A short while later on an elder black woman wear a red-colored scarf more light hair came up regarding the second-flooring window. She featured perplexed however accepted Willy. “ Hola. Hola. ” She greet united states upstairs.

Her identity try Gladis Castaneda, and you can she was a professional ancient pianist in Havana during the the fresh 1950s. She are a small lady within her eighties otherwise 1990s. She nodded as he mentioned Los angeles Reina. Yes, she told you, however lived-in so it area, right nearby. Here, from the flesh, is actually somebody who realized this new legendary Superman-research, in fact, that the man in fact lived.

Superman, Castaneda said, are significant, good, respected. “Anyone understood him since King,” she told you. “He was gay, but you did not wreck havoc on your.” She requested us to stand. “He was your own level. However, solid. Muscle.” He had surface such as for instance hers: black, but not really. “He had been a man. No-one had a problem with him.” I inquired when the everybody in the community know what he performed for a living. “Young man, it was years ago. He leftover years ago.”

Willy requested in the event that she realized what turned from him, and she said she thinks the guy died into the Miami. Their unique times is actually waning, and you can Willy nodded if you ask me to suggest the time had come we wade.

Down on the road, i met an old man bending resistant to the wall structure. Their term are Elado. The guy sent a good cane and you will used a free green jacket that have a Masonic symbol clinging out of a chain as much as their shoulder. Willy advised your we had been looking for details about the guy it titled La Reina.

“ Si, si, ” the old guy told you. “La Reina-everyone else understood him. Mulatto. Concerning your peak,” he nodded during my guidelines. “Everyone acknowledged him. The guy lived right here to possess 20 years. Of course, everybody else understood just what the guy performed to have a full time income.” The guy told you Superman kept toward U.S. in the 1959. “Not one person know his name. Anyone just named him Los angeles Reina.”

I inserted their particular large apartment, and you will Willy told me everything we were creating

Across the street from the church, roosters crowed. Good girl putting on Rollerblades spoke on the a cover cell phone. An old man for the a fabric tennis cap smoked good cigar to your a beneficial backless wooden sofa.

His tresses is light and you can nuts

We went as a result of Los Sitios towards Barrio Chino until we arrived at the 507 Marquis Highway. We stood in the pub studying the entry to help you a martial-arts university: Escuela Cubana de Wushu. They had a red-colored and purple act having a silver foo dog and you will a purple metal gate.

The door try discover. During the side gate was good courtyard having a little cafe and many fixed exercise equipment. The fresh new theater once endured where in fact the school’s outdoor courtyard is actually. I tried to thought where in fact the stage might have been. This new dressing up area where Superman available to the brand new inform you. Brand new balcony where drunken people spotted the newest efficiency.

A short time after we gone back to Barrio de los Sitios to canvas for others whom might have recognized Superman. On apartment building internationalwomen.net Beratung close to Gladis Castaneda’s, i fulfilled Superman’s real neighbors: an old pizza pie chef called Roberto Cabarero, 82 years of age, that have a heavily discolored and you can expanded strength clothing, drooping brown jeans to the travel available, and you may black colored clothes with holes in the leg. Their facial skin sagged instance a-sea turtle’s.

Cabarero’s apartment, in which he resided together with his partner, are lightweight and you may ramshackle, littered with rubbish. Their wife seated in the little home, rocking to and fro within the a wooden sofa, talking loudly at no body in particular. An invisible blared tinny dated Language musical, and you may your dog came in and you may out from the room to help you consume crumbs off of the floor. A security time clock sounded for the duration of our fulfilling. No one annoyed to make it well.