2002-03-19-la-habana.md (12634B)
1 +++ 2 title = "La Habana, Cuba" 3 date = "2002-03-19T00:00:00Z" 4 slug = "la-habana" 5 tags = ["Cuba", "Travel"] 6 +++ 7 8 Havana is a city of contradictions. It’s simultaneously one of the most 9 beautiful and most run down cities in the world. It’s hard to imagine how 10 things could be any worse, or any better given the Cuba’s political past and 11 present. 12 13 {{< figure src="/post/2002-03-19-old-havana-street.jpg" 14 alt="Run-down street in Old Havana" >}} 15 16 Havana, along with the rest of Cuba, is the way it is almost purely because of 17 politics—some of the most complex politics on the planet. If you like history 18 or politics, Cuba is for you. Cuba’s troubled history begins long before the 19 Cuban Missile Crisis, or even before the Revolution of 1959. Ever since 20 Christopher Columbus set foot on the Isle of Cuba on October 29th, 1492, one 21 nation or another has been fighting over the country. For over half a 22 millennium now, politics have affected almost every aspect of life in Cuba. 23 It’s amazing that despite all this, Cuban culture is felt worldwide through its 24 music, dance, and artistry. 25 26 ### Fast Facts 27 28 Before we get started, here are a few quick facts to clear up a few common 29 misconceptions about Cuba: 30 31 * The US embargo was put in place on October 19th, 1960, two years before the 32 Cuban Missile Crisis. It was the result of the US Eisenhower Administration’s 33 plan to overthrow Castro. This was the result of Cuba nationalizing a lot of 34 property sold to the US by Cuba’s former dictator, Fulgencio Batista. In 35 1963, after the end of the Missile Crisis, the Kennedy Administration imposed 36 a travel ban on US citizens, preventing them from visiting Cuba. Here’s an 37 [Economic Embargo Timeline][embargo_timeline], if you’re interested. 38 * In 1959, a group of Cuban revolutionaries, including Fidel Castro and Che 39 Guevara, led a popular uprising to overthrow Fulgencio Batista, the 40 totalitarian dictator who led Cuba from 1934 to 1959. Under Batista, more 41 than a third of the land in Cuba was sold off to US interests. In several 42 cases, teachers who worked to alphabetize rural villages were tortured and 43 killed by Batista’s private police force, for fear that a literate population 44 of farmers would be more likely to favour local land ownership, and oppose 45 the dictator. Cuba is now a communist country, and Castro is the elected head 46 of state. Elections are supervised by international monitors. They work very 47 differently from other western electoral systems, however, since there is 48 only one party. Like Canadians, Cubans elect local representatives, who 49 select a party leader. In practise, Castro has been re-elected President by 50 party officials in every election since the Revolution. Here’s some more 51 information on [elections in Cuba][elections_in_cuba]. 52 * Today, Cuba’s population is highly educated. The current literacy rate is 53 approximately 97%—the same as Canada’s. Before the revolution, the overall 54 literacy rate was 23.6%. Castro’s guerrilla manifesto of 1957 included an 55 immediate literacy and education campaign, with the slogan 'Revolution and 56 Education are the same thing.' 57 * It’s illegal to form a party other than the Communist Party, and people live 58 under fairly strict supervision by the government compared to most western 59 nations. The movement of Cubans is restricted by the government. The 60 Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs maintains a [fact page][gc_cuba_facts] 61 on Cuba, as does [the CIA][cia_cuba_facts] in the United States. 62 * Cuba’s media is not entirely restricted, and Cubans can tune in to Miami and 63 Mexican radio stations. The national newspaper, Granma is published by the 64 Communist Party and is [available online][granma] in several languages. 65 66 I was going to include a quick whirlwind tour of the history of Cuba here. I 67 started on it, but by the time I got to the late 19th century it was already 68 ten paragraphs long. Instead, if you want an excellent point-form history, have 69 a look at [A History of Cuba][history_of_cuba]. If you want something more in 70 depth, specifically focusing on US-Cuban relations, the multi-volume set *A 71 History of Cuba and its relations with The United States* by Philip S. Foner is 72 excellent. 