Cuban Vets Rock

Located on the edge of the Plaza de Revolucion,
in the Teatro Nacional complex,
is
Café Cantante.

On this Sunday, as on nearly every Sunday at 6:00pm,
it is time for some serious rockin' nostalgia.
Los Kents
A band formed in the 70's when rock was forbidden to be played on Cuban radio.
These guys certainly have amassed a following over the years.
They are a very entertaining classic rock cover band.
Admission for non Cubans is 5CUC and a beer is only 1 CUC.

On drums is Veterinarian Dr. Sergio Chan.
Chan's day job is as the Bayer representative in Cuba.
Bayer and Chan have been very supportive of the Spanky Project's
work in Cuba.
If I am in Havana on a Sunday ... I am at Café Cantante.

After checking out Los Kents we were off to check out another of our veterinary friends.
Next stop ...
Escaleras al Cielo

This venue is up several flights of stairs and certainly earns it's name.
The english translation is "Stairway to Heaven".

With it's glow in the dark menu offering many tasty treats it may be difficult to opt for just one.

Behold the classic Mojito and the novelty Green Dragon.


What drew us here was an invitation by
Dr. Angel Mario Rodriguez

to see his band AM
After settling in and enjoying some good music it became obvious we had been spotted.
Angel Mario took to his microphone and spoke of the Canadian Veterinarians that were in the house.

After some very kind words, vocalist Alejandro Monett
then took over and dedicated a tune to us.

Somebody
I bin lookin' for someone
Between the fire and the flame
We're all lookin' for somethin'
To ease the pain
Now who can you turn to
When it's all black and white
And the winners are losers
You see it every night

I need somebody
Somebody like you
Everybody needs somebody

I need somebody
Hey what about you
Everybody needs somebody
When you're out on the front line
And you're watchin' them fall
It doesn't take long to realize
It ain't worth fightin' for

I thought I saw the Madonna
When you walked in the room
Well your eyes were like diamonds
And they cut right
through - oh they cut
right through

I need somebody
Somebody like you
Everybody needs somebody
I need somebody
Hey what about you
We all need somebody

Another night another lesson learned
It's the distance keeps us sane
But when the silence leads to sorrow
We do it all again - all again

Dr.B was dancing up a storm this night.
I'm looking forward to my next Sunday night in Havana!

They Brought Their Horses, Dogs and a Cat.

Nice wheels, Julio !

This fine Sunday morning we loaded up for the drive to the municipality of
San Miguel del Padron.

Upon arrival at Consultorio Veterinario C#2 they were waiting for us.

Dra.Danis home based clinic, as of this posting, is the only Veterinary clinic in a municipality of 150,000+.

photo:Susana Hurlich

On this day we were prepared to spay/neuter some dogs and cats
and
deparasitize dogs and horses.

Until just recently, Danis worked on her own with the able assistance of her husband Tony.
Now, Danis has been assigned a Veterinary Technician.
Eduardo Castellanos Garcia (pictured below) is a specialist in horse care.
With over 350 horses in the municipality he will certain help improve equine health.
The Spanky Project assisted this day by offering a deworming session for local horses.

photo:Susana Hurlich


.

I am extremely grateful for the consistent support we receive in Cuba.
Our partners are wonderful.

Nilda, on the left, is the former interim Municipal Director of the IMV.
Dr.Sergio Chan, in the middle, is the Bayer rep in Cuba.
That's Danis on the right.

A big thank you to Dr.Chan and Bayer.
They provided the Drontal Plus for this campaña.

Krystal Wallace is a Veterinary Technician at Yonge Street Animal Hospital in Toronto.
Having a "tech" with us made a world of difference.

photo:Susana Hurlich
The Spanky Project is very fortunate to have Dr.Michele Travers as part of our team.
This is Michele's second trip to Cuba with the Spanky Project.

Having her with us is like having two Vets ... small animal practitioner and an equine specialist.

Pictured below is Alicia Garcia Soto, IMV (Institute of VeterinaryMedicine) Director for San Miguel del Padron. She has the clipboard at the ready to record each horses info.

After being released from recovery these little guys had a ride home.

Rounding out our Canadian crew was Dr.Michael Belovich.
Dr.B is the Practice Owner & Lead Veterinarian of
Yonge Street Animal Hospital in Toronto.
Dr.B has worked closely with his suppliers to acquire donated supplies for delivery to Cuba.
Here he presents Danis with Metacam and Cefa-Drops.
Thanks go to
Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd./Ltée

Last but not least ...
Cuban Veterinarian Dr.Edgar Llorente has become a regular on our San Miguel campañas.

On this morning we ...
deparasitized
20 horses + 75 dogs
and
sterilized
8 dogs +1 cat

Dog Day Afternoon

Here we go again!

As per normal, my trip to Cuba began with a ride on Coach Canada.
This time I had the joy of being on a MegaBus.

Cubana Airlines has once again change it's leasing partner.
The recent relationship with Canada's Flair Airlines, it's Boeing 737s and Canadian crews seems to be history.

Now the supplier is Avion Express of Vilnius, Lithuania. They fly AirBus A320s that have had their interiors refurbished at Mirabel Aero Services in Montreal, Canada.
It's good to see the return of the Cuban crews.

All bags coming off the aircraft in Cuba are xrayed or otherwise screened before they appear on the baggage carousel.
Should something catch the eye of a screener your baggage tag will be marked.
Note one of our tags below.

What was in this bag you ask?
Farrier tools.
We jokingly called them our "equine manicure kit"!

A special thank you to Dr.Angel Mario, the on duty airport Veterinarian.
He expedited our entry paperwork and guided us through Aduana (Customs).

It was a long day. My head finally hit my pillow at about 5:00am.
With little sleep I don't understand how Krystal could be all smiles in the morning.
Perhaps it was nerves. Susana and Gladys were preparing to send her to the CADECA.
CADECA = Casa de Cambio = Currency Exchange


Knowing that our travel day would be arduous ... a light schedule was planned for "Day 1"

At noon we arrived at ...

This was the site of the Campeonato Panamericano

We had the pleasure of meeting with
Miguel Calvo Cartaya, FCC President.
Federación Cinologica de Cuba (FCC or the Cuban Dog Breeders Federation)

Hey guys look ... the Rotties have tails

It was an exceptionally fun day.
And a great way to ease into the week.

Many breeds were represented.

photo by:Suana Hurlich
After a fine dinner at Union Francesca de Cuba and a brief encounter with John Lennon...
... it was back to the hotel.

We ended the day in my room packing for the next day's activity.

This week will be filled with sterilization clinics and deparasitization events for dogs and horses.