I recently visited Havana to research the past, present and future state of Cuban science fiction. I timed the visit to coincide with Cubaficción 2002, their annual national convention, so that I'd have the opportunity to meet as many writers, editors, publisher and readers as possible. Locus publisher Charles N. Brown and executive editor Jennifer A. Hall were also in attendance in Havana. It will take a long while for me to digest all that I saw there, but here are some of the people who helped teach me about Cuba's unique brand of the literature of the fantastic.
 Drinks with Rafael Morante, writer and illustrator, and Angel Arango, the Dean of Cuban SF, in the Plaza de San Francisco de Asis |
 Gerardo Chávez Spínola, Web master of El Guaicán Literario, with Scott Edelman |
 Cyberpunk writer Juan Alexander Padron Garcia |
 Back row: Alex Padron, Carlos Andrés García Rodriguez, Gerardo Chávez Spínola and Michel Encinosa Fú. Front row: Orlando Hernández Rivera, Profesor Manuel Rivero Glean, Scott Edelman and Adriana Zamora. |  Bruno Henriquez, organizer of the first Cuban National SF Festival in 1989. |
 Scott Edelman and Angel Arango in the courtyard of the Palacio del Segundo Cabo |
 Bruno Henriquez declaring Cubaficción 2002 officially open |  Storyteller Ricardo Martinez Zayas |
 Charles N. Brown, Locus Publisher, interviewed on the current state of international science fiction |
 Writer Ariel Cruz and his daughter Beverly |  Carlos Heredero Gracia, Web master of UFO site Ovnis Cubanos |
 Writer Bruno Henriquez with his son Albán, an aspiring cartoonist |
 Locus executive editor Jennifer A. Hall in the lighthouse of the Castillo de los Tres Santos Reyes Magnos del Morro |  Weekly meeting of the Spiral Literary Workshop, the Manga Workshop and the Quasar-Dragon Literary Training Center |
 With Charles N. Brown and Jennifer A. Hall in the lobby of paladar La Guarida |
Scott Edelman being interviewed for Cuban radio |  Professor Enrique Primero de Cepeda Grillo |
 Storyteller Lavinia Ascue |
Storyteller Octavio Pino |  Storyteller Betty Quintana Valle |
 Following a performance by the storytellers of one of his adapted tales, Angel Arango discusses its meaning |
Bruno Henriquez presents Scott Edelman with a certificate of participation in Cubaficción 2002 |  Enrique Primero de Cepeda Grillo, Gerardo Chávez Spínola, Angel Arango, Scott Edelman, Bruno Henriquez, Charles N. Brown, Jennifer A. Hall and Carlos Heredero Gracia in the Plaza de Armas following the final session of Cubaficción 2002 |
 A final farewell to Bruno Henriquez in the lobby of the Ambos Mundo Hotel |
Discussions of science fiction, fantasy and horror occurred not just within conference halls, but also out in the streets, as writer and editors accompanied us throughout Havana, explaining how Cuba's unique culture influenced its particular brand of the genre.