania protects Rey, but she also plunges him into the island's merciless colonial politics and slave economy. Rey and Epifania become wanted by both pirates and politicians, dodging each group by continually moving from one hovel to the next. \u003ci\u003eAll Demons' Day\u003c\/i\u003e, richly seasoned with historical facts, is filled with intrigue, adventure, and suspense. If you're expecting a pirate story with codes of honor, betrayal, corruption, and the compelling mysteries of Caribbean witchcraft, you won't be disappointed.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51221868642577,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51221869887761,"sku":"NIN9780595465712","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52133906678033,"sku":"NLS9780595465712","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0595465714.jpg?v=1751198723"},{"product_id":"all-demons-day-book-herman-portocarero-9780595703401","title":"All Demons' Day","description":"For Rey, a young pirate, being on the run is a natural condition. When the \u003ci\u003eVision Quest's\u003c\/i\u003e crew votes him off the ship to undertake Captain Trench's latest mission, he's not surprised. 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