73 74 {{< figure src="/post/2002-03-19-old-havana-door.jpg" 75 alt="Crumbling doorway in Old Havana" >}} 76 77 ### Arrival in Havana 78 79 The flight to Cuba was probably the craziest flights I’ve ever experienced. We 80 boarded the ancient, Soviet-built Cubana Yak-42 jet in Cancún and took our 81 seats. The first thing we noticed as we sat down was that the safety 82 instruction cards were printed in Russian. The second, and more alarming thing 83 we noticed was that smoke was slowly filling the cabin. The flight attendants 84 assured people that it was just steam, and that it was totally normal. By the 85 time we landed in Cuba, The cabin was filled chest high and we couldn’t see our 86 knees anymore. We got off the plane as quickly as possible, were packed into a 87 rickety old East-German bus and carted off to immigration. Once in Havana, we 88 checked into Hotel Flamingo where we stayed for our first two days while we 89 explored Havana. Across the street were a bunch of featureless, utilitarian, 90 crumbling apartment buildings, which are apparently identical to the ones that 91 were built across the Communist Block countries during the Soviet era. You’re 92 surrounded on all sides by relics of the Soviet era: East German and Polish 93 buses, Russian radios and record players, and tons of North Korean equipment. 94 It’s fascinating to see a country that exists almost entirely apart from the 95 US. When it comes to the States, it’s as though time stopped in 1959. The only 96 Chevys and Buicks to be seen are 1950s models. All new cars are Ladas, Yugos, 97 Polski Fiats, or Chinese and North Korean imports. Supposedly push-by shootings 98 from Ladas aren’t as big a problem here as they are in Russia. 99 100 Old Havana La Habana Vieja is something amazing to see. Walking down the 101 streets of Old Havana, you’re surrounded by some of the most incredible 102 architecture you’ve ever witnessed. What’s even more incredible is that it’s 103 crumbling all around you. Ornate gargoyles and balconies have decayed and 104 collapsed with age; the paint is peeling, and everything is covered in a thick 105 layer of dirt and grime. Broken windows are everywhere, and yet people continue 106 to live in these buildings that elsewhere in the world would have long since 107 been condemned. 108 109 Another thing not to be missed in Havana is sitting in the park in front of the 110 Museo de la Revolución and eating freshly roasted peanuts out of a rolled up 111 newspaper. For one peso, you can buy salted peanuts from street vendors, rolled 112 up in an old copy of a page from *Granma*, and sit back and watch kids play 113 baseball in the street. 114 115 Baseball is everywhere in Cuba. You can’t turn around without seeing a game 116 going on. Baseball equipment, on the other hand, is hard to come by. This 117 doesn’t stop anyone from playing the game, however. A rock wrapped in rubber 118 bands makes a pretty decent baseball, and we saw a lot of kids who could hit 119 some amazing runs with a broom handle baseball bat. If you visit Cuba, 120 something that’ll make any kid’s day is a baseball. Pencils and pens make nice 121 gifts too. 122 123 {{< figure src="/post/2002-03-19-vintage-american-cars.jpg" 124 alt="Vintage American cars" >}} 125 126 ### Dollars and Pesos 127 128 There are two things that everyone who visits Cuba should do. The first is to 129 experience live Cuban music, which you can read about in the Trinidad section. 130 The second is to convert some dollars to Cuban Pesos. Cuba has three official 131 currencies: Cuban Pesos, US Dollars, and Cuban Convertible Pesos. The Cuban 132 Convertible Peso was introduced to reduce the dependency on actual US dollars, 133 but are worth exactly one dollar in Cuba, and exactly zero dollars off the 134 island. Cuban Pesos are a soft currency, and as such, have no practical value 135 as an exchangeable currency; however, exchanges do happen at wildly fluctuating 136 rates. We got 26 pesos to the dollar. Cuba has two economies that don’t 137 overlap even remotely. Hard-currency stores charge US prices in US dollars and 138 sell high-end items. Bottled water is about $1.00 a bottle, soap is $0.50 a 139 bar, and meat and cheese are similar in price to what they would be in Canada 140 or the US. However, Cubans are paid in pesos at a rate of about 200-400 pesos a 141 month — about 8 to 16 dollars. That makes a bottle of water worth somewhere 142 around 10% of your monthly paycheque. Try the math with your paycheque. Soft 143 currency shops sell local goods, such as fruit and vegetables, for pesos. 