The Visit/1:

by Nina Serrano

[The photos for this site were taken by Daniel del Solar between downpours on March 5, 2000. del Solar used available natural light, snapping quickly and joining in the conversations.]

Daniel del Solar and I accompanied visitor Pablo Armando Fernandez, one of Cuba's leading poets, on a visit to San Francisco's poet laureate, Lawrence Ferlinghetti. The two poets posed in front of Ferlinghetti's shop and publishing headquarters, City Lights Bookstore. It is "the birthplace of beat poetry" in San Francisco's North Beach and also the setting for many literary celebrations and free speech demonstrations. Having the photo shot at the historic bookstore fulfilled a long held wish for Pablo. Daniel, despite the rain, was happy to oblige.

Ferlinghetti and Fernandez first met in Havana over 44 years ago. Ferlinghetti greeted Fernandez warmly and offered his guest copies of his signed books. Fernandez, an avid book collector, immediately began turning the pages of the catalogue from Ferlinghetti's recent one-man art exhibition. Throughout the decades, the men had shared many poetic concerns, but until that moment Pablo had been unaware that his friend, Lawrence, was an accomplished painter.

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