My Seductive Cuba (Lizra) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
What makes My Seductive Cuba an exceptional travel guide is its mix of handy and useful travel guide tips, with personal anecdotes from Lizra's own experiences. Lizra discovered the Cuba she loves through dance. A profession-al dancer, originally from Israel, now living in Vancouver, she travelled to Cuba to study. She came away with not only dance skills, but a new understanding of the people who taught her, danced with her, ate with her, and allowed her to embrace their culture. She returned again and again, first as an arts tourist and dancer, and eventually as a travel guide. It's a book filled with stories of passion—including seduction—and real-life experiences, making it both a practical and adventurous travel guide. Lizra shares where the locals eat and what they eat, as well as where they dance. She describes extraordinary locations on the island, untouched by commercial tourism, and discovers how to have a relationship of respect with the Cuban people. QR codes are used in the hard copy of the book and some are linked to videos on YouTube, enhancing the whole cultural experience. The eBook allows travellers the ability to take the book with them electronically. For those who know Cuba, My Seductive Cuba will make them want to return, and for those who have never been to Cuba, this book will draw them there..
The Province (Canada)


Lizra's well-illustrated and structured book is a by-product of her motivation to visit the island in the first place: her passion for Latin dance. Users can get ultimate use out of this book by scanning the QR barcodes found throughout. That gives readers access to online resources that provide further information on a specific topic or destination. A big part of My Seductive Cuba is devoted to the island's rich dance and musical traditions, rooted in that country's African heritage. No surprise, given Lizra's intensive training with the National Folklore Group of Cuba, the National School of Art and the National Cabaret. But Lizra didn't limit her research to Havana and its environs; she also investigated trends throughout other major Cuban cities and historic sites. One chapter, "Getting Possessed," details Lizra's attendance at a ceremony at which spirits took over the bodies of practitioners. Lizra also delves into an area few other Cuba travel books touch: romance with locals. "Seduction is part of the place," she explains. "When you go to Cuba, you experience the charm and the seduction, and always find a reason to come back." That kind of advice, generated from firsthand knowledge of the country's culture and informal way of doing things, is what will help any visitor become a Cubanaut—ready to blast off for a return visit to the island. "In Cuba, everything turns into an adventure," she says, "and the things that happen along the way—which you don't plan for—are what makes it exciting.
Vito Echeverria - Cuba News


[Y]ou tell it like it is, in terms of inter-personal dynamics. So it's terrific for its introduction to manners. For that alone, I would recommend it. I like the style of writing. Breezy but informational. Congratulations on a fine and spirited book
BC Book World (Canada)


And, as she proves in My Seductive Cuba, she is one of the best tour guides this Caribbean island could ever want to have. This travel guide not only tells you some of the best places to eat and visit in Cuba, but she transforms it from an all-inclusive tourist destination into a country that pulses with history and culture. The book answers all the most practical question a visitor could ask but then she asks you to understand why Cuba is the way it is so you can appreciate its nuances as much as she does.
Martha Perkins - We (Vancouver)