“He covered himself with cats like hot water bottles when he read” – Kommersant FM

Kommersant FM columnist Pyotr Voronkov talks about the writer’s life in Cuba, including his estate Finca Vigia.

Today again Cuba and the man who left a deep mark on its history. This is the writer Ernest Hemingway. Naturally, he did not invent mojito and daiquiri cocktails, but largely thanks to him they have gained such popularity all over the world. However, in various establishments in Havana they will mix you “Death in the Afternoon”: absinthe and ice-cold champagne. This is the writer’s personal invention, called the same as his book.

They will gladly prepare a sandwich called “Hemingway” with peanut butter and a pile of onions. Not God knows what a delicacy, but the Nobel laureate regularly consumed it with red wine. I also really loved potato salad – this comes from the time of Paris. He even wrote to one of his friends: “Go to Brasserie Lipp on Boulevard Saint-Germain, drink beer and order potato salad.”

But let’s return to Cuba – to Papa Ham’s Finca Vigia estate near Havana. I remember being touched by the graves of his beloved dogs with headstones and names. Numerous kote are buried right next to them, he ate with them, slept with them, covered himself with them like hot water bottles when he read. You most likely will not be allowed inside the house, but it is easy to inspect almost all of it through open doors and windows.

The writer lived on Freedom Island for more than 20 years: in the first years it was a hotel, then a rental and, finally, his own home. During World War II, he gathered a whole squad of friends. There were smugglers, other suspicious characters, drinking buddies, and even girls with low social responsibility. Together, on his yacht Pilar, they bravely plowed the coastal waters in search of German submarines.

The detachment was called the “Rogue Factory” and fought at the expense of US naval intelligence. During breaks, the fighters fished, sunbathed, played cards and drank a lot. The squad was disbanded on the orders of FBI Director John Edgar Hoover himself. He didn’t like Hemingway – maybe he suspected something, and, I must say, for good reason. Somewhere in the dark alleys of Havana, old Ham met with agents from Moscow. He was recruited before the war and bore the code name “Argo”. True, after the war they refused his services – as an agent he was completely useless.