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1 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="yes"?> 2 <rss version="2.0" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"> 3 <channel> 4 <title>Cuba on Chris Bracken</title> 5 <link>https://chris.bracken.jp/tags/cuba/</link> 6 <description>Recent content in Cuba on Chris Bracken</description> 7 <generator>Hugo -- gohugo.io</generator> 8 <language>en</language> 9 <managingEditor>chris@bracken.jp (Chris Bracken)</managingEditor> 10 <webMaster>chris@bracken.jp (Chris Bracken)</webMaster> 11 <lastBuildDate>Thu, 21 Mar 2002 00:00:00 +0000</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://chris.bracken.jp/tags/cuba/index.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /> 12 <item> 13 <title>Trinidad, Sancti Spiritus, Cuba</title> 14 <link>https://chris.bracken.jp/2002/03/trinidad-sancti-spiritus-cuba/</link> 15 <pubDate>Thu, 21 Mar 2002 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> 16 <author>chris@bracken.jp (Chris Bracken)</author> 17 <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2002/03/trinidad-sancti-spiritus-cuba/</guid> 18 <description><p>Looking down on the ocean from the rolling hills a kilometre away, Trinidad is 19 a small, traditional town whose population of 50,000 takes great pride in its 20 home. Founded by Diego Velásquez in 1514, Trinidad became a stopover for 21 explorers and trading ships travelling to and from México. During the 17th and 22 18th centuries, its economy largely depended on trading contraband with 23 pirates. The buildings are in incredibly good shape for their age, most of 24 which are at least two centuries old. It’s not too tough to see why Trinidad is 25 now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.</p> 26 <figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2002-03-21-trinidad-street.jpg" 27 alt="Street in Trinidad, Cuba"> 28 </figure> 29 30 <p>Trinidad is about five hours from Havana by bus, and as with everything in 31 Cuba, there are two buses: one for Cubans, with a several hour long line-up, 32 and one for people with dollars, with basically no wait at all. Upon pulling 33 into Trinidad the bus was swarmed by masses of locals offering a room in a casa 34 particular. We ended up being shown one house, but it had been freshly painted 35 that afternoon and the fumes were pretty rough, so we set out wandering down 36 the streets in the dark. By sheer chance, we ran into an old grandfather 37 carrying a bucket and pushing his bike up the rickety cobblestone streets and 38 when we asked him if he knew of any places to stay he said that in fact, we 39 could stay at his house. This is how our planned two-night stay in Trinidad 40 ended up turning into a week-long stay in paradise.</p> 41 <p>Roberto and Elda, their daughter Mercedes, her husband Eddy, and their 42 11-year-old son Saúl made our stay in Trinidad one of the most relaxing visits 43 we had to anywhere in our travels. We would have breakfast every morning in a 44 little courtyard off to the side of the house, spend the mornings wandering the 45 cobblestone streets in search of pizza, and the evenings falling asleep to the 46 sound of Cuban salsas, merengues, and cha cha chas drifting through the window 47 from La Casa de la Trova across the street.</p> 48 <figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2002-03-21-horse-cart.jpg" 49 alt="Horse-drawn cart driven by man and boy in Trinidad street"> 50 </figure> 51 52 <p>While most of the old town is centered around the main plaza, cathedral, and 53 clock tower, most of the action seemed to center around the plaza in the newer 54 part of town down the hill. Old men sitting on park benches sharing a bottle of 55 rum, school children eating peso ice cream, and the occasional black market 56 cigar salesman trying to pass off some cigars smuggled out of the local factory 57 all milled about the plaza in the hot, sticky heat. A bunch of us sat on our 58 park bench watching the old men on the bench across from us get progressively 59 more drunk from their homebrew, before eventually falling asleep. One thing 60 that anyone visiting Cuba can be assured of is eventually being offered a taste 61 of homemade rum. My guess is that neither the recipe nor the distilling of this 62 rum has changed much over the past few centuries, so you can be assured that 63 your experience will be as blindingly nerve-wracking as that of the colonial 64 sailors plying the waters of the Caribbean in the 1600s. Following the initial 65 jolt of fermented cane sugar hitting your stomach like a rock is the slow 66 nauseating feeling of vertigo creeping over your body; after that, a strange 67 queasiness, and finally recovery and swearing it off for life&hellip; or at least 68 the next day.