It was a hot February evening in Viñales. Our daughter had turned seventeen months old that day. We had been among tobacco fields, fruit trees and caves, and now we were resting on a terrace while the light changed.

Then voices reached us from beyond the village. Oziris tilted his head, listened and said, “Vamos.”

Short fiction. The original author declares the events and people fictional and the accompanying images and faces digitally manipulated.

An invitation without an explanation

When Oziris said “vamos,” we went. I picked up our daughter and the camera, dressed for the heat and still unsure where he was taking us. After such a long day, I had thought we were finished with surprises.

We passed through the village. The voices grew louder, turning into shouts. Red soil shifted under our feet and dust hung in the air. A group of people came into view, and for a moment it felt as though we had walked into a film.

A black-and-white gathering shown in the source’s fictionalised Cuba story.
Illustration for the fictional story; the source declares its faces digitally manipulated.Image: Love travelling family

A film playing in my head

I thought of Quentin Tarantino. Men stood around us in hats, shirts and boots, watching something I could not yet see. Our daughter was asleep, my husband was beside me, and another woman had come with us. I suddenly felt conspicuous.

My mind added a soundtrack from Kill Bill. Then the guide’s name reminded me of Osiris, the Egyptian god associated with the dead. Heat, dust and my own imagination were doing their work before I understood the scene.

The reason for the gathering

Then I saw the two birds. The crowd was watching a cockfight. As the fight began, everyone’s attention narrowed towards it and we seemed to disappear from their notice.

My unease changed. We stood as outsiders watching a contest whose loser would pay with its life. Afterwards, a boy took a bird in one hand and rode away on a horse. The terrace and its quiet view of the tobacco field felt far away.

Figures in a black-and-white image from the original Cuba short story.
A second digitally manipulated illustration from the fictional Viñales story.Image: Love travelling family

A note on the story

The author’s closing statement declares the events and people fictional and the illustrations and faces digitally manipulated. This story is presented in that form, rather than as a report or an activity to seek out.

For a family travel account from the same country, continue with our Cienfuegos journal or getting around Cuba.

Good to know

A couple of useful questions

Is this a documentary account?

No. The author declares the events and people fictional and the images manipulated. Read it as a short story.