Hemingway's Cuban Home - Finca Vigía - CCTV Feature

Correspondent Michael Voss describes Hemingway's life in Cuba and the joint efforts of the Cuban government and a private U.S. foundation to preserve the house and its priceless artifacts.

[@ydyelinwahizi4100]

I'm Cuban living in Florida now, and I'm so proud of him, about his legacy, all the culture and the good time and memories he left for the Cuban people as well he was a treasure

[@juanvaldes2458]

Thank you. My brother, who was a newspaper journalist also born in U.S. lived in Cuba and had befriended Mr. Hemingway. My brother also rests in peace, killed while being robbed in Miami Beach. I guess they had the journalism in common and belonged to the writer's guild. My brother wrote for an English newspaper in Cuba, the Havana Herald. My brother had a lot of respect and admiration for Mr. Hemingway as does the rest of the world. Thank you for keeping his memory alive.

[@user-ct4im4nd6r]

That’s awesome. God bless your brother. I’m sure you are very proud of him and what he accomplished in his life!

[@cyberpunkpostapocalypticbo5956]

The Hemingway House in Cuba is on my bucket list and I hope to get there via boat from Key West someday as an adventure. Ernest Hemingway's short stories are the best of all time and he has inspired me endlessly. Vaya con Dios, amigo.

[@JB-pd3ir]

I hope you get your wish!! One of my most vivid memories of time with my father was fishing on the ocean in Southern CA but also when he took me to Mexico marlin fishing. Hemingway was the only author that my father really talked about on a regular basis. My father introduced me when I was small to The Old Man and the Sea. I also visited Hemingway's Key West House - at the time it was still not easy to get to Cuba. Now it has become easier (with the exception of this whole Covid problem). Anyway I wish you the chance.

[@marknewton6984]

His short stories are great!

[@christopherp.hitchens3902]

Yes, after being told my whole life what a great writer he was, I read his classics and found them beyond dull. I almost gave up on him until someone said “No, his great works are his short stories”. They were indeed very different, very contemporary and, very good! I have been to Hemingway’s Finca (estate) several times and find it strangely timeless. About a 20 minute taxi ride into the hills surrounding Havana, it is shady, quiet, tranquil place. You cannot actually ENTER the home, all the windows and doors are open…where you can peer in and see where he lived, worked, slept , studied and partied with family and friends. It is kept exactly as he left it and, without being overdramatic, you can sense him there. Oh, by the way…I doubt god would have anything to do with Hemingway. He was literally a very damaged man, inside and out. A cruel and needlessly mean spirited individual…never mind the alcohol.

[@marknewton6984]

Hemingway's "The Killers" influenced Camus to write The Stranger says Camus. I especially like "Soldier's Home" and "The Snows of Kilimanjaro."

[@sammomin8115]

I made a trip from Paris to Pamplona exactly as depicted in his novel The Sun Also Rises. I visited all the bars he mentioned in the novel. I ran with the bulls twice on July 10 and 12, 2011. Then I followed the trail of Road 1 all the way to Key Largo in Florida where he lived. I now live in Idaho, ten miles away from Ketchum, Hemingway's resting place. I read most his works and I taught, being an English professor, several of his works as well.

[@NorceCodine]

Just avoid shotguns!

[@JB-pd3ir]

Thank you for sharing your story.

[@siggifreud812]

The problem with trying to explore Hemingway's stomping grounds is that they do not even closely resemble what they were 100 years ago. Paris in the early 20s, Key West in the 30s, Cuba in the 40s & 50s. Even Hemingway himself said: "you can never go back". What lives eternally is: the art !!

[@marknewton6984]

Big, Two-Hearted River! 😎

[@user-sr1py2dw7n]

⁠reloj no marques las horas.

[@rdlewis3616]

Hemingway’s life was unique. I cannot think of anyone else who had as many adventures and was involved in so many important events of the 20th century. He lived life on his terms and then wrote amazing stories about it. A true legend.

[@louduva9849]

Ernst Jünger.

[@rusbread]

Remembering Hemingway, Jack Keighley writes: “When I first met Hemingway, he impressed me as a narrow-minded guy, and more than once made the same impression later.”

