Other than New Orleans, I’ve never visited another city where music is such an inextricable part of the traveler’s experience because of its significant role in the cultural of Cuba. Havana provides its own soundtrack, and it’s a really good one.

As a means of comparison, my apartment faces Powell Street near Union Square in San Francisco, and I have the opportunity – like it or not – to hear a whole host of street musicians, a cappella singers, plugged and unplugged guitarists, and even a xaphoonist. And, try as I might to be generous, I have to say that most have not been endowed with any discernible musical gifts, bless their hearts.

Perhaps my current daily life made me appreciate what I heard in Havana even more. Or maybe I’m just being way too analytical about something so sensuous that you just have to let it surround you as if just another element in the warm, humid air. That’s easy to do in Havana where music is seemingly everywhere.

Here’s a small (and admittedly inadequate) sample:

(To be continued)