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