fciwomenswrestling.com article - photo credit Wikimedia
What should come first, the manifestation of the personality or the nickname?
The site ready.gov/hurricanes states “A hurricane is a type of tropical cyclone or severe tropical storm that forms in the southern Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and in the eastern Pacific Ocean. A typical cyclone is accompanied by thunderstorms, and in the Northern Hemisphere, a counterclockwise circulation of winds near the earth’s surface.”
When it comes the world famous female submission wrestler Hurricane Havana this writer would like to go with the personality angle. She certainly has it in ample supply.
Being a true lover of women’s submission wrestling for decades when I first saw Hurricane compete, I knew she was a star. She has wrestled for endless private wrestling companies around the globe. Her skills are legend. She is famous for something else as well.
She loves to talk. And talk. And then talk some more.
Especially during her matches.
There is only one competitor in the women’s submission wrestling world that even has a chance of out talking her and that would be Penny of San Francisco (See FCI Penny Mom Wrestler). During a December 2013 filming in San Jose someone she was competing against finally asked Penny during the match, “Do you ever shut up?” Penny replied. “Hmmm, you have to shut me up!”
Talk about seismic activity.
If Penny and Hurricane Havana ever met it would be a talk fest of massive proportions. A verbal jousting that would make early England proud. An expansive word skyscraper with enough marble tiled floors that would make Dubai blush. A giddy gabfest of gargantuan proportions.
I had the privilege of briefly meeting and watching Hurricane compete at Jackpin’s epic 2008 Women’s Wrestling Convention in San Diego where she took on a competitor from the eastern USA in a tough privately filmed match.
Is Hurricane Havana appreciated enough?
This writer does appreciate her talents. For me, she is like a film of contrasts to be studied only if you don’t get bogged down with the structural details but swim in how you feel. Stay there only.
There were many major films by that name but my overwhelming favorite was with Robert Redford, not because of structural technique but due to how it made me feel. It wasn’t that it was the best; it was just better at perfuming the room with emotional vapors that took some time to evaporate.
In a December 1990 review, Janet Maslin of the New York Times appeared to like the film as well.
“The romance of Sydney Pollack’s sprawling, atmospheric “Havana” is real, but it has almost nothing to do with love. Instead it concerns a place, the city of the title, which is hurtling toward irrevocable change and is very near the brink. The year is 1958, the time a densely eventful week between Christmas Eve and New Year’s, in the last moments before the overthrow of Fulgencio Batista’s regime. The mood, as shaded by these circumstances, is one of abandon, denial, desperate festiveness and mad risk-taking in the face of imminent danger.
Drawn across this wildly colorful canvas is a halting, equivocal love story in shades of gray. “Havana” brings together Jack Weil (Robert Redford), an inveterate gambler ready to test himself by taking the chance of a lifetime, and Bobby Duran (Lena Olin), a much younger, more mundane beauty who is linked by marriage to Fidel Castro’s cause.”
By contrast, during the same month and year, Peter Travers of Rolling Stone clearly did not.
“You expect more of stars Robert Redford and Lena Olin, director Sydney Pollack and a $40 million budget than an uncredited and unpalatable rehash of Casablanca. In the early days of World War II, Bogey, as an apolitical club owner, mooned over gorgeous Swede Ingrid Bergman, who was married to underground leader Paul Henried, while listening to Dooley Wilson sing “As Time Goes By.” In the final days of Batista in Cuba, Redford, as an apolitical gambler, pines for gorgeous Swede Lena Olin, who is married to revolutionary Raul Julia, while listening to Sinatra records. Like Bogey, Redford rediscovers his ethics and realizes that in this crazy world the problems of three people don’t amount to a hill of beans.”
I agree with both.
If this were a movie review of Hurricane Havana’s career, her persona as a wrestler is like watching a country at war with itself filled with civil disobedience yet exceptional beauty. The internal contrasts are stark, literally splitting at the seams.
Hurricane Havana speaks about her heritage and life on her site hurricanehavana.blogspot.com.
“I was born in the small town of Guanavacoa, Cuba which is very close to Havana. My family was very poor. My mother worked in the sugar cane fields and my father worked in a dairy farm. Life in Cuba was very bad under the Castro regime. All that we had was considered to be the property of the government – even the fruit from the trees we had in our yards.
The Cuban Government would arrest you if you were to eat any of the fruit or use State owned beaches. All these amenities were for the Government and tourists. Food was rationed and we were told what to eat, when to eat it and how much we could eat. We could not wear shoes. If you were to buy shoes, then you were not allowed to buy underwear. The Government regulated every facet of our lives. We didn’t have bathrooms in our houses. We had to use public co-ed bathrooms and showers where several families (men and women together) would use the toilet and shower without any privacy whatsoever.”
Wikipedia shares, “Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial center of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of 728.26 km (281.18 sq. mi) ? making it the largest city by area, the most populous city, and the third largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean region.
The city extends mostly westward and southward from the bay, which is entered through a narrow inlet and which divides into three main harbors: Mari melena, Guanabacoa and Atarés. The sluggish Almendares River traverses the city from south to north, entering the Straits of Florida a few miles west of the bay.
Havana was founded by the Spanish in the 16th century and due to its strategic location it served as a springboard for the Spanish conquest of the continent becoming a stopping point for the treasure laden Spanish Galleons on the crossing between the New World and the Old World. King Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of City in 1592. Walls as well as forts were built to protect the old city. The sinking of the U.S. battleship Maine in Havana’s harbor in 1898 was the immediate cause of the Spanish-American War.
Contemporary Havana can essentially be described as three cities in one: Old Havana, Vedado, and the newer suburban districts. The city is the center of the Cuban Government, and home to various ministries, headquarters of businesses and over 90 diplomatic offices. The current mayor is Marta Hernández from the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC). In 2009, the city/province had the 3rd highest income in the country.
The city attracts over a million tourists annually, the Official Census for Havana reports that in 2010 the city was visited by 1,176,627 international tourists, a 20.0% increase from 2005. The historic center was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982. The city is also noted for its history, culture, architecture and monuments.”
Hurricane shares more about her life philosophy and work ethic.
“Coming to the United States when I was around six years old was the greatest thing to happen to me at that time. We settled in Miami, Florida as do almost all Cuban immigrants. Florida offered much more to us than Cuba and it was there that we began to settle in as new Resident Aliens. My family stayed in Florida for a few years and then we moved to Southern California where I am residing still.
Life in Southern California was no better than Florida. My family was still very poor and life was generally difficult. There was a time when I was sixteen years old and I had to hold down three jobs to support my large family. One was at a nationally known pizza delivery company; another was at a nationally known hot dog restaurant; and the third was a major super market chain. I worked very hard to survive because that is the way I was brought up. Hard work has always been a way of life for me and I am not afraid of it. I bring that work ethic to my wrestling and modeling career.”
Female Competition International, fciwomenswrestling.com wishes there was a women’s submission wrestling Hall Of Fame. Great wrestling skills and extensive victories over strong competitors would be a prerequisite for entry. Something else should be required as well. The ability to sell a match and display charisma is highly desired. Based upon that description, Hurricane Havana would certainly have our vote.
What should come first, the manifestation of the personality or the nickname?
In the case of the timeless star, female submission wrestler Hurricane Havana, it really doesn’t matter. Stay with how you feel. Like Havana, Cuba, as long as she captivates your heart well over the structure inside your mind; you’ll have the best of both worlds.
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Sources: hurricanehavana.blogspot.com, brainyquote.com, Wikipedia, nytimes.com, rollingstone.com, fciwomenswrestling.com, photos thank you Wikimedia Commons.
