North America

What can I say about Cuba? 

In the late ‘70s I lived on the boundary of Paddington in Sydney and walked to and from work in the city.  Between my home and work there was an area of terrace housing in Darlinghurst that had been resumed by the State for the construction of a road tunnel and traffic interchanges.  Squatters had moved into some of the ‘DMR affected’ houses.  Most of these were young people, students, rock bands and radically unemployed alternative culture advocates; hippies. 

Those houses in this socially vibrant area that were not condemned by the road building were rented to people who were happy with these neighbours: artists; writers; musicians; even some younger professionals; and a number were brothels.  

Graffiti was a local art form.  ‘Disarm Rapists’ competed with ‘Lesbianism Sucks’.  A finely finished sandstone wall bore the inscription in copperplate style: ‘Eradicate Gratuitous Vandalism’.  The 'red light' area was frequented, in addition to the girls, by incognito men and 'flashers'.  A sign high on the local church warned these sinners ‘Jesus is Coming’.  Below it someone had written ‘button up your raincoats’.  

This experience unwittingly prepared me for Cuba.

In 1959 Fidel Castro overthrew Fulgencio Batista the corrupt dictator of Cuba and installed a strict Marxist-Leninist political and economic system.  While not as radical as that of Pol Pot in Cambodia the immediate impact was the eradication of private property and the peasantry was invited to move into the homes and hotels of the rich. Thus the cities became giant squats.

Many of those original squatters are now very elderly or dead but their children and grandchildren live in what has become a family tradition.

Back in Australia, the Darlinghurst squatters mostly grew-up and moved on.  Some to fame as artists; musicians or writers; some overdosed and some contracted AIDS.  Most got regular jobs and moved to better homes; their children in turn enjoying a personal bedroom, modern kitchens and bathrooms; many are now travelling the world. 

But Cuban children came to think of temporary wires as electricity services; hose pipes as plumbing; and a packing case as a table or chair.  It sort of works but it is essentially squalid.  Now the older buildings themselves are falling down and no one seems to be prepared to make major repairs or renovations to property they do not own. 

Where ownership or at least a long term lease has been allowed there are wonderful exceptions.  Tourist hotels are an example.  The restored up-market hotels are world-class, some brilliantly renovated.   There are also a few excellent restaurants. 

The dining room at the Telegraph Hotel

But these exceptions stand out against a background of very sub-standard accommodation and food.  Cuba is not a place to back-pack or ‘do it on the cheap’; unless you like living in a squat and eating beans from a can. 

Meeting people

There is a travel myth, or fond desire, that going as a backpacker gets you closer to the people. 

As in most of the developing world in Cuba there is no way of pretending that tall, fair-skinned, bag-carrying tourists with phones, watches and cameras are locals. 

Engaging a fellow traveller; diner; hotel guest; official guide or shop keeper in conversation often yields fruitful insights but approaching a true local for information will most often result in polite, or sometimes impolite, incomprehension.  Of course it may be my non-existent Spanish.

Across the developing world when spontaneously approached by a local it is virtually certain that the person earns their income ‘helping’ tourists.  Your task is to guess at the degree of dishonesty involved.  A simple beggar is probably the most honest.  This is followed by those offering to sell a souvenir or an obvious service like accommodation; transport or sex.  But at the other end of the spectrum a less specific desire to learn English; to assist with organising travel; or to show one around is generally an invitation to be seriously ‘ripped off’; or worse.

There is a substantial sex trade in Cuba.  When alone in the streets, without Wendy, I was called to often and approached several times by, sometimes very beautiful, girls;  on one occasion by two who attached themselves to my arms suggesting we had a good time; tempting – but no.  There is also a significant gay community with open displays of same sex affection; tourists obviously involved.

According to the Lonely Planet guide the girls are more interested in a relationship than simple prostitution.  They are said to see a relationship with an apparently wealthy foreigner as a way to a new life abroad.

Cubans certainly come in all shapes and sizes.  While Cuba has some stunningly beautiful people and a widely diverse ethnicity there are very few locals who look like Wendy or me.  When a Spanish colony Cuba was at the centre of the slave trade and many Cubans are of African origin; others are native to the Americas and some are of Spanish origin. 

I was intrigued that although around a quarter of the population is Afro-Cuban, almost everyone providing services to tourists, or in apparent positions of authority, is not.  This apparent racial inequality seems strange in a Marxist-Leninist utopia; particularly after travelling through the US where the airport, customs and immigration authorities and most shops have workers of mixed ethnicities; often with a black person in charge. Maybe there are some hangovers still from the bad old days.

