MY FAVOURITE SUMMER TANIA BANOTTI:Sipping mojitos and learning Spanish while living with a family in Havana, Cuba are the happiest summer memories of Tania Banotti. She talks to Catherine Foley
What particular summer stands out as perfect for you?
I would say the summer of 2003, which is not that far back. I went to Cuba and lived with a Cuban family, the Ramirez family, for two months in Havana. There were three generations of them in an old colonial house. I booked it sight unseen on the internet. I went to learn Spanish so I just turned up on their doorstep, initially planning to stay for a few nights and then to travel. But I got on so well with them, in particular with Senora Ana, who was the matriarch of the family, that I spent the whole two months there. She was a very small, dynamic Cuban woman who kept the whole family together. They had a roof garden and you could do salsa lessons on the roof. They'd bring a boom box to dance to.
Why does this summer stand out for you?
It stands out because I had such a happy time. The people are quite like the Irish. They love to chat and to natter. I spoke Italian before I went so I thought I was better than I was but it's easy to get the gist of things. The Cubans would just keep talking at you and I'd say "Si, si, si".
Life is lived on the street. All the people sit out on their steps and people just drop in. They wander in and out of their houses. It was great weather. The whole thing was wonderful, the music, the language. I felt like I was a real local because they gave me the local money so I could pay in pesos. When you want a taxi, you shout out your destination and it slows down and if they are going in that direction, they stop.
What are your clearest memories of it?
The family had the most extraordinary Model T car from the 1930s and they would tune it up every week. It didn't go more than five miles an hour. They let me drive it around the block and the whole family literally walked along beside me. It was such a happy time.
I was very integrated into the family. I took a few trips with the family and they took me to various hidden beaches in Cuba. You can do great scuba-diving and when I came out of the water, they gave me a mojito. It was the perfect end to the perfect scuba-dive.
Were your parents around?
No. My mother was at home and my father had passed away. There were no family or friends nearby. Once I was there, it was full immersion. There were some internet cafes in Havana but there were not many outside the capital.
There was no international TV. You just have Cuban TV. Because of censorship, other parts of the world that are more remote are more linked in. Various things were happening in Iraq but it was all fairly distant.
Why do you compare this summer to all others?
A great summer should have some great travel, but I hadn't gone on such a long trip on my own for a long time. It was great to do it and have such a great time. I hadn't expected to be swept up by the family and involved in everything they were doing on a daily basis.
There was always lots of things going on, cooking, music blaring, washing, people coming and going, going down to the market, doing what they were doing. Being an only child, I loved the big family because that's not how it was for me.
How did you plan your day?
I had Spanish classes each day from nine to 12 and then I'd be free. I'd lunch and then I'd wander around Havana. I decided because I had been working in film with Screen Producers' Ireland that I would try to organise an Irish cultural festival so I went up to the Cuban Film Institute. I got to know them and they would invite me to film screenings and it was great to get to know another part of Havana. And I did organise a Cuban Film Festival, with Gráinne Humphries, who was at the Irish Film Institute, when I came back.
Did you use the time to think about your life?
I was meant to be thinking about what job I would apply for next but I was having too good a time to think. I just gave myself up to enjoying the whole atmosphere of the place. When you are on your own, you are forced to throw yourself into things and to live with a family is a great way to experience a country. It just whetted my appetite to keep travelling.
• Tania Banotti, chief executive of Theatre Forum, the association for theatre and the performing arts