From the vibrant jazz scenes and Spanish-colonial architecture to the food and weather, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Havana, Cuba, have much in common. And they are both home to anole lizards who love jazz!
After a jazz song lures Ramito through a hotel window in Havana, he crawls into in a convenient, comfy suitcase for a nap. When he awakens, Ramito can’t quite find the way back to his tree. His new friend Bernard, an American anole lizard, unsuccessfully tries to convince Ramito that he’s in New Orleans. Is he? Readers of all ages will find the lush, tropical illustrations and the frustrated refrain of “but that is something we have in Havana” endlessly entertaining. In fact, they just might agree that the cities, and their inhabitants, share a lot!
Before graduating with a BA in psychology from Tulane University in New Orleans, Abigail Isaacoff began her writing career with a short story in the school’s literary journal. She works as a tour guide with NOLA Art Walk tours. A trip to Costa Rica spawned a lifelong fascination with and love of Latin American culture, which she shares with her partner, artist Ramiro Diaz. Isaacoff lives in New Orleans, where lizards are plentiful, entertaining, and inspiring—an incident involving a suitcase-hitchhiking lizard planted the seed for this story!
Ramiro Diaz was born in Havana, Cuba. When he arrived in New Orleans, he was amazed by how much the city felt like home. Diaz works as a ceramicist and painter, with pieces in the National Gallery in Havana and artworks in New Orleans galleries. He is a member of the CubaNOLA Arts Collective. Diaz sells his work primarily at the Frenchmen Art Market next to Spotted Cat, which is fortuitous as he is a huge fan of jazz music!