</p> 69 <p>A few days into our stay in Trinidad, as we walked down a dark street off the 70 plaza, we heard music pouring out through a half-open gate. Peering inside we 71 were greeted with the sight of thirty or so people packed into a small dirt 72 courtyard, and a small band of grizzled 80-year-old men playing salsas on their 73 guitars and trumpets. People had pulled up some old wooden benches and were 74 serving mojitos made (I swear) straight rum, some sugar, and crushed mint. A 75 woman named Blanquita invited us in, offered us some mojitos and yanked us up 76 off the bench to teach us some salsa while chickens scuttled around our feet. 77 It was probably my most vivid memory of Cuba.</p> 78 </description> 79 </item> 80 81 <item> 82 <title>La Habana, Cuba</title> 83 <link>https://chris.bracken.jp/2002/03/la-habana/</link> 84 <pubDate>Tue, 19 Mar 2002 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> 85 <author>chris@bracken.jp (Chris Bracken)</author> 86 <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2002/03/la-habana/</guid> 87 <description><p>Havana is a city of contradictions. It’s simultaneously one of the most 88 beautiful and most run down cities in the world. It’s hard to imagine how 89 things could be any worse, or any better given the Cuba’s political past and 90 present.</p> 91 <figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2002-03-19-old-havana-street.jpg" 92 alt="Run-down street in Old Havana"> 93 </figure> 94 95 <p>Havana, along with the rest of Cuba, is the way it is almost purely because of 96 politics—some of the most complex politics on the planet. If you like history 97 or politics, Cuba is for you. Cuba’s troubled history begins long before the 98 Cuban Missile Crisis, or even before the Revolution of 1959. Ever since 99 Christopher Columbus set foot on the Isle of Cuba on October 29th, 1492, one 100 nation or another has been fighting over the country. For over half a 101 millennium now, politics have affected almost every aspect of life in Cuba. 102 It’s amazing that despite all this, Cuban culture is felt worldwide through its 103 music, dance, and artistry.</p> 104 <h3 id="fast-facts">Fast Facts</h3> 105 <p>Before we get started, here are a few quick facts to clear up a few common 106 misconceptions about Cuba:</p> 107 <ul> 108 <li>The US embargo was put in place on October 19th, 1960, two years before the 109 Cuban Missile Crisis. It was the result of the US Eisenhower Administration’s 110 plan to overthrow Castro. This was the result of Cuba nationalizing a lot of 111 property sold to the US by Cuba’s former dictator, Fulgencio Batista. In 112 1963, after the end of the Missile Crisis, the Kennedy Administration imposed 113 a travel ban on US citizens, preventing them from visiting Cuba. Here’s an 114 <a href="http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/funfacts/embargo.htm">Economic Embargo Timeline</a>, if you’re interested.</li> 115 <li>In 1959, a group of Cuban revolutionaries, including Fidel Castro and Che 116 Guevara, led a popular uprising to overthrow Fulgencio Batista, the 117 totalitarian dictator who led Cuba from 1934 to 1959. Under Batista, more 118 than a third of the land in Cuba was sold off to US interests. In several 119 cases, teachers who worked to alphabetize rural villages were tortured and 120 killed by Batista’s private police force, for fear that a literate population 121 of farmers would be more likely to favour local land ownership, and oppose 122 the dictator. Cuba is now a communist country, and Castro is the elected head 123 of state. Elections are supervised by international monitors. They work very 124 differently from other western electoral systems, however, since there is 125 only one party. Like Canadians, Cubans elect local representatives, who 126 select a party leader. In practise, Castro has been re-elected President by 127 party officials in every election since the Revolution. Here’s some more 128 information on <a href="http://dodgson.ucsd.edu/las/cuba/1990-2001.htm">elections in Cuba</a>.</li> 129 <li>Today, Cuba’s population is highly educated. The current literacy rate is 130 approximately 97%—the same as Canada’s. Before the revolution, the overall 131 literacy rate was 23.6%. Castro’s guerrilla manifesto of 1957 included an 132 immediate literacy and education campaign, with the slogan &lsquo;Revolution and 133 Education are the same thing.&rsquo;</li> 134 <li>It’s illegal to form a party other than the Communist Party, and people live 135 under fairly strict supervision by the government compared to most western 136 nations. The movement of Cubans is restricted by the government. The 137 Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs maintains a <a href="https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/cuba">fact page</a> 138 on Cuba, as does <a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/cu.html">the CIA</a> in the United States.