[@judithhidalgogato1923]

I used to be a tour guide in Cuba and one of my favorite tours was visiting La Vigía and Cojímar, even got to meet Gregorio before he passed away

[@MaziarPersian]

How beautiful to have a touch of history in your life.

[@amuletk]

Wow. Details?

[@The.Real.Hemingway]

I'd love to eventually go to Cuba to see it for myself.

[@ladyalaina42]

PBS did a great job with this documentary!

[@patty4709]

I collected and read all his books. When I sold my home and downsized, I donated all my large book collection to a second hand book store for others to enjoy. I loved his writing.

[@NorceCodine]

Why did you downsize?

[@christopherp.hitchens3902]

I finally read Hemingway, starting with A Farewell To Arms…then For Whom The Bells Toll and last, The Sun Also Rises. Except for this, Sun Also Rises, I found Hemingway rather dull. I like character studies, war and lost love…but I’m not sure what all the hype is/was about. The Old Man And The Sea was so fantastically bad that I stopped reading it. I hear his short stories are strangely more contemporary but now, am jaded. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me? I love Fitzgerald and others from that era but…what a snooze Hemingway was! Ironically, after seeing Ken Burn’s documentary on Hemingway…I’ve decided I like Hemingways life more than I like his work!

[@adansoque5745]

when i was a teenager I ate mangos from that home in the early 1970

[@The.Real.Hemingway]

Must've been an experience, to say the least.

[@songbirdy]

Idk why anyone would give this a thumbs down...there is nothing controversial here. It's always a good thing to preserve history whether you are a fan of the subject or not.

[@lastrada52]

My late Cuban childhood friend whose family was influential in Cuba before Castro & after, showed me pictures of his family with Hemingway -- told me Castro was dedicated to preserving everything Hemingway. He had lots of admiration for him. What they didn't mention in the documentary is that locked in a safe in Finca Vigia are unpublished manuscripts written by Hemingway still locked in those safes (allegedly unfinished stories or just outlines for prospective ones) while residing in Havana.

[@ap4709pk]

This man had a great life that others envy.

[@andrefecteau]

so what are you waiting for? Get out there...

[@royjohnson366]

Visited this home in 2017 on a bicycling tour of Cuba (Via, "Cuba Unbound.") Very charming, fascinating, and enlightening. Highly recommended. I also had Hemingway as my Senior Seminar, at UC Santa Barbara in 1974. My class report focussed on Hemingway's poetic meter (a passage in, For Whom the Bell Tolls) that enhanced the description of events & the emotional impact of his prose. Hemingway, a great literary master, though weighted-down with many emotional challenges & character flaws. Glad I got to take a deeper look. --Cheers😋

[@NorceCodine]

What poetic meter? I thought Hemingway always wrote like a journalist, straight to-the-point prose.

[@judyprebell7223]

Fascinating Documentary

[@balaton1]

I grew up in Key West, Hemingway was worshiped. As to writing, I'm a Faulkner man.

[@bethbartlett5692]

For some years, I've desired to experience Cuba. So much history, the people of Cuba obviously having such historic lineage, the music, culture, food, and the beauty of the island. Yes, it is definitely a worthy location on my short list of places on this earth I desire to experience. Irish (of Basque origin) American, USA 🇺🇸 Chicago born 🍀 GO CUBS - GO!!!!!!!!!

[@cyberpunkpostapocalypticbo5956]

Hello Ms. Bartlett, visiting Cuba and the Hemingway house are top on my bucket list. I'll be planning a trip there in several years, God willing. I hope we can meet there someday. I'm originally from the Northeast, go Mets! I'm in Jax Florida now. Bon Voyage!

[@jimtruscott5670]

How do you feel about communist dictators / murderers ?

[@peterandreadakis3851]

The visit is still CONTROLLED by the government. Agents collect your passport on landing, so that all the time in the country a tourist is effectively "persona non grata." A little uncomfortable. Tourists can only reside in designated tourist hotels, prohibited from currency exchange, and use a separate currency from the native population. People don't like to talk to strangers and say very little when they do. There is massive surveillance in the country. And, frankly, the cigar factory (no discounts) was the most interesting part of the trip. Otherwise, the food wasn't very good and the hotel was merely passable. Not worth the effort at all. The Hemingway property was closed.

