I live in my home with my son and husband. My husband is an artist, I am a teacher and also an artist, and my son is a musician. My house is situated in a unique position close to Wynwood and the Design district, very centric and within minutes of the beach, downtown, and the airport. We are a Cuban Family and although I am fluent in English, we do speak mostly Spanish at home.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

like to travel but hate hotels, like to return the favor.

Interests

Art- painting, sculpture, music, dance
reading
visiting museums
traveling
trying to stay positive and optimistic
Education
Justice

• arts
• design
• dancing
• education
• breakfast
• reading
• traveling
• painting
• music
• teaching
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: all types of music, love blues, jazz, pop, reggae, blue grass, some country, even rap, and of course rock. Any music as long as the lyrics are meaningful and they do not objectify or insult women. Favorite musicians: Joaquin Sabina and Silvio Rodriguez, apart from many friends of mine that are musicians and I have the privilege of enjoying their music, often right in my living room.

Movies: dont know where to start, ok, Fried Green Tomatoes, Like Water for Chocolate, Forest Gump, Blue is the Warmest Color, Color Purple, The Crying Game, Thelma and Louise, Baise Moi, Shawshak Redemption, anything by Fellini, almost anything by Almodovar. I tend to prefer drama, or mystery, can sit through an action film, but will leave the room with horror movies.

Books: I love the classics: Mann, Hesse, Balzac, Zola, Faulkner, Miller. I particularly like Toni Morrison, Zora Neal Hurston and Alice Walker. Love Cuban writers like Carpentier, Reinaldo Arenas and Rebne Ariza. I would say my favorite genre is historical fiction such as Aztec by Gary Jennings and The Mists of Avalon, although that is more mythical than historical.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Led 500 children in a Carnival in San Francisco dancing Samba!
Also graduated from Berkeley California despite being a single mom, I am very proud of that.
But out of all my experiences, having true friends all around the globe is probably my greatest achievement.

Teach, Learn, Share

I am new at this in this website but I have been doing this informally for years. I traveled several cities in Spain and to Amsterdam in this way. I also offer my bed to friends of friends from around the world for years. So my advice to every traveler is to stay off hotels when traveling, if you want to get a real sense for the place, you must always stay with locals.

What I Can Share with Hosts

A couch with sheets and pillows (sometimes maybe even a guess room) , a warm meal, maybe even breakfast. I can also share places to go and good deals such as free days for museums, days to go to different art gallery walks (depending on the neighborhood), secluded beaches, and quirky places to visit.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Germany, Netherlands, Spain

Countries I’ve Lived In

Costa Rica, Cuba, United States