</li> 139 <li>Cuba’s media is not entirely restricted, and Cubans can tune in to Miami and 140 Mexican radio stations. The national newspaper, Granma is published by the 141 Communist Party and is <a href="http://www.granma.cu/">available online</a> in several languages.</li> 142 </ul> 143 <p>I was going to include a quick whirlwind tour of the history of Cuba here. I 144 started on it, but by the time I got to the late 19th century it was already 145 ten paragraphs long. Instead, if you want an excellent point-form history, have 146 a look at <a href="http://www.historyofcuba.com/">A History of Cuba</a>. If you want something more in 147 depth, specifically focusing on US-Cuban relations, the multi-volume set <em>A 148 History of Cuba and its relations with The United States</em> by Philip S. Foner is 149 excellent.</p> 150 <figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2002-03-19-old-havana-door.jpg" 151 alt="Crumbling doorway in Old Havana"> 152 </figure> 153 154 <h3 id="arrival-in-havana">Arrival in Havana</h3> 155 <p>The flight to Cuba was probably the craziest flights I’ve ever experienced. We 156 boarded the ancient, Soviet-built Cubana Yak-42 jet in Cancún and took our 157 seats. The first thing we noticed as we sat down was that the safety 158 instruction cards were printed in Russian. The second, and more alarming thing 159 we noticed was that smoke was slowly filling the cabin. The flight attendants 160 assured people that it was just steam, and that it was totally normal. By the 161 time we landed in Cuba, The cabin was filled chest high and we couldn’t see our 162 knees anymore. We got off the plane as quickly as possible, were packed into a 163 rickety old East-German bus and carted off to immigration. Once in Havana, we 164 checked into Hotel Flamingo where we stayed for our first two days while we 165 explored Havana. Across the street were a bunch of featureless, utilitarian, 166 crumbling apartment buildings, which are apparently identical to the ones that 167 were built across the Communist Block countries during the Soviet era. You’re 168 surrounded on all sides by relics of the Soviet era: East German and Polish 169 buses, Russian radios and record players, and tons of North Korean equipment. 170 It’s fascinating to see a country that exists almost entirely apart from the 171 US. When it comes to the States, it’s as though time stopped in 1959. The only 172 Chevys and Buicks to be seen are 1950s models. All new cars are Ladas, Yugos, 173 Polski Fiats, or Chinese and North Korean imports. Supposedly push-by shootings 174 from Ladas aren’t as big a problem here as they are in Russia.</p> 175 <p>Old Havana La Habana Vieja is something amazing to see. Walking down the 176 streets of Old Havana, you’re surrounded by some of the most incredible 177 architecture you’ve ever witnessed. What’s even more incredible is that it’s 178 crumbling all around you. Ornate gargoyles and balconies have decayed and 179 collapsed with age; the paint is peeling, and everything is covered in a thick 180 layer of dirt and grime. Broken windows are everywhere, and yet people continue 181 to live in these buildings that elsewhere in the world would have long since 182 been condemned.</p> 183 <p>Another thing not to be missed in Havana is sitting in the park in front of the 184 Museo de la Revolución and eating freshly roasted peanuts out of a rolled up 185 newspaper. For one peso, you can buy salted peanuts from street vendors, rolled 186 up in an old copy of a page from <em>Granma</em>, and sit back and watch kids play 187 baseball in the street.</p> 188 <p>Baseball is everywhere in Cuba. You can’t turn around without seeing a game 189 going on. Baseball equipment, on the other hand, is hard to come by. This 190 doesn’t stop anyone from playing the game, however. A rock wrapped in rubber 191 bands makes a pretty decent baseball, and we saw a lot of kids who could hit 192 some amazing runs with a broom handle baseball bat. If you visit Cuba, 193 something that’ll make any kid’s day is a baseball. Pencils and pens make nice 194 gifts too.</p> 195 <figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2002-03-19-vintage-american-cars.jpg" 196 alt="Vintage American cars"> 197 </figure> 198 199 <h3 id="dollars-and-pesos">Dollars and Pesos</h3> 200 <p>There are two things that everyone who visits Cuba should do. The first is to 201 experience live Cuban music, which you can read about in the Trinidad section. 