Ration cards are distributed monthly, based on the number of people in the family. They must be used in the ration store assigned to your home area. Staples are rationed out at very low prices—toothpaste, rice, cooking oil, beans, pasta. In the past a couple getting married was allowed a cake and two bottles of rum for the celebration, but the struggling economy has ended that.
In the cities we saw fewer horse-drawn passenger carts and wagons and more bici-taxis and motor-cycle taxis
Havana had "coconut taxis."
Rice is dried on one third of the road in the sun. Manuel said that the yellow rice in this part of Cuba has the best flavor. Hmm. Essence of highway? Workers stir it with wooden rakes, pick it up at night and redeposit it in the mornings until dry. If your vehicle meets another one, one of you has to drive on the rice to pass. We saw chickens and pigs eating the rice. When it is dry, it is cleaned and sterilized. Manuel said there are wild pigs in this part of Cuba. The word bucan means bacon and became applied to the traders coming to the island. The pirate connotation led to them being called buccaneers. So the most popular local beer is Bucanero. We joked that we would get road rice and wild boar for dinner. And we got rice and pork! Rice is a staple at meals, so Cuba still must import some from Brazil.
We visited Playa Giron and the Bay of Pigs Museum. Insurgents, including Baptista rebels, farmers and others opposed to Castro’s communist takeover of Cuba, gathered in the Escambray Mountains. Aided by the US CIA, distressed by Castro taking over American businesses and his association with Russia, the group invaded the Bay of Pigs in south central Cuba. Castro was there within hours, leading the fight to quash the rebellion.
Lunch at the Playa Giron included a chance to wade in the Caribbean, or in Andrea’s case, a swim in the temperate water.
Ernest Hemingway’s home 10 miles east of Havana has been preserved as it was when he lived and wrote there from 1940 to 1960. Before the trip we saw the movie Papa: Hemingway in Cuba which was filmed here at the museum. The Cuban government took over the property soon after Hemingway left for the last time, and preserved it just as it was with all the furnishings intact.
Hemingway's boat, the Pilar, where he spent many happy hours fishing.
Education is free for everyone and illiteracy has been eliminated. Class size is limited to 20 students per classroom by law. Secondary and high school students combine study and work. They are required to work for a month each year, often in agriculture, for example at a coffee or tobacco plantation. They live on site, away from parents, and work outside in nature, so they enjoy it. It is a lesson in the importance of everyone’s role in society. After high school, boys must serve one year in the military; for girls it is optional. Military training includes life skills, preparedness and manners. Students who wish to attend university go free for the five or six years needed for their chosen profession.
Cuba’s retirement system is becoming top-heavy as is the case in many countries—there are more old people than young. Cubans used to have large families, but now one child, perhaps two, is the norm. Retirement age is age 60 for women and 65 for men, but many people do continue to work in something else than their 30 year job. If your position is down-sized, the government has to find you another job, preferably in your field.
Original fort was part of early defenses.
The 1950's cars were a delight.
The food was wonderful. We were fed very well--too well. Every lunch and dinner we had four-course meals of soup, salad, meat entree with rice and vegetable, and dessert. The pulled beef was fantastic. We did wish for some lighter lunches with some traditional casual Cuban food. Never a pressed sandwich in sight.
We usually had live music with our meals.
The Museum of the Revolution is housed in the Presidential Palace where Baptista and previous presidents lived before 1959.
Che Guevara is a national hero. He was a strange mix of humanitarian doctor and human rights champion unbalanced by a fervent cruel rule of his troops and inflexible view of his mission. His home overlooks Havana.
Our local expert guide in Havana was Daniel, an architect with the national restoration agency in charge of restoring and maintaining the UNESCO World Heritage Site that comprises the entire old city area. He trained in Zurich, but now Cuba has its own architecture restoration school to train people in how to preserve the buildings as old as 17th century and still maintain the integrity of their history. Every CUC (Cuban convertible peso) spent in Old Havana is divided with 40% going to renovations and maintenance, 30% to schools, hospitals and other service buildings, and 30% to the government.
All of our guides have expressed concern for the future of Cuba. What will happen when the cruise ships and American tourists come in droves? The Cuban people want the boost in the economy, but they do not want their country to change. We told Daniel not to let McDonalds in. His answer was interesting. If they want to come they will have to follow the same rules in the historic areas as anyone else: the exterior of the building cannot change; the business sign must be small; they must restore four other buildings and contribute to schools and services. He said it could be a win-win for McD’s and for Cuba.
The usual arrangement for older buildings had businesses on the ground floor and apartments above. The problem now is in numbers. If a young couple bought a one bedroom apartment in the 1950’s and kept it until now, they will have been joined by children and grandchildren. So now three generations are living in that one bedroom apartment. Ceilings are always very high to allow the heat to rise. Now they build lofts to add beds, but those sleeping spaces are very hot. Air conditioning is rare. 70,000 people live in the old city area which was built for 20,000. After the revolution people were allowed to keep their homes, but all other property had to be sold to the government at very low prices. If someone owned an apartment building, they could keep one apartment, not the whole building.
