Cuba: Plaza de Armas

I made this quick sketch painting while sitting in the Plaza de Armas in Habana Vieja. The Plaza is home to a book market, which sells used and antique books. 

I sat in the shade of the plaza’s generous trees and made this painting. While I was sitting, a nearby book seller, who was also a painter stuck up a conversation with me. He told me that the statue in the plaza is of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes del Castillo, who fought for freedom from Cuba’s Spanish colonizers and also for freedom for slaves.