One afternoon I was sitting in the bar area of one of the better hotels; enjoying a Mojito, the local long cocktail, and waiting for Wendy; when a uniquely Cuban vignette formed in the street beyond; framed as it was by the hotel colonnade and its  potted plants.  

On the wide footpath two huge Afro-Cuban women erupted into a ‘push and shove’ dispute that brought Sumo wrestling to mind; giant breasts bouncing into the open and bums a-wobble. Simultaneously a beautifully dressed girl who resembled a younger Naomi Campbell cautiously made her way around them; crossing the scene in the foreground.  In the background, huge American cars from the late 1950’s passed, offering tourists a ride or just ‘cruised the block’ – straight out of ‘American Graffiti’.

The Cars

The cars have become a Cuban icon.  Unlike the buildings they are owned and cared for.  Virtually none blow smoke and many have obvious new features; like disk brakes and mag-wheels. 

The upholstery has generally been replaced at least once and I suspect that many of the engines may also have been updated. Some have bodywork that is the worse for wear while others have immaculate paintwork; but none that I saw was in ‘original condition’.  The owners are often Afro-Cuban and run a private enterprise cab service in competition with the government cabs. 

The Government cabs are run a bit like a bus service with government drivers.  They are mainly Škodas but are not either new or in good condition.  I got the impression that the last purchase probably dated from the collapse of communism in the Czech Republic. There is a scale of fares based on distance and no meters.  $3 to $5 is typical around Havana; $20 out to the airport.  Tipping is not required.

There is also a system of Tourist buses.  These are very good air-conditioned Chinese built coaches but as is generally the case in Cuba not everything is working on them. 

Again the staff are State employees; although they seem to be running a number of small commercial businesses ‘on the side’. These include roadside trading in meat and other rural products, presumably for restaurants or shops in town, as well as the transportation of ‘off the book’ passengers.

We made one long bus journey across and down the island to Trinidad where we stayed the night in a traditional house that has been converted to provide several large bedrooms; with en-suite bathrooms. The landlady-proprietor was enthusiastic but disappointed that we were not staying longer and wanted to eat out.  She turned the electricity in the rooms off during the day.  Ours contained a fridge used as a table that remained unplugged throughout our stay.

Tinidad

It was very hot and when we finally turned on the ancient air-conditioner to cool the room down at night it didn’t work. There was exposed electrical wiring in the bathroom including an outlet in the shower!  But in Cuba ‘do it yourself’ is a way of life.  On the plus side we saw some for the countryside; passed through several other towns and had the best restaurant meal in Cuba at a charming converted house in Trinidad.

The best of all possible worlds

Cuba has free medical services and education and strong cultural traditions including: old cars; music; dance; and painting.  No one was obviously undernourished and crime rates are said to be very low; although most houses have barred windows or shutters and the hotels have night and day security.  Unlike Mexico there is not an obvious or overwhelming police presence in the streets.

There is a general air of happiness amongst the people with many smiling faces and it is apparent that many, like Candide, do indeed believe that they live in the best of all possible worlds. 

 Life's a party

We were there during May Day.  We did not go to the parade but watched it for a while on TV.  Millions marched.  It was quite amazing; a mile long procession at hundreds of people wide; representing collectives from across the country. They were harangued with speeches against capitalism and in favour of the great socialist experiment that is Cuba.

May Day

The amazing thing is that most of the TV stations receivable originate in the US, just 90 miles to the south; so you would think that the difference in material standard of living would be palpable.

A bit more history

For a period after the Spanish American war in 1898 Cuba was a US territory; becoming independent in 1902. But US interests continued to meddle in Cuban affairs culminating in the US based mobs led by Meyer Lansky turning Cuba into a Caribbean Las Vegas in the 50’s further corrupting the already corrupt Batista government. 

Fidel Castro and the revolutionary hero Che Guevara, now seen everywhere in Cuba, together with a band of less well known supporters, invaded and with local support overthrew the regime.  But many upper class Cubans and regime supporters fled to Florida from whence they attempted a counter revolution with the not so secret support of the Kennedy Administration.  This culminated in an attempted invasion at the Bay of Pigs in 1961 that failed disastrously for Kennedy and the US. 

 
The war memorial

Also in 1961 the US deployed Jupiter medium range nuclear ballistic missiles in Italy and Turkey . The Russians responded by deploying similar missiles to Cuba. But Kennedy threatened nuclear war if they were not removed. Both sides then removed their missiles.

