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The wonderful feeling of a Cuban coffee is almost always paired with a game of
dominoes in Cuba. To a Cuban person coffee and dominoes is the perfect way to take a break
any work day, it is a great way to start your morning, and it is also the best way to end the night.
“In all of Cuba they play domino on any corner. Now it is part of the cubano. Without
domino, there is no cubano. Without cubanos, there is no domino. It is part of us.” ~ Claudia
Rodriguez Gustavan, 21-year-old Habana native, when asked by writer, Catherine Lynn Scott,
what domino meant to Cuban culture. (I have always revisited this quote. The game, as
mentioned later as well, means so much to me and finding my identity as a Cuban, as I'm sure it
does for many others.)
One of the most impactful people in my life was my grandfather, who taught me the art
of a good game of domino. He would always tell me that a good game of Domino can bring out
the true nature of a person.
To start, the table must be set up first. A good game of domino becomes imperfect if the
domino pieces are set up incorrectly. It is usual tradition to count through and make sure the
ninety-one pieces are all present in the set, especially for more serious games run by older
players. When the domino pieces are layed out into the table, face down, the first person who
originally set up the game will now “throw water” or “echar agua” to the pieces. This is just the
Cuban way of saying to shuffle the domino pieces. To maximize the effectiveness of the shuffle,
the pieces are swung from side to side of the board with both hands, making a loud sound of
clicking plastic pieces that almost sounds like a large amount of water splashing around, hence
the phrase. Each player then grabs 10 pieces from around the table, and one lucky piece that will
decide the order of the turns. Once each player has finished grabbing all of their pieces, they put
their lucky piece face down in the center and the person who shuffled the pieces asks the table if
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they want the lowest or the highest piece the table comes to a decision, and the pieces are
flipped, the player with the lowest/highest piece goes first, and then the order is sent clockwise.
In China, the earliest games of domino date back to the 12th century. Chinese culture has
had a big impact on Cuba due to very large amounts of immigration into the country around the
1800s. Young Chinese men and women aimed to escape the effects of the Opium war and
therefore heard promises of a profitable life on the prospering island of Cuba. This was also
around the same time Cuba was feeling the aftermath and putting an end to the African slave
trade. While at first, there was a lot of animosity towards the new immigrants by the Spanish, the
Chinese immigrants found solace in their connection with their fellow African immigrants. The
Chinese, African, and Spanish people all on a small island, all having faced large amounts of
conflict and fighting in their lives all shared one common interest, and that was a new start.
These are the seeds of the spread of Domino in Cuba, and it is why the social sense of the
game still echoes out today. These groups of people who had very little understanding of each
other, yet all had been through similar struggles, poured their time into understanding domino,
and understanding each other.
The way the game itself is played out is very dependent on who is playing it. Location is
also a factor in the game, which I found out when I revisited Cuba in my later years. If you are
near the city, you get a younger audience, which carries their own spunk and style to throw into
the game. Go into the countryside to the older communities where the Cuban revolution started
and find more passionate but strategic playstiles. It is known that more elderly people will take
their time perfectly calculating what pieces their opponents might have left and what will stump
the next player on their turn. On the flip side, younger players who are far more competitive will
play a very straightforward “smack down” game of dominoes where their goal is to place down
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whatever matches, with the most points. While both playstyles aim to empty the player's hand of
domino pieces to claim victory, a very different experience can be pulled apart from both games.
Everyday in elementary school I used to play the more cold and calculated version of domino
with my great grandfather, he was a very slow and methodical player. There was also a time
where all the games I remember were very rowdy, loud, and passionate, especially during the
summers where we would live in miami. It is almost REQUIRED in Miami to bring a very loud
and eccentric feeling to the table, not leaving out the expected music, banter, and money as well.
While at times I do miss the louder playstyle, my grandfather’s and many of the more “elderly”
traditions of Domino resonate in my heart far more recently.
A normal game of dominos for us has a max of four players at the table, with many
players usually standing around waiting for their turn. A very common tradition to tap into a
game of dominoes is to bring some loose change to the table. This is a sort of “offering” to
further increase the risk of the already tense and rowdy game. The cycle for players is also very
straightforward, end up with the most pieces and lose and you are off the table and back into the
rotation of players. Dominos is also about the ambience and the atmosphere, such a simple game
needs to be accompanied by good energy to really draw out its best aspects. While not at the
table, it is commonplace to ask those at the table if they would like some coffee or beer,
depending on the occasion. Making sure the table itself stays lively is how a session of dominos
can start at 7pm after work and carry on until 3 in the morning.
