© David Greenfield 2015
On a side street in Old
Havana our eyes locked. He was a boy in wondrous gaze clutching his mother’s
hem. I was strolling with a few Americans. Unlike the boy’s awe, even a glimpse
of mami’s face reflected something
very different … deep concern. Their yin-yang of expressions formed a perfect photographic
decisive moment. Click. For me the moment also recalled memory of a mystery, a musical mystery.
Consider these lyrics from
Paul Simon’s Mother and Child Reunion (1972).
I
would not give you false hope
On
this strange and mournful day
But
the mother and child reunion
Is
only a motion away, oh, little darling of mine
As soon as the song hit the
charts fans searched for hidden meanings and pondered Paul’s inspiration for
writing.
Did
the reunion take place in the afterlife or was it a down on earth meeting of
biological parent with a child previously put up for adoption; why a false hope;
why sad and mournful, and what action could trigger a reunion that was only a motion
away?
Back on the street, rather than union, I sensed a certain disunion. The boy appeared awestruck, perhaps imaging what magic the Americanos possess. The mother's demeanor suggested a discomforting uncertainty. Was it not knowing how Cuban life might change if the sought after rapprochement with the US ever occurs? Would outcomes be for the better, or not?
Two weeks after I captured the image, Breaking News stunned us all with broadcast of renewed diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba. It came decades after La Revoluciรณn, Castro’s embrace of Communism, the Embargo, and severed ties. A reunion of sorts was now in the making. Would it be a false hope?
Two weeks after I captured the image, Breaking News stunned us all with broadcast of renewed diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba. It came decades after La Revoluciรณn, Castro’s embrace of Communism, the Embargo, and severed ties. A reunion of sorts was now in the making. Would it be a false hope?
Spoiler alert: When Paul Simon was pressed to offer the ‘true’ inspiration for the
song title, he admitted his creativity was drawn directly from a chicken and egg
menu item on the NYC Chinese restaurant he frequented.
Go figure!
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