144 145 The reason you should convert some money is that finding a place to spend your 146 newly acquired pesos will force you to discover a whole part of Cuba you might 147 otherwise never have seen. Cubans buy things in soft currency at markets or 148 shops that sell in pesos. The items you can buy for pesos are universally 149 locally produced items such as locally farmed foods, small pizzas baked on the 150 street in oil drums converted to wood ovens, and some ice cream. A pizza, which 151 is basically a piece of bread with a little tomato sauce, some oil, and bit of 152 salt on it, sells for 3 pesos, which is about 12 cents US. The reason it’s so 153 cheap is that peso goods are subsidised by the work you do for the state. Basic 154 food staples such as beans and rice are part of your government supplied 155 rations, and can be obtained with your ration card at certain shops. When you 156 can find it, food sold on the street is usually in pesos. Food in paladares¹, 157 hotels, and touristy places is almost universally in dollars. 158 159 {{< figure src="/post/2002-03-19-camelo.jpg" alt="Camelo bus" >}} 160 161 ### The Rich and the Poor 162 163 The one thing that struck us immediately was the uniformity of income in Cuba. 164 In México, there are two extremes: the extremely rich and the extremely poor. 165 The middle class is tiny compared to Canada, where the middle class is the 166 norm. In Cuba, almost everyone lives in something that is not exactly poverty, 167 but at the same time they have basically no buying power. They have what the 168 government gives them, and little else. The income difference between a street 169 sweeper and a specialist doctor is about $7 a month vs. $15 a month. No matter 170 how you cut it, the $8 difference doesn’t buy much. It’s hard to get imported 171 goods no matter what, and what you can get is often on the black market. 172 Although under communism employment is universal and housing is provided by the 173 state, there are still people who turn to begging because it can be far more 174 lucrative than work in a factory for $8 a month. As a result of the incredibly 175 tiny incomes in Cuba, jineteros² have become more numerous, and will follow you 176 wherever you go, trying to drag you to a restaurant or shop where you’ll spend 177 your money. A lot of people on the street beg for soap or toothpaste when the 178 police aren’t watching. One man told us he’d do anything, even get down on his 179 knees and beg if it would make a difference. 180 181 Given all this, was the trip to Cuba worth it? Without a doubt. We met some 182 absolutely wonderful people, and learned a ton about Cuban history and 183 politics. The government isn’t the oppressive dictatorship many people would 184 like to believe, and it’s certainly an improvement over Batista’s brutal 185 dictatorship; however, things could certainly be a lot better than they are, 186 and Castro isn’t exactly known for his spectacular record on civil liberties. 187 The Cubans we met were friendly and welcoming, not to mention incredibly good 188 dancers. When we ran into difficulty getting cash out of our Mexican bank 189 accounts due to the embargo, one family we stayed with offered to reduce our 190 room rate, and give us a cheap ride to the airport so we didn’t have to pay the 191 taxi fare. Falling asleep to live Cuban music every night was worth the trip 192 alone. 193 194 ### Glossary 195 196 1. *Paladar:* a small independent restaurant. One of the allowed forms of 197 capitalism in Cuba. 198 1. *Jinetero:* Literally a 'jockey.' Jineteros will approach you and offer to 199 show you a restaurant or store. In exchange, the restaurant charges you 200 extra for your meal and the jinetero gets to keep the surcharge. 201 202 [embargo_timeline]: http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/funfacts/embargo.htm 203 [elections_in_cuba]: http://dodgson.ucsd.edu/las/cuba/1990-2001.htm 204 [gc_cuba_facts]: https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/cuba 205 [cia_cuba_facts]: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/cu.html 206 [granma]: http://www.granma.cu/ 207 [history_of_cuba]: http://www.historyofcuba.com/