It's been a long time since I've been to this café. Álbum Café is a place you stumble upon while walking down the streets of Enramada, a cozy, small, and quite colorful spot to spend a pleasant day. I thought for years that they had closed because it was inactive, but apparently they've reopened. And that's fine, so we'll have another café to go to in Santiago de Cuba.
I recently stopped by with a friend because we were looking for a cheap place where we could spend the afternoon, chat a while, and enjoy a good cup of coffee. As we were walking down Enramadas, I noticed that Álbum Café was open, and we decided to go in—you know, Cubans are curious.
I was truly surprised that it was packed and offering a wide variety of options. That day they had cold salad, cappuccino, espresso, café con leche, beer, a must-have in a Cuban's daily routine, sandwiches, among other things.
I actually went for a café con leche. I wanted to try it to see what the quality was like, if it was like the old days, where I could enjoy its aroma and excellent flavor. And yes, the flavor, despite not being the same as I remembered, met my expectations. What surprised me most was the exquisite cold salad they served us, which, as the Cubans say, seemed a bit underwhelming, and a bit underwhelming because I was left wanting more salad. There were enough to eat four in one day.
That afternoon was filled with lots of walking and catching up with friends, because we hadn't seen each other in a long time and rarely had time to sit down and share experiences from our current lives.
My friend was excited because the conversations brought up business topics related to personal and professional growth. He was even more excited because cold salad is one of his favorite things.
One of the reasons we decided to move from this location was because of a public relations course we wanted to take. And you might be wondering about another course, but actually spending the time preparing for it isn't a problem or a burden for me. When I know I can take advantage of my knowledge and new learnings, courses like these sharpen my professional knowledge.
Well, I was very excited to find this place again, to reminisce about the wonderful times I had and the memories I have with many friends, including this colleague I'm spending this afternoon with.
The nostalgia of returning to those places where we shared beautiful memories is always the best, so I hope this place continues to operate and its coffees continue to be as delicious as they once were.
