A few minutes later on an elder black woman dressed in a reddish garment more than white locks emerged regarding second-floors windows. She featured mislead then again accepted Willy. “ Hola. Hola. ” She greet united states upstairs.
Their particular label is Gladis Castaneda, and you may she was an expert ancient pianist into the Havana throughout the the 1950s. She is actually a tiny lady in her 80s or 1990s. She nodded when he stated La Reina. Sure, she said, however lived in that it neighborhood, correct across the street. Right here, on the skin, is actually a person who understood brand new legendary Superman-research, actually, your guy in reality resided.
Superman, Castaneda told you, try significant, good, known. “Anyone understood your since King,” she said. “He had been gay, you failed to wreak havoc on your.” She requested me to stand. “He was their height. However, strong. Muscular.” He had surface including hers: black, but not very. “He had been an excellent people. Not one person had an issue with your.” I asked if everybody in the people understood just what the guy did having a full https://kissbrides.com/de/coffee-meets-bagel-test/ time income. “Young man, it was years ago. He leftover years ago.”
Willy expected if the she knew what became from him, and you will she told you she thinks the guy passed away inside Miami. Their energy try waning, and you can Willy nodded to me to suggest it was time i wade.
Down on the trail, i found an old people leaning against the wall structure. Their term try Elado. He carried a good cane and you may used a loose environmentally friendly jacket having a good Masonic icon clinging out of a sequence to their shoulder. Willy informed your we were selecting details about the person it titled La Reina.
“ Si, si, ” the outdated guy told you. “La Reina-everyone know him. Mulatto. Concerning your height,” the guy nodded within my assistance. “Anyone respected your. He resided here to own twenty years. Definitely, folks knew what he performed for a living.” The guy said Superman left towards You.S. in the 1959. “Nobody know his label. Everyone just entitled him Los angeles Reina.”
We joined her large apartment, and you can Willy explained whatever you were starting
Across the street from the church, roosters crowed. A great girl dressed in Rollerblades spoke on the a cover mobile phone. A vintage guy from inside the a leather-based tennis limit smoked a beneficial cigar to the a good backless wooden sofa.
Their locks was light and you can nuts
We strolled thanks to Los Sitios towards Barrio Chino until we turned up within 507 Marquis Street. I endured on the street taking a look at the entrances to help you a martial-arts college: Escuela Cubana de- Wushu. They had a purple and you will red-colored facade which have a silver foo puppy and you will a red iron gate.
The entranceway was discover. Inside the side gate try a courtyard having a tiny restaurant and several stationary gym equipment. The latest theatre once endured where the school’s outdoor courtyard has started to become. We made an effort to envision the spot where the stage has been. The brand new dressing up place where Superman ready to accept the fresh new show. The new balcony in which drunken people watched the fresh overall performance.
A short while after we returned to Barrio de los Sitios to canvas for other individuals which may have recognized Superman. On apartment strengthening close to Gladis Castaneda’s, i fulfilled Superman’s genuine next-door neighbor: a former pizza chef titled Roberto Cabarero, 82 yrs . old, that have a seriously discolored and you will prolonged muscle top, drooping brown jeans with the travel spacious, and you may black socks with gaps regarding the base. Their body sagged such as for instance a-sea turtle’s.
Cabarero’s flat, in which he stayed together with wife, is actually tiny and you may ramshackle, littered with junk. His wife seated in the exact middle of the tiny living room, rocking forward and backward within the a wooden couch, talking loudly from the not one person specifically. A radio blared tinny old Language musical, and you can your dog was available in and you may outside of the room to consume crumbs off the floor. A security clock sounded for the duration of all of our appointment. No one troubled to show it off.