Geo Quiz

Havana neighborhood

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The Geo Quiz is upscale this time: We’re looking for a glamorous neighborhood. At least it had that reputation before the revolution. We’re talking about the Cuban revolution. And the neighborhood in question is in Havana.

It’s got lots of large mansions left over from its glamorous days – back in the 1950′s. And there’s a 600-seat theater from that era that still stands – even if it could use a little maintenance now. It’s not all in the past for this Havana neighborhood, though. Today, there are several posh hotels, overlooking some beautiful beaches. And there’s a surfer’s club, too.

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Geo Answer:

The answer we’re looking for is Miramar.

Michael Scott Moore has written a fascinating book that traces how surfing spread from Polynesia to Hawaii and California, and then to the rest of the world. It’s called Sweetness and Blood.

Listen to an excerpt:

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The book’s about more than surf boards and waves. It’s really about how the freedom and rebellion of America in the 1960s got mutated by surf culture, and how that mutation now appears all over the world in some pretty unexpected places. Cuba, Bali, and Morocco for example.

Listen to our interview:

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