[@jerrylyons9279]

another added experience, you can ride in studebakers.

[@jimtruscott5670]

@@jerrylyons9279 As my family did in 1950.

[@lemorab1]

Thank you for posting this. I never knew that he left everything behind, thinking he'd be coming back. I also didn't know that the American Embassy was pressuring him to get out. I'm glad that they have been able to restore the house. I love his houses.

[@poodlemama9]

So glad to learn about the history of Hemingway and Gellhorn.

[@songbirdy]

poodlemama9 Gellhorn picked this house out for them.

[@user-ct4im4nd6r]

This was a great video. Love it. I’ve always been fascinated with Hemmingwey . I thought that he lived the last of his life in Key West.

[@thomascoca4064]

cant wait to visit

[@davidlist7507]

When young I read the Old Man in the Sea a wonderful book.

[@royjohnson366]

Read it again. It may have an enhanced meaning for you. I did both (i.e.,, read it while young, circa 1968; then again last year... a double-treat).

[@jerrylyons9279]

@@royjohnson366 true.

[@The.Real.Hemingway]

@@royjohnson366 I've re-read it twice now and it has had a different meaning each time

[@royjohnson366]

@@The.Real.Hemingway 👍 By the way, are you related to Ernest?

[@The.Real.Hemingway]

@@royjohnson366 very distantly

[@michaelthomas366]

I'd love to go there!

[@ericlaurenceglassman]

Excellent documentary!

[@patty4709]

Lovely home

[@cecilypacanin3001]

Great man...lived life on his terms...loved to live well!...great man...will not be forgotton...RIP.

[@marknewton6984]

A real man...😎

[@danielhutchinson7115]

That's remarkable.

[@williambagley5415]

Wonderful information. Best of success on the property renovation! 😎

[@carlconte7449]

... Und dazu die spannende Reise-Erzählung: "Kuba, Hemingway, eine Cohiba + ich", von Cropp im Verlag Expeditionen.

[@ianguill803]

the quijote & the old man and the sea are the 2 books that got my habit of reading. simply amazing

[@craigminto2057]

Wonderful Ernest H was the Best Writer Ever

[@havanese37]

Another watering hole was La Bodeguita del Medio I always heard he drank ‘mojitos’ anyway in both cases basically a lemonade with mint leaves and rum although in the daiquiri mint leaves are used for garnish where in the mojito you grind the mint leaves with the sugar.

[@grahameanderson6913]

4:32 Oh to be blessed by Jackie Kennedy...

[@bmrosario8961]

Excelente documental. El era toda una institution en escritura. Triste, que no puedo volver a su cada. Que bueno que se la llevava bien con Fidel. Sus libros continuaran para la eternidad. Desde, .CA USA SALUDOS A TODOS.

[@arricammarques1955]

Finca Vigia more enchanting than Key West home. Plenty of margin notes in Hemingway hand writing that have not been released.

[@ladyalaina42]

Difference is I can get to Key West to admire the restoration and reminders of Hemingway's works and difficult life.

[@gustavojr.alonsoalonso1193]

I LIVING IN SAN FRANSISCO THE PAULA..CONOZCO SU HISTORIA CUANDO ESTUVO EN LA 2 GUERRA Y FUE A PARAR A UN HOSPITAL D COMBATE Y ENAMORO Y C CASO CON LA ENFERMERA.

[@SuperGreatSphinx]

Saint Francis of Assisi

[@flowerfairy1950]

We visited Hemingway's hotel room in Havana and of course the Floridita...Cuba was certainly interesting. The sad plight of the street dogs reduced me to tears a couple of times.

[@klausrain111]

The great man wrote while standing up.

[@siggifreud812]

that is a myth.

[@marknewton6984]

He wrote well, no matter how!

[@johnbecay6887]

Hemingway fled Cuba because of the deteriorating political situation and his fear for the safety of his family. He had inside knowledge of the situation as he entertained the American diplomat to Cuba on a weekly basis. He did think he would return.

