The
Twentieth Century was a difficult time for Cuba. The island
nation suffered through
a quarter-century of the dictatorship of Fulgencio
Batista only to replace it with that of Fidel
Castro. The Castro revolution
was to be a moral crusade against the corruption and excesses
of the Batista regime; Castro was as determined to do away
with gambling and prostitution as he was to free his nation
from American economic domination and establish a socialist
state.
In his novel "Gamble
Everything for Love",
writer David
Dasarath Davidson tells of both the ideals and
the reality of Cuban life as the Castro revolution
unfolds. The protagonist, Sonny Murray, is a Brooklynite living in Miami, keeping
the books in a nightclub, performing magic tricks, playing it cool.
Sonny was hip. As he liked to say I
was hip before it was hip. He knew some of the beatniks
in Greenwich Village and Venice
Beach. Hung out with them one summer
in Mexico City. Blues and cool jazz soothed him. Read the existentialists,
Beckett, dug the freedom and absurdity, it all rang true
to him.
- from Gamble Everything for Love
Sonny
was a restless soul, half wheeler-dealer and half "a loner,
a lover
of peace and quiet." He was also an associate of Meyer
Lansky, the (quite
real) gangster trying to go legit while building hotels and casinos in Havana
just as the cooperative Batista regime seemed to be coming to an end. Lansky
asks Sonny to go to Cuba to contact Castro - then fomenting revolution from his
stronghold in the Sierra Maestra mountains of Oriente Province - and win his
assurance that Lansky's investments would be protected. Sonny is unsure that
this can happen, but he heads for Havana.
To help him make contact with Castro
sympathizers, Sonny organizes a tertulia - a Latino version of a philosophical
salon - and gathers some of Havana's leftist
intellectuals (whose support for Castro already seems shaky). There he meets
Mireya Aldama, a professor at the University of Havana and a priestess expert
in the ways of both Afro-Cuban Santería and the Tantric practices of
India. Mireya nourishes Sonny's powerful intellectual, spiritual and sexual
strivings.
(Their scenes together, like much of the book, are intended for a mature readership).
By the time Sonny and Mireya arrive in the Sierra Maestra the errand for Meyer
Lansky seems less important than the need to open Fidel to a full realization
of the religious and cultural richness of Cuban society.
"Gamble Everything
for Love" is David Dasarath Davidson's first novel,
and much of it comes from his own knowledge and experience. Davidson grew up
in Florida, earned a Ph.D. in history from Yale and taught Latin American history
at Cornell. He has visited Cuba several times. Also, he has studied with masters
of Zen, Yoga, Vipassana and Advaita Vedanta. His five-year association with Advaita
Master Sri H.W.L. Poonja was a transforming experience from which he was given
the name Dasarath in 1993. He brings these teachings from the world's spiritual
and psychological traditions to persons seeking mastery and self-realization
through his Wisdom at Work seminars and retreats. His earlier books are "Wisdom
at Work: The Awakening of Consciousness in the Workplace" and "Freedom
Dreams: An Invitation to Awakening".
But there was an even more basic life experience that helped him write "Gamble
Everything for Love": the character of Sonny Murray is based on Dasarath's
father.
David
Dasarath Davidson joins Bill Jaker on
OFF THE PAGE to discuss his novel, his philosophy and the outlook for Cuba now
that the Castro era
seems ready
to enter history. To join in the conversation call during the live 1:00 PM
broadcast
to 888/359-9754 or post a comment to WSKG.Radio@Gmail.com.
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