El Pub Interview


		Exploring the Culture of Little Havana A Learning Community Project (School of Education, the College of Arts and Science and Eaton Residential College, University of Miami)



	"El Pub" Interview The following interview was conducted at El Pub Restaurant, located at the corner of Calle Ocho and 15^th avenue. Ilia Maldonado sat down one Saturday and discussed Cuban cuisine with Heliodoro Coro, the owner of two restaurants in Little Havana. He has been serving home-style Cuban cuisine throughout this city for the last quarter of a century. Ilia Maldonado: Hello and good afternoon. I am a student at the University of Miami School of Education and am helping to create a web project about Little Havana. The Internet project will include information about Cuban food, culture, history and businesses in this area. I would like to ask you some questions about your restaurant. Heliodoro Coro: It would be a pleasure. IM: How long has your restaurant, "El Pub," been open? HC: I opened this restaurant two years ago. The restaurant was opened a long time ago but it was closed and then I decided to reopen it two years ago. I have another one in the other corner of this street named El Esquisito, and we have been there for 25 years. We have been always dedicated to the Cuban food, to the... IM: Typical food... HC: Yes, to the native food. Stews, beef, pork -- the foods that the Cuban people love. We have everything. We also have some Spanish food like the famous paella. IM: Which is the dish that most people like? The favorite one! HC: The paella and the bistec empanizado seem to be the local favorites. IM: And what motivated you to reopen a restaurant that was closed for ten years? HC: The feeling of being here for so many years and the love that I have for this piece of land pushed me into action. This is the place where I came after Spain when I left Cuba. I raised my kids here; they grew up here. The restaurant was closed for a long time, so I decided to give a little bit of life and happiness to this small piece of land. IM: We have noticed that you have a big collection of paintings, prints, and memories from Cuba. People eating here can see news, advertisements, a verse from Jose Marti . . . You brought these memories here from Cuba? HC: All the memories are from before 1959. Baseball players, actresses, money, hotel ads. Everything before 1959. IM: You brought here all the good memories? HC: Yes. There you can see La Bohemia when it advertised attractions on the island and you only had to pay 10 cents to go. Everything in that wall [pointing to one of the walls] is about writers and poets. Over there [pointing to a large painting on one of the walls] is the Valley of Pinales, the place where I come from. It is the most beautiful place one can see in Cuba. IM: This restaurant really tries to have its customers keep touch with the island . . . HC: Yes, we know almost all the clients here. We are all a big family. IM: Tell me about that other area of the restaurant. The one with the chrome barstools in front of the espresso machine. That looks like the place to go for a cup of café and a quick sandwich. HC: Yes, it is for quick things. IM: Well! We have talked about the restaurant and the food. Tell me a little about the desserts. Which one is the favorite? HC: Well, they are all home made. We have cheese flan, vanilla flan, a bunch of different pastries, Diplomatic pudding . . . all the favorites, really. IM: Well, Mr. Coro, I want to thank you for your time. It was very nice to talk to you. This is a beautiful place and we wish you good luck with this restaurant. HC: It was my pleasure to have talked to you. You are doing a good thing. Congratulations! I hope your project brings information about this area and Cuban memories to the world. Thank you for coming and God bless.