Documents now released also confirm that the CIA conspired with the Chicago Mafia to assassinate Castro on at least two occasions in the early 60’s. Kennedy’s own assassination has sometimes been linked to these events.

Since that time the US had maintained a trade and travel embargo against Cuba.  The marginal nature of the Florida electorate combined with strong local influence of the Cuban exiles makes this difficult to reverse, in spite of US efforts to normalise relations with other communist countries like Vietnam, China and even North Korea.

 
After the Bay of Pigs - 'The Cuban Missile Crisis'

As a result in Cuba the US is still seen as the evil empire.  Unlike almost everywhere in the world American tourists are few and far between and most of those with North American accents are Canadians.  Canada has a relatively good relationship with Cuba. 

No doubt as time goes by there will be a thawing in this relationship. US dollars and tourists will flood in and this uniquely Cuban Cuba will be gone to be replaced by an extended Florida; hopefully without gambling or a successor to Meyer Lansky.

Money

As China once had, dual currencies circulate in Cuba.  The locals use 'moneda nacional', the national peso, for domestically produced goods and services.  In addition there is a convertible peso often referred to as a dollar and written with the $ symbol used by tourists and by Cubans for purchasing imported goods. At present it is roughly equal to an Australian dollar.  National pesos are roughly 25 times less valuable. In effect this dual currency with different shops makes purchasing basics, like fruit and vegetables difficult for tourists. Just buying a bottle of water can be difficult but alcohol is easily available at around the same price; a bottle of rum for $3-4.

A Mojito is very inexpensive

The dual currency opens the way to a street scam in which tourists are charged in convertible pesos at food stalls; where the published price is in National pesos. We quickly learnt not to eat at them as an argument will inevitably ensue and/or you will end up paying a huge premium for inferior food.

Europeans provide most of the tourism hard currency and the Euro is the most easily convertible currency – don’t take US or Australian dollars.  There are no ATMs and credit cards are hard to use; but you can pre-pay for the better hotels and airfares on-line.

Australian tourists are everywhere and Cubans most often correctly identified us as Australians, maybe it was the hat; although we were also taken for Germans.  One hotel we stayed in was specifically for Jewish tourists; with a kosher breakfast.  Fellow guests seemed to be mainly French or German.

Culture

I have already mentioned music and dance and most restaurants and bars have small groups entertaining who subsequently move around the patrons seeking payment.  Some of these are very good but once or twice I refused to pay on the grounds that we had had to move to a different table to get away from the racket and hear ourselves think.  Similarly, two restaurants we went to at night featured flamenco dancing.

There are lots of artists in Havana.  The art varies between paintings mass produced for the tourists, in ‘Pro Hart’ fashion, to genuine original works; some of a high quality.  The former are on cheap roughly primed canvas, not Masonite a la Pro, and can be purchased according to size; for around $10 a square foot.  These are described as ‘original oils’, in that each is hand made and the brush strokes differ, but roughly the same painting is produced numerous times and in different sizes.  Subjects vary from cars to nudes; still life to landscape; religious icons and copies of other painters work; particularly Fernando Botero.

A Botero - this one in the fine arts museum in Mexico City

There is a huge market at the harbour-side displaying these paintings; in addition to many galleries and street art locations. 

In the second category I went into a couple of studios and discussed their work with artists I saw painting in styles from neo-cubism to abstract expressionism.  Art it seems is a kind of small scale manufacture replacing the industry that once took place in abandoned factories across the country.

One final adventure

Inevitably we had a number of adventures catching busses and getting about generally, including a delayed flight that threw our schedule and pre-booked hotels into temporary chaos, but the best was the cab that failed to appear at three in the morning to get us to the airport when leaving.  As time ticked by the hotel staff roamed the streets looking for a replacement.  It’s a long drive and everyone appreciated the urgency. 

We made the flight.  Phew!

And so we left Cuba; a unique place caught in a strange time warp; at least for the present.

There is a classic Graham Greene story, Our Man in Havana, set in Cuba in the late 1950's, that seems to foreshadow the Cuban missile crisis. Set in the Batista era, well before the missile crisis (of 1962), the novel is inadvertently prescient as Jim Wormold, a hapless British vacuum cleaner salesman and accidental spy, uses vacuum cleaner parts to support completely fake intelligence reports suggesting secret rocket installations in Cuba.

The book, published in 1958, is hilarious and was an instant success. It was quickly adapted into a movie, staring the cream of British acting. But perhaps the most interesting aspect is that it depicts a corrupt Havana prior to the revolution.

As YouTube has the movie in full I've appended it here so you can see it in part or in full:

More Photos of Cuba 

click on the photo above