[@NorceCodine]

Bullshit. The State Department threatened him that he will be charged as a traitor if he didn't return to the US. That's why he committed suicide, he never wanted to leave his home in Cuba.

[@johnbecay6887]

@@NorceCodine please cite your source for this info

[@NorceCodine]

@@johnbecay6887 Interview with Henry Kissinger.

[@johnbecay6887]

@@NorceCodine i cannot find that interview. Can you be more precise?

[@siggifreud812]

he 100% planned on returning. His mental issues got the best of him, and once this downward-spiral began, he could not be saved.

[@summerlakephotog8239]

“But I must have confidence and I must be worthy of the great DiMaggio who does all things perfectly even with the pain of the bone spur in his heel.”

[@thenicklas615]

The greatest writer of the twentieth century, Ernest Hemingway.

[@jimtruscott5670]

Proust,Joyce,Mann...a dozen others.(From an admirer of Hemingway).

[@marknewton6984]

I prefer Hemingway. Novels and short stories...😎

[@fasteddie9055]

I want to watch FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS (1943) next. It's a Spanish Civil War classic movie starring Gary Cooper and the great Ingrid Bergman .

[@marknewton6984]

A fine movie! 😎

[@eddietennison1191]

Hemingway had been spending time in Cuba for many years before 1939, and he and Ms. Gelhorn were living there in sin while Earnest was stilled married to Pauline. The divorce wasn’t final until 1940, fwiw.

[@Frank-mm2yp]

"Papa" or "Ernie" or "Hem" always seemed to have fallen madly in love with his "next wife" while still married to his then current wife, according to the recent PBS documentary. The Italian babe "countess" was apparently only one of who knows how many who got away, not enchanted by his "charms", allegedly.

[@siggifreud812]

they had separate rooms at the ambos. actually, his affair with jane mason was much more raunchy.

[@marknewton6984]

Jane Mason was darn good lookin'!😮

[@gregoriofernandezbustos7579]

Hemingway, king and Chriestie's houses are for readers real museums

[@bim-ska-la-bim4433]

Gotta go

[@allanhayden8737]

i don't think you found hem's house in key largo...he lived in key west with 50+ cats...! you should visit this one...!

[@SuperOceanfront1]

Martha Gellhorn divorced him and not the other way around like the narrator has said.

[@siggifreud812]

correct. But, he was already pursuing Mary in the summer of 44'; they were only married on paper.

[@marknewton6984]

Yeah, but she picked him up in Sloppy Joe's ...

[@Dr.Pepper001]

Mary Jill Adams, the blond first shown near the beginning, is a goddess.

[@stephenhickey1709]

I love the way he had all his bottles of booze stashed beside the livingroom chairs..Just in case! You always need to be handy..

[@michelez715]

His fourth wife was Mary WELSH not Walsh.

[@marknewton6984]

And a good one she was...

[@danielkuehl8754]

who is that GODDESS

[@rd264]

I read The Sun also Rises lying down. Its submerged message, rising slowly to the surface through his lucid prose, the sun on the streets in mid day, the "screwed up" world of Jacob Barnes and company, the dark shadows of the trees, the bulls and the aimless.

[@user-sr1py2dw7n]

Batista was a better human being than fidelita(100 times).

[@gerardkowalski7683]

Orson Wells - maahaa Hemingway!

[@vincentmcclain9307]

I had the chance to go to Havana last April .The Cuba Hemingway occupied lived and loved was1939 Cuba under Castro became communist In 1963ish .I was saddened by what we saw.in what looked to be a once grand place.My Florida cousin told me of his high school prom date jumping a boat to Havana in the 1950’s was common Riding in a vintage 1960 Chevy Impala convertible it becomes quickly apparent the reason .Thats the only cars there are The entire island smells of car exhaust and blue smoke hangs low as soon as the temperature goes up.The people wonderful the food amazing To force an embargo is needless policy.What communism has done to once grand hideaway far exceeds anything a foreign policy could effect.Discussing these sad observations with some one she said that she had been to St.Petersburg Russia “Its just like this” she commented.Be careful what you wish for.Travel safe.

[@twerkinthecityhuh6340]

9k in books?? Holy keerap

[@javoss123]

Her name was “Welsh”, not “Walsh”. Sheesh!