To me the game has always meant a ton. I remember all of my late nights in Miami
hanging out with so many people I didn't know at the domino tables. It was funny, even though
we knew nothing about each other or had just met, we would sit and banter and share stories
about our lives while others would come up and offer us refreshments or some spare change to
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increase the gamble going around the table. Even outside of Cuba now, having fled the country
so long ago, and everything else being a distant memory, I never forget all of those late night
games of Dominoes and those simple nostalgic feelings. The fact we never stop playing it helps
too, though.
Dominos are still very commonplace in my family’s households. Whenever there is a get
together or family gathering, it is a requirement that a table is set for domino to be played, along
with the beer and coffee as well to the surprise of no one. Infact, I have yet to throw a family
gathering at my very quaint apartment that I moved into here in Asheville, but every once in a
while, the back of my mind is stung with the reminder that I have yet to buy a domino set for my
place! What else could a bunch of Cuban people do at a gathering at my home if, god forbid, I do
end up forgetting to buy my apartment a set of domino pieces??? A part of me is also nervous to
buy one, which may seem silly to an outsider, but since I was young, it feels like my family has
played on the same exact 91 pieces we brought over from Cuba whenever we go to my
grandmother's home, moreover; it also feels like ever since me and my mother and father got to
the US, we have been playing with that same green case full of bright ivory pieces I remember
with such fond memories. When I pick a set, that's the set I will probably have forever, just like
how at their respective households, my parents and both groups of my grandparents have had the
same sets forever.
While like all aspects in society Domino had its rocky start with race and gender, it was
one of the fastest aspects of society to spread its arms out to all groups, not discriminating by
race, gender, sexuality, or any boundaries. Dominos is open to all. Unlike many other aspects of
the more conservative Cuban culture, there is no clear hierarchy of any sort in a game of
dominoes. If anything, the game aids in taking down those barriers for a second and allows a
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group of people to let go of the stress of the day and relax. It is essentially a bridge between all
groups where everyone can just come down to the table and share aspects of their life. It is a
common saying that if you need to know something about a neighborhood in Cuba, for example
let's say you want to buy a part for your car, the best thing to do is to visit the neighborhood in
the afternoon and go to the table where everyone in the neighborhood is gathered around playing
dominos.
Being completely honest, Cuban people are very loud. They are highly social people. To
a more introverted person, it can be hard to interact at the large neighborhood get-togethers that
are very commonplace since Cuba has such small towns. This is why Dominos is such a staple to
the culture. It is an easy way to make conversation, meet people, involve yourself in a group, and
further grow your local community.
Domino has always also fed into helping the community grow by being a big point of
education in Cuba. With dominos a lot of us Cubans, including me, learned to count. We also
were taught many lessons on social etiquette and treating guests. It is also used to spread stories
and lessons of patience and carefully observing the people around you and their actions.
Human life on earth is far from easy. Looking back on ancient cultures, there have always
been games, festivals, and traditions to distract people from the hardships they might experience
in their daily lives. Cuba, being a poor 3rd world country, now relies on mostly everything that
still remains on the island, receiving very little imports everyday and having the cost of basic
living, just for the basics like food and water, practically unattainable. It is like when Gilgamesh
refused to eat the fruit of youth, the importance of growth is not to change and escape your
problems, but to nurture and heal around them. Just like how despite their many hardships, the
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Cuban people are still willing to sit at that table, play, talk everything out, and prepare for the
next day.
That is why there is a beauty to the practice of the Domino table. There is a beauty in that
simplicity, where all you need are some numbered pieces, people, and love for the game itself.
The thought of that greatly reminds me of the time we read the Upanishads. The message there
was to notice the elegance and flow of all the components of the world. The atmosphere around a
domino table is similar. There are so many small conversations, drinks moving around, people
laughing, victories and losses. Most importantly, the individual lives of all the people coming
together to make the table welcoming to all. So many small components
It is a practice that does not ask for much but can give a lot in return, a testament of the
spirits of Cuban people.