Ever since I was a child, I have been fascinated with old timey music. Growing up my parents worked a lot, leaving me to spend a lot of time alone with my grandmother as I was an only child, where I was introduced to the wonderful sounds of old timey big band swing music via my grandmother Lola's pile of old records and player. we would listen and danced for hours. Afterwards she would tell the most amazing and colorful stories of her time as a young woman in the swing scene. Of all the clubs, bars, house parties, and secret meetups I had heard about over the years one stood out to me the most, The Copacabana. Perhaps it was the funny name, the fact that it was way off in Cuba, much farther than anywhere else she had clubbed at, or maybe it was when she had spoke of it, her tone changed, usually her eyes lit up with excitement and joy talking of her experiences, but not when she talked about 'the Copa'. She would say its easy to get stuck there and always warned me to not stay there too long or not to ever fall in love there, or the Copa would "Have" me, I had always thought she meant it in the same way that parents tell their kids to not do drugs or they'll get addicted, so I always accepted it and never asked what she meant by it. I sure wish I did now.
Growing up listening to many different types of music and listening to stories relating to it gave me a passion for musical journalism. I am now about to finish my final semester of college and my professor recommended me for a contest to win an internship for rolling stone! Its down to me and 4 other students. in order to win the internship, we must submit our final thesis not only to the professor but to Rolling stone themselves and I knew of only one place that I not only wanted my thesis to cover but NEEDED my thesis to cover: The Copacabana in Havana, Cuba.
As I pack my bags for the long plane ride my mother comes in and wishes me luck with my adventures, as well as the usual safety speech every parent gives their child just before they out, on my way out the door my mother, with proud tears in her eye's shouts "Don't forget to not fall in love!!" the reference brought a smile to my face and nearly a tear to my eye as I started towards the airport. I couldn't help but to think of my grandmother the whole way there, I wish she was still here, and I wish she was coming with me, but something told me she was.
As I arrive in Havana, I quickly rush to my hotel room right in the middle of town, I needed to rest for I had a big night ahead of me. I wake up right before the sunset, the sights are incredible, the people so nice, the food smelling delicious and exotic, sounds of tropical birds and crashing waves fill the air and I wonder to myself: is this paradise? I quickly shower and get dressed for my night out on the town. Dressed in my fanciest suit wielding nothing but a camera, map, cash, and notepad I took off into the night. I start by asking the locals of their experiences with the club, with responses from people my age usually not being too helpful. I was told that the place had not been popular in hears and had slowly faded from public conciseness, while many people stated music and people can still, he heard it was rare to see anybody actually waking in. The club was about 20 minutes away from my hotel in a now seemingly desolate part of town, the sky now filled with smog rather than the bright lights and glamor of previous times. While the part of town was sketchy, dull, and dirty at the end of the block was this shiny, warm, brightly lit, inviting building, the Copacabana. My excitement was unlike anything I had ever experienced before, I was almost too nervous to go inside.
Walking thought the door I was greeted by an older man in an old fashioned 'zoot suit' who took my coat and escorted me to a seat. Something felt off. There was a lot of sounds, but hardly any people. I get settled in the same way I always do when going to a new club; I begin ordering drinks. While I was waiting for my drinks to come, I decide to try to mingle and get acquainted with some of the local women, you know for the thesis. While walking around what looked like a palace, I notice that nearly everyone there was both a couple and in old timey clothes. Great, I came during A couple's costume night, right? It was the only thing that made sense to me at the time. I sit back down and down and slam the drinks I ordered with relative ease; they were a lot stronger than I thought. Now hazy, I am taking note on the club, the odd heavy atmosphere, the loudness of the room despite hardly anyone being there, and the echoes when walking the halls, when suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere I feel a hard tap on my shoulder and see a gorgeous woman, I freeze "would u like to dance" she asks, I stay frozen, she asks again but luckily I snap out of it and eagerly rush to join her on the floor, the live band seems exhausted but do they play ever so perfect. We dance for what felt like hours hardly saying a word to each other, only drinking and dancing, she hardly spoke English and I hardly any Spanish, it was some of the most fun I ever had. The more and more the night went on the more alive the club got, the crowd was feeding off of my energy, as it begins to get late, I realize I hadn't gotten enough notes down, I go back to my table, my notes were gone. I question staff to see if anyone had thrown it out by mistake, they didn't know what I was talking about, whatever, I guess I would just have to go off of memory, feeling tired, and now sober I decide that it's time for me to go get some shut eye. I turn around to tell the lovely woman whom I had been practically falling love with all night goodbye, she was gone. Something felt off. I notice the room isn't nearly as live, but it seemed like the same people were there, only nobody was dancing anymore, the room went back to how it was when I walked in. maybe I really was the life of the party. I continue to look for the woman whom I had been dancing the night away with, still nothing. I begin to give up hope and decide that maybe its time for me to go, I head for the door buy I immediately stop. My heart jumps, I couldn't believe it. Seemingly out of nowhere the band is back on but now they're covering a song I hadn't heard since the days of me and my grandmother. I can't leave now. A sudden rush of adrenaline overcomes me, before I know it, I'm in the middle of the dancefloor spinning and dancing having an amazing time, there I see her. Locking eyes, we spring into dance, I feel warm inside, my heart raced like never before, I never want to leave this place.
