All of these wonderful drawings were created by Ermitas Blanco, at the direction of Gabo Pere, a creative team based in Havana, Cuba. The sheer dedication just to download and read the script- in Spanish- shows how resourceful modern Cubans have become. Wifi is spotty and extremely expensive. Everything is censored. And these artists’ only impression of America- let alone history- is what they have pieced together in paquettas, facebook, and visits from friends.

Politics and Corona have shut that all down, entirely.

What follows are my notes and direction to Gabo and Ermitas, and the sketches they delivered as a result (each one took about a month, for all the reasons cited above).

Protagonists

 

 

Nina- present and 50’s

• E. European porcelain doll type, early 30’s, tragically single, blue eyes blonde.
• Accomplished photojournalist, held back by gender in NYC, sometime gets Page Six sans credit
• World traveller, parents still in Georgia (E Europe). Speaks many languages.

 

 

Finn- present and 50’s

• White male late 40’s. Born in the MidWest, boarding schools in the East. Athletic. Problem solver. Charismatic. Sensitive.
• Left college to pursue poker career. Two-time Runner up in World Series of Poker 
• Body language expert, taught by Joe Navarro. Reads people expertly, in poker/in life.
• World traveller, risk taker, dashing but humble. 

 

Genetta- 50’s

• Mixed exotic female, mid 20’s, dark features
• Aspiring young model with Cuban parents
• Dreams to be a singer, dreamy voice with 50’s classics, but no career direction.
• Empathic sense of people and their motives

 

 

 

Jorge 50s and Present

• Cuban mid- 20’s Latino male. Wiry and always well dressed.
• Grandfather Michaela was friends with Nicola Tesla, given the fuse and instructions on how to use it in cars and humidors to affect time travel (smoky room)
• Guards it with his life, wants no trouble
• Realizes bad guys want it, but others need it on order to survive

Antagonists & Secondaries

 

Vinnie- 50s

• Mid 40’s mob soldier. Ham fisted, meathead type. Right out of Sopranos.
• Ordered to follow the fuse wherever it goes, find out how it works, prevent transfer
• Nicola had borrowed money from a shark back in NYC. It was repaid by Michaela but he refused to pay the vig. Story of fuses was murky but bosses wanted to know

 

Sal 50’s

• Mid 30’s latino male born in Tampa to cigar family in YBor City
• Worked at FBI, discovers family roots and moved to Cuba in 50’s
• Hired by Trafficantes to investigate strange happenings related to the Tesla Fuse
• Maintains himself barely above board, given his employers, but also works on official FBI business in Havana
• Collaborates with Batista police investigations from time to time

 

Snowball- 50s

• Cuban born. Mid thrities, chubby, immaculate dresser
• Plays piano at local clubs. Runs numbers on the side
• Know everyone from the dancers to the bosses. 
• Keeps low profile, has a secret

Pablo- present and 50’s

• Mid 50’s, Degree in architecture from U Havana. Tall, dark, elegant.
• Does tours on the side for cash income
• Unhappy marriages, stays out of house at any excuse possible

Ralph- 50s and present

• White American male. Early 30’s Smallish build, ripped, gay, pleasant
• Auto Mechanic by training.
• Also has a booming business renting classic cars in South Beach and repairs Ferraris for rich clients all over town.
• Expert at sourcing rare spare parts and conversion kits to enhance performance
• Loves the South Beach scene. Cleans up nicely at night, no one knows his day job

Breck- 50s and present

• Was a Bitcoin/block chain miner. Company folded, he kept a few wallets
• His leftover coins rose to hundreds of millions of value, 
• Kidnappers took his smaller partner, looking for him and ransome
• Needs to cash in, and get off the grid, ASAP

Ruben- 50’s

• Cuban born, mid 50’s. Outgoing.
• Manages a casa for Sugar owners in Vedado while they are in Miami
• Often a fixer when the family is in town
• Rents the rooms on the side when they are away