[@RobertJamesChinneryH]

wheres the cats

[@songbirdy]

Robert James Chinnery lol

[@lray1948]

The cats and their grandkittens are at his house in Key West.

[@meggy8868]

Hemingway hated all totalitarian governments. I think this is politically skewed.

[@Frank-mm2yp]

Hemingway was a man of the "Left" but detested dictatorships of any persuasion.

[@ailecdreifuss8627]

I have to laugh with the interviewer bias regarding the association of masculinity with been superstitious!

[@legalmexican]

My wife and I visited Hemingway's home in Havana in 2012. There weren't very many tourists on that day. No idea why. But apart from that, Cuba is a depressing place to visit. Communism, you know.

[@gustavojr.alonsoalonso1193]

YO PENETRABA EN SU FINCA Y M ROBAVA LOS MANGOS LO SIENTO SOLO ROBAVA FRUTAS.

[@christinacascadilla4473]

You don’t win the Nobel Prize in Literature for just one novel. You win it for your entire body of work. So The Old Man and the Sea was not a Noble Prize winning novel. Just one novel in his career.

[@billwares6485]

Agreed.

[@The.Real.Hemingway]

One could only imagine what stories he could've told his closest friends.

[@NorceCodine]

Hemingway revolutionized prose - fiction - by writing like a journalist, in straightforward, pragmatic sentences, which he adopted writing for various papers as a budding reporter as a young man. Plus his services as an ambulance driver in World War I. didn't hurt either. The man was a war hero.

[@marknewton6984]

Not to mention the great short stories...

[@christopherp.hitchens3902]

Yes, but like the academy awards, you also might win these prestigious awards out of pity (John Wayne’s Best Actor cancer award being an example). Hemingway was physically and mentally on his way out.

[@peterandreadakis3851]

Honestly, Cuba isn't worth the cost and effort to get there. Anything of interest is regulated by the government and the population is under surveillance with little to say to strangers. A government agent took my passport on landing at the airport, so that a visitor is "persona non grata" while in the country. The food and hotel were strictly third rate.

[@andrefecteau]

his 18 ingredient hamburger is something....google it

[@marknewton6984]

I have had it-- yummy!

[@christopherp.hitchens3902]

Cub-er? Did you say CUB-ER? Where the hell did the “R” come from?

[@siggifreud812]

Hitch's brother still pronounces it "CUB-ER"; It's the way many Brits pronounce certain words that end in "A" (pronounced as "UH" by yanks.) Many say "CALIFORN-ER" as well.

[@christopherp.hitchens3902]

@@siggifreud812 - If a black man says “Axe a quechion”, instead of “Ask a question”…everyone in the room roll their eyes? Why do we then allow Brits to slaughter the English language?

[@siggifreud812]

@@christopherp.hitchens3902 cuz they invented it.

[@christopherp.hitchens3902]

@@siggifreud812 - Um…the Germans and French have more to do with the English vocabulary than the British. Grammar is a different story.

[@siggifreud812]

@@christopherp.hitchens3902 if you want to take it that far back, may be. fact is: The Brits brought it to the "new world", and American English is an off-shoot of that. Also, we are not talking about vocab. - we are talking about speech intonation, I think.

[@user-dy9vm5vi8n]

Hemingway is a writing technician who wrote few books. He misused women's life for his own advantage. Novel and other prizes were give for his writings not for his life style.

[@jimtruscott5670]

Complete nonsense.

[@Foxie635]

He was a womanizer and an animal hater. Why kill living things unless you are hungry?

[@menschmedia123]

Certainly had issues in his relationships with women. I don't think he hated animals, even though he shot them. It's always hard to apply today's standards to historical figures, but of course, you have a point.

[@siggifreud812]

hunters are not necessarily animal haters. also, he was not a "notorious" womanizer. that is BS.

[@spacecatboy2962]

so we can see the rooms where ernest slapped the shit out of his wife? Actually, he never had a wife that was great, so who cares

[@marknewton6984]

His 1st and 4th wives were great.

[@Poemsapennyeach]

His writing achievement are VERY overrated. I don't respect the man (killing wild animals in Africa for fun ) nor do I like his writing.