Four significant firsts occurred in Cuba between March and April of 2016: President Obama became the first sitting US President to visit the island since Calvin Coolidge eighty eight years before (Who?? –-just kidding); in a free concert to half a million people, The Rolling Stones became the first band of its magnitude to perform there; The Fate of the Furious became the first major Hollywood studio film to shoot there since Fidel Castro took power in 1960; and rounding out all of those awesome firsts, I descended on the island with my friends Julie and Gary. lol. 2016 also marked the passing of Fidel, ending a major chapter in the nation’s history. I got to thinking about what a seminal time we unwittingly chose to visit after stumbling across the documentary The Rolling Stones Olé Olé Olé, about the band’s 2016 tour of Latin America and the logistical issues they had to deal with in trying to put on a show in Havana. So join me as I spotlight a few of the cool, interesting, or just random things that stood out to me about this strange, beautiful, simple, yet complicated country.
- Cuba truly is the land that time forgot. It is frozen in the year 1960, to just before the US levied its economic embargo, and nothing is more evident of this than the profusion of classic American cars. Felt as if we were in the Latin version of Grease.
- Most of the houses are old, and everything in them is old. It’s kind of eerie, and at the same time beautiful. But don’t let the age fool you, it all works just fine because…
- Cubans are the MacGyver’s of the world. Give them a paperclip, fishing wire and a piece of gum and they can build an engine.
- There are no KFC’s, Subways, McDonalds, Starbucks, Coca Cola’s, Budweisers, Oreos, or any American products at all. Nor are there ads for any American products. Only place I can say I’ve ever seen this.
- Che Guavera is everywhere!!! Probably having benefited from dying young and being forever tied to a time when there was a strong sense of idealism and hope on the island, he is revered (Fidel, not so much–it’s complicated.)
- The government once called the internet, “the great disease of the 21st century,” so no shock that when we visited, it was only offered through state run email addresses. It wasn’t abnormal to see folks run off in one direction, stop, cop a squat, and pull out their mobile phones to tap into a wifi signal. But as of December 2018, full internet access has become available for between $7 and $30/month. Except…
- The average Cuban earns less than $30/month. Yeah, you read that right. There are about 60 universities on the island and education is stressed, but once schooling is over, that’s when everything gets wonky.
- We made friends with a young family that saved us from becoming Havana roadkill when we tried to dodge the many classic cars to get across a busy highway to the seawall (Malecón). Turns out he had a degree in electrical engineering but worked as a waiter because, with his command of English, in a week he could make five times his monthly engineering salary of $25. His wife made $18/month as a nurse. (Everyone gets a free ration of food each month, but it doesn’t come close to what they really need.) So how do people make ends meet? Bring on the side hustle.
- Airbnb’s are huge there. We had a 4 bedroom/3 bath/2 kitchen (not sure why it needed more than one) apartment that came with a house mom and dad living next door, for $465 for eight days. Hell, we had so much space, we put up a random Japanese student we met on our flight over who thought she’d be able to wing accommodations.
- Pizza has got to be the unofficial national dish. It. Is. Everywhere. Since it can easily be made in any kitchen and sold out of any front yard, it’s another way for people to supplement their barely there incomes.
- Although pornography is illegal, prostitution, though frowned upon, is legal…just sayin’.
- Private businesses relating to hospitality, such as the small restaurants (paladares) run out of people’s homes, are now allowed. But just because the government doesn’t own it, doesn’t mean they don’t own it. Like the proprietor of the cigar farm we visited in the countryside of Viñales told us, “We have to give them 90% of the leaves we harvest.” “That only leaves you with 10%,” I followed with, to which he smiled, winked and responded, “Does it?”
- I didn’t come across much ropa vieja, black beans or many of the Cuban dishes I’d gotten used to in the U.S. And what would be on a menu one day didn’t mean it would be there the next. It’s all dependent on what ingredients they can get a hold of that particular day. We did have some great paella and lobster (and pizza). Beef, though, seems to sometimes be a challenge.
- Walking allowed us to feel the pulse of the city. We often did the three mile trek from our house in Vedado to Old Havana, and we made friends who would smile warmly and yell, “Glad you’re still here,” when they’d see us coming. One morning, we were even introduced to a bit of Santeria as a man walked out of his home, slashed the neck of a chicken, then drizzled its blood across his doorstep as a means to ward off evil.
- The people of Cuba are open and willing to share stories of their lives and their thoughts on communism. They were excited about the reopening of a US embassy there, and President Obama establishing diplomatic channels. They want a friendly relationship between our two countries, and for their borders to be open to America. They just don’t want to lose their identity in the process. And everyone wants to visit New York and see the Statue of Liberty and all the skyscrapers.
- There was no apparent division along color lines. Everyone lives together, works together, plays together, suffers together. Someone put it this way–“No one has any more or any less than anyone else, so no other way to see each other but as equal.”
- Music is the heartbeat of the island. Mambo, Rumba, Son, Afro-Caribbean jazz, reggae…
- I could go on and on about my trip to Cuba, but in the interest of time, since I started with the Stones, I’ll end with the Beatles. Rock n’ Roll music was banned on the island in the 60’s and 70’s. Now there’s a John Lennon Park near where we stayed in Vedado, featuring a bronze statue of the Beatle. And people just kind of like to visit and talk with him. There’s an inscription from his song “Imagine” that reads, “You may say that I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.” My wish is that this current administration–and future ones–will dare to imagine advancing our relationship with the Cubans, some of the warmest people I’ve ever met.
