Havana May '10!
Arrived late in the night due to a missed flight in Cancun, tired, sweaty, really didn't care anymore what happened from that point on! I had worried for weeks about what it would be like to enter Cuba, an American woman, alone, but everyone I spoke with reassured me I would be ok. Just the same, Marlin and John were two Americans I met on the plane, coming in sans visa like me, so I joined them for the cab ride into town both for company and numbers. The two were making an unofficial documentary on religion in Cuba--their previous experience included documentaries in South America and the Congo. John seemed very nice and sincere, while Marlin was the ultimate grandstander, a showman in every respect. Hard to keep from laughing as he told immigrations that he was a geography teacher and that all of his equipment was to take pictures for class. That almost got us detained, and I started to regret hitching on to these guys, but ultimately we went through without problems. As for the cab ride, it was smooth, and I'm glad I had company because I later heard stories about people being robbed and left stranded going from the airport into town.
The casa particularis I stayed at (translate bed and breakfast), was located in Habana Centro, mostly neighborhoods, not touristy. Antero and Gisela Pouza were my gracious hosts, and they did nothing but make me feel like family. Honestly, I think my being part Persian helped--Antero, having worked with Castro as a civil engineer after the revolution, felt a sense of solidarity with other countries under embargos (can we think of one?). Despite being seventy-five, he was also still a ladies man, and that didn't hurt either. I think he thought I was better looking than the British gentleman Terry who was also renting a room. Gisela spoke some English, as did her niece, and I did my best to practice Spanish. Interesting to discuss Cuban and Iranian history in Spanglish...;)
My first day in Havana was beautiful. Yover, a young man introduced to me by a contact in the states, was so kind as to show me around and help my find a bank to exchange currency. We had a beer at the famous Hotel National, saw Havana's Chinatown, and I had the opportunity to meet his family. His mother, girlfriend, sister, two niece's, and nephew, all lived in what looked like a two room apartment (I didn't get the full tour). It did not look like they had much in the way of means, but they were friendly, smiling... I asked Yover what the people thought of their current situation, and he commented on the change in the economy after the fall of the Soviet Union. I asked how people liked Castro, either one, and he said they love him, that most Cubans were "Fidelistas". I didn't find one Cuban who would say anything negative...I doubt you would find a family in the U.S. that lived in apparent poverty that wouldn't complain about the government. In Cuba, as you can imagine, the unemployment rate is high, and wages are low, but education, child care, health care are free. Some basic needs are met. Still, Havana is one of the dirtiest cities I've been to. It almost seems that since the 1960's, no care has been taken to maintain the city, at least some of the parts I visited. Likely a reflection of the country's economic status, and perhaps due to the revolution's pro farmer/countryside theme. Havana and the lures of the big city reflected the ideals the revolution was trying to squelch. All kinds of political and philosophical debate possibilities, here, but the long and short of it is that there seems to be a lot of poverty, and not a lot of opportunity for people to climb out of it.
Okay, I said only one post on Cuba, I lied. Too much to share. More later!
Do you think they were afraid to say anything against Fidel? Or were they being genuine? Or do you think that shows how people adjust and adapt to any circumstance over time, and find a way to be happy and content when they either see no way out, or it is not their life path to be blaze the road for others?
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