202 The second is to convert some dollars to Cuban Pesos. Cuba has three official 203 currencies: Cuban Pesos, US Dollars, and Cuban Convertible Pesos. The Cuban 204 Convertible Peso was introduced to reduce the dependency on actual US dollars, 205 but are worth exactly one dollar in Cuba, and exactly zero dollars off the 206 island. Cuban Pesos are a soft currency, and as such, have no practical value 207 as an exchangeable currency; however, exchanges do happen at wildly fluctuating 208 rates. We got 26 pesos to the dollar. Cuba has two economies that don’t 209 overlap even remotely. Hard-currency stores charge US prices in US dollars and 210 sell high-end items. Bottled water is about $1.00 a bottle, soap is $0.50 a 211 bar, and meat and cheese are similar in price to what they would be in Canada 212 or the US. However, Cubans are paid in pesos at a rate of about 200-400 pesos a 213 month — about 8 to 16 dollars. That makes a bottle of water worth somewhere 214 around 10% of your monthly paycheque. Try the math with your paycheque. Soft 215 currency shops sell local goods, such as fruit and vegetables, for pesos.</p> 216 <p>The reason you should convert some money is that finding a place to spend your 217 newly acquired pesos will force you to discover a whole part of Cuba you might 218 otherwise never have seen. Cubans buy things in soft currency at markets or 219 shops that sell in pesos. The items you can buy for pesos are universally 220 locally produced items such as locally farmed foods, small pizzas baked on the 221 street in oil drums converted to wood ovens, and some ice cream. A pizza, which 222 is basically a piece of bread with a little tomato sauce, some oil, and bit of 223 salt on it, sells for 3 pesos, which is about 12 cents US. The reason it’s so 224 cheap is that peso goods are subsidised by the work you do for the state. Basic 225 food staples such as beans and rice are part of your government supplied 226 rations, and can be obtained with your ration card at certain shops. When you 227 can find it, food sold on the street is usually in pesos. Food in paladares¹, 228 hotels, and touristy places is almost universally in dollars.</p> 229 <figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2002-03-19-camelo.jpg" 230 alt="Camelo bus"> 231 </figure> 232 233 <h3 id="the-rich-and-the-poor">The Rich and the Poor</h3> 234 <p>The one thing that struck us immediately was the uniformity of income in Cuba. 235 In México, there are two extremes: the extremely rich and the extremely poor. 236 The middle class is tiny compared to Canada, where the middle class is the 237 norm. In Cuba, almost everyone lives in something that is not exactly poverty, 238 but at the same time they have basically no buying power. They have what the 239 government gives them, and little else. The income difference between a street 240 sweeper and a specialist doctor is about $7 a month vs. $15 a month. No matter 241 how you cut it, the $8 difference doesn’t buy much. It’s hard to get imported 242 goods no matter what, and what you can get is often on the black market. 243 Although under communism employment is universal and housing is provided by the 244 state, there are still people who turn to begging because it can be far more 245 lucrative than work in a factory for $8 a month. As a result of the incredibly 246 tiny incomes in Cuba, jineteros² have become more numerous, and will follow you 247 wherever you go, trying to drag you to a restaurant or shop where you’ll spend 248 your money. A lot of people on the street beg for soap or toothpaste when the 249 police aren’t watching. One man told us he’d do anything, even get down on his 250 knees and beg if it would make a difference.</p> 251 <p>Given all this, was the trip to Cuba worth it? Without a doubt. We met some 252 absolutely wonderful people, and learned a ton about Cuban history and 253 politics. The government isn’t the oppressive dictatorship many people would 254 like to believe, and it’s certainly an improvement over Batista’s brutal 255 dictatorship; however, things could certainly be a lot better than they are, 256 and Castro isn’t exactly known for his spectacular record on civil liberties. 257 The Cubans we met were friendly and welcoming, not to mention incredibly good 258 dancers. When we ran into difficulty getting cash out of our Mexican bank 259 accounts due to the embargo, one family we stayed with offered to reduce our 260 room rate, and give us a cheap ride to the airport so we didn’t have to pay the 261 taxi fare. Falling asleep to live Cuban music every night was worth the trip 262 alone.</p> 263 <h3 id="glossary">Glossary</h3> 264 <ol> 265 <li><em>Paladar:</em> a small independent restaurant. One of the allowed forms of 266 capitalism in Cuba.</li> 267 <li><em>Jinetero:</em> Literally a &lsquo;jockey.&rsquo; Jineteros will approach you and offer to 268 show you a restaurant or store. In exchange, the restaurant charges you 269 extra for your meal and the jinetero gets to keep the surcharge.</li> 270 </ol> 271 </description> 272 </item> 273 274 </channel> 275 </rss>