Just before New Year 2007 we arrived in Gibara, a charming little port town on the northeast cost of Cuba, and we were invited to New Year Eve’s dinner by a Cuban family.

The New Year is celebrated in Cuba for three whole days. According to tradition a whole pig is barbecued on the last day of the year and it is the men's honour to carry out this task.

We arrived around seven pm, and the men of the family welcomed us with flushed cheeks - they had been barbecuing the pig, as well as consuming rum (ron) as is customary, for seven hours. There were a lot of people present, all four generations of the family.

We brought some biscuits, juice and soft drinks for the children and a bottle of rum for our hosts. We couldn't find anything more festive in the shops of the town. The tables groaned under foods and everybody really enjoyed eating. For us the crisp pig skin, the best part of the pig as we were told, was however almost too much. After the meal everyone left for the town's "Fish Square", the meeting place where all those who want to dance and have fun gather almost daily.

We asked what time it was and were told that no timepieces were needed, we would soon know. And sure enough, suddenly the church bells started chiming furiously - it was New Year! "Feliz nuevo año" was heard everywhere and salsa filled the air.

The music was captivating and before we knew it, we were dancing too, and although not known for our mastery of dance steps, we kept dancing at the square until the small hours like everybody else. Kisses were exchanged; the young and the old were friends - hermanos - brothers and sisters. We shared everything, the music, dancing and rum bottles. The rum was eventually sold out everywhere…

The families and their friends and neighbours celebrated the New Year's Day together. In the streets people wished us a Happy New Year - there were only a handful of travelers in this town and the few ones we saw seemed to be shy of meeting the local people. After the eight o'clock Mass the Fish Square filled with people again. The popular band Eddy-K had come to entertain the townspeople with their very own reggaeton. The women wore glittering, eye-catching dresses and the men competed for their attention. We listened to the band with our new friends, dancing in a ring, a bottle of rum in the middle. It was a hilarious evening and there was no brawling, no drunken misbehaviour - the guards and the police were patrolling.

On the second of January the townspeople spent time at the squares and at the terraces of the bars. It was a nice and peaceful way of spending a holiday. After the evening Mass the Fish Square was empty, no music. During our five-day stay in Gibara this was the only evening when there was no activity there. We were told that this was due to the fact that the next day was a work day. But at the beach bar the musicians were playing and singing traditional songs and some people were dancing to the melancholy tunes.

It was definitely a New Year we will never forget!

Please also have a look at our description of Gibara.