Havana: Autobiography of a City

In this celebrated book, Alfredo Jose Estrada paints a captivating portrait of the history of Cuba's capital-from its founding by conquistadors in 1519 to Fidel Castro's declining years. He portrays the adventurers and dreamers who left their mark on Havana, such as explorer Hernando de Soto, poet-revolutionary Jose Marti, and Wifredo Lam, the avant-garde painter befriended by Picasso. Havana: Autobiography of a City is a hauntingly personal account of a love affair with a city, as well as an entertaining portrait of a place not easily forgotten. Book jacket.

Alfredo José Estrada was the editor-in-chief of Vista magazine, which is distributed in over thirty newspapers and is the largest publication for U.S. Hispanics in the country. Born in Havana and educated at Harvard, he lives in Austin, Texas.