About 94% of the people own their own home. Apartment buildings now often are not owned by anyone, not even the government, so no one does major maintenance. Restoration can be difficult in buildings that contain living spaces. There is no eminent domain, so if people refuse the offer of a free apartment elsewhere to make way for renovating the building, no one can make them leave.
Cathedral de la Havana is a magnificent Baroque church built in 1748 that has been visited by each pope to come to Cuba. It has been restored and is used by an active congregation. It was here that I made my usual purchase when traveling—a cross necklace from that country. This is a simple but dramatic shell cross. The buildings here are built of limestone which is hard to carve, so other than the cathedral, ornate carving is limited to the area around the doorway. In Cuba communism was not successful in eliminating religion, and now it is commonly accepted by the government. Catholicism is the predominant religion in Cuba, with many protestant groups also present. Also very common is a form of Christianity that has combined with African religious traditions such as the Santeria which incorporated Yoruba slave beliefs and Catholicism. The majority of Cubans claim to be religious, although church attendance is low.
Children on a field trip.
Friendly Cubans--maybe too friendly?
We were priveleged to have a private performance by the Habana Compas Dance. They create a passionate Afro-Cuban percussion-based music and dance. Amazing. The sets and chairs used as drums are hand-painted.
Natives were smoking cigars when Columbus discovered the island in 1492. The Corona Cigar Factory welcomed us to watch the entire process of hand-rolling the famous Havana cigars. The factory was founded in the 1800’s. Tobacco leaves are sorted by wrapper quality and by color. They are then taken to the roller room where workers (mostly women because they have a gentler touch) remove the center vein from about five leaves. Leaves are folded and squeezed into a bundle which is then wrapped tightly in two halves of the wrapper leaf. The cigars are trimmed and placed in molds which hold about 10 cigars in each layer, with half a dozen layers compressed by turning a large turn-screw by hand. After perhaps 15 minutes, they are removed, wrapped in a final leaf wrapper and trimmed. Cigars are aged 45 to 50 days before packaging and sale.
Cemetery Colon in Havana is 130 acres of magnificent mausoleums of famous Cubans and prominent families. Bodies are interred for about two years, then exhumed and placed in urns, releasing the space for other family members to use the plot. All of these were built before 1959. Now under communism, everyone is equal, so grave markers must be also.
Planters are tipped on their sides to prevent water standing for mosquitos.
We met the famous All-Star Cuban pitcher Rolando Macias who played in top Cuban Pan-American and World Cup tournaments. He was recruited by three American professional teams but turned them all down to remain in his beloved Cuba and lead them to international victories. After retirement, he coached in Cuba, Italy and Venezuela.
In 1992 during especially poor times in Cuba, artist Jose Fuster began decorating an arch and his home with mosaics. Then he worked on neighbors’ houses in their poor fishing village near Havana. Soon he had to hire people to help with the work, entirely paid for by Fuster as he sold his paintings. Now people come from afar to see his fantastical creations.
We have been fascinated in the cities by the 1950’s American cars that have been restored by the owners—the only way a person can afford one of these classic cars is to do the restoration and repairs himself. Most are used as taxis. Our last night in Havana we exited the hotel for our final dinner and found seven classic convertibles waiting for us. They were sparkling and clearly the pride of each owner driver. Many had interesting horns blaring as we toured the city and drag-raced down Havana’s main streets, feeling like we were back in high school. We felt like the parade queens waving to all on the streets.
What a glorious ending to a fabulous trip!
Our tour group was from the chamber of Commerce in Eugene, Oregon. We coalesced into a wonderfully friendly and fun group. I wish we lived close to them.
Karen and Roger summed up very well some of the reactions many of us felt about this trip.
· "The Cuban people passionately love their country. And while they seem eager for naturalized relations with the US, they also want Cuba to remain unchanged. We don't think they can have it both ways, and we fear that most Cubans are somewhat naive about the changes that automatically will follow an influx of US dollars/influence. You know the old adage: Be careful what you wish for.
· We hope Raul Castro's government proceeds with caution because it would be premature for Cuba to make any assumptions in advance of the US presidential election in November.
· We both were infected by the happiness and upbeat attitudes of the Cubans we met. Their energy and music are infectious, and Roger says he's now convinced that not even State socialism can quell the Latin spirit.
· Every tour is impacted by the group dynamics of the tour participants themselves, and this group seemed remarkably copacetic. It really was a pleasure to meet and get acquainted with everyone on the tour."
The American flag is flying again at the American embassy. I think Cubans blame the embargo for their economic problems and think that if it lifts, everything will be great again. While Castro comes out of seclusion periodically to rant against America, the people do not feel that way. Old men blew kisses to us as we passed. We talked to one man who was very discontented and wanted to leave Cuba but was not allowed to. Only one. Most people seem to be happy with their country and quite tolerant of their brand of socialism. "We are not communist; we are socialist." said Manuel.
Don and I were expecting to enjoy Cuba after my sister Carol did this same trip a year earlier and raved about it. But we still were surprised by the simple joy in the lives of the people. They don’t have much, but they don’t want much. It is a beautiful, centuries-old country with a long difficult history of colonialism and suppression. But the independent spirit of the people has made them treasure their autonomy as a country and their sense of being part of the essence of Cuba. Everyone is important. Everyone pulls together. And the Latin joy of life permeates all.
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