Greetings, sloots, and welcome to another edition of Manor Music Monday, today with a sunny visit to "The Pearl of the Antilles," as it was once called, or "El Cocodrilo," which translates to "The Crocodile," since viewed from above, this is the country's shape on a map. I speak of Cuba, of course, from yesteryear to today, where, if its achingly slow rebirth isn't quashed by El Jefe de Covfefe, distinctive music has and will hopefully continue to flourish. Since my delicious, squeezable hubs is from Cuba, I've long known about the country's culture, food and music, all of which are practically inseparable. And lucky for all of us, DJ Li'l Scratch is bringing home the Cubano tonight at "Mamar Pinga," the Manor's popular after hours bar, club and Lechon Asado eatery. Plus there'll be lots of barn-burning music. Of course. When people think Cuban music, they invariably think of Gloria Estefan.  Which is understandable, e...

Greetings, Manor Hors! Periodically, "The Roving Pecker" presents urgent missives from filthy esteemed guest writers. Today’s article is by SpiceDong , the concluding chapter in their epic three-part Ava Gardner series! The first part is HERE and the second part is HERE . In October in 1957, a group of friends invited Ava Gardner to visit the Peralta Ranch, an estate dedicated to raising Lidia bulls. She had been drinking, and on a dare agreed to get on a horse. The steed got spooked by a bull, threw her off - and she fell, hitting the right side of her face. The ranch hands quickly intervened and kept the bull from goring Ava as she lay on the ground. A photographer with a high-speed camera just “happened” to be there and captured the whole scene.  Afterwards, Ava suspected someone in her circle may have tipped the photographer as to her whereabouts, and that everything had been a set up. The photos (seen below) fetched high sums, causing a media frenzy. Paris Match was ...