CUBA – 2016
CHANGE IS IN THE AIR
A pictorial commentary by Richard N.
Williams
INTRODUCTION
In late January, 2016, my
wife Judy and I joined an “Educational Exchange” put together by an association
of which I was a 40 year member, the International Municipal Lawyers
Association (“IMLA”). The International Committee of IMLA planned the trip
which was coordinated and operated by Cuba Cultural Travel (“CCT”). There were sixteen lawyers and eleven spouses
along with our guides, Oscar, a dual citizen living in Miami and Lazaro, a bright
Cuban who recognized that tourism pays better than the practices of medicine or
law.
Our substantive meetings
were a success, including the journey through 500 years of music history with
Professor Alberto Fayo and his son's group of talented Cuban musicians, our
several meetings with Professor Rafael Hernandez and architect Pedro Vasquez,
the lunch meeting with Canadian attorney Gregory Binowski who shared his unique
perspective based on living in Cuba for over two decades, and the afternoon
lecture by Reuters journalist Marc Frank.
We learned about Cuba in
this transitional period, enjoyed interactions with Cubans working in several
different cooperatives, a walk down Obisbo Street as we saw Havana in a
microcosm, the beautiful choreography of the Habana Compas Dance Company,
and the moving performance by the Orchestra Sinfonica Juvenil.
The hotel accommodations
at the Parque Central were outstanding, as were the delicious meals at a number
of Cuban restaurants and paladares, including El Aljibe, La Terraza, Paladar
Los Merdaderes, Rio Mar, La Guarida, Paladar San Cristobal, and Atelier.
My background was similar
to most Americans my age—general awareness but not a clear understanding of what
the Revolution brought about. As a high
school junior in 1958/59, I had a history teacher who was a Naval Reserve
Lieutenant but had done active duty at Guantanamo in 1955 and1956. He would
give us a daily report of Che and Fidel’s movements in the mountains and
battles to overthrow a U.S. friendly but corrupt Batista regime supported by
the U.S. and a strong Miami mob influence.
I have worked with several Cuban immigrants
that made it to the U.S. losing all property and business. Professionals I met
from Cuba were without licenses to practice law, medicine and other
professions. The resultant lack of investment and incentive was sad then and
sad now as we observed a devastating economy where the average wage today is
$20 a month with physicians topping out at $120 a month. The U.S. embargo on
trade was implemented in 1959 and remains today but change is coming and coming
soon.
I recall the failed Bay of
Pigs invasion planned by Eisenhower’s CIA and carried out by JFK but what
really affected myself, other college students and everyone in general was the
1962 Cuban missile crisis. Upon a U2 spy plane discovery of Russian missiles in
Cuba, President Kennedy placed quarantine on Cuba by surrounding the island
with naval ships to cut off Russian supplies and weapons and all other
trade. Our transistor radios at the dorm
were talking of imminent missiles coming our way and guys our age being
immediately drafted into the armed forces. Didn’t hit the books for a few days!
The trip also brought back
to mind stories from my Grandmother whose father, Col. A. B. Coit commanded a
regiment in the Spanish American War.
The purpose of that war was to emancipate Cuba from Spanish rule.
After the sinking of the
U.S. battleship “Maine” in Havana harbor, war was declared by Congress upon the
request of President McKinley (who Coit had served as head of the National
Guard when McKinley was Ohio Governor) in April of 1898. Col. Coit led the 4th Division of
49 officers and 1319 enlisted men onto the shores of Cuba at Santiago in the
south portion of the island (along side the New York 71st Division,
the “Rough Riders” led by Teddy
Roosevelt) We still have the sword and
mementos from this event. Wars were more
efficient then—Spain signed a peace treaty in October of 1898. Interestingly,
that Treaty ceded Guam and Puerto Rico to the U.S. which remain territories
today but a divided Congress voted to grant independence to Cuba based upon
earlier promises. How different history
would be if the U.S. kept Cuba as a territory.
This commentary may contain
opinions gained from listening to the experts and the people we
met—but—consider the source -- a person
with no academic credentials, a person who took no notes, a person with severe
hearing loss -- just another guy’s opinion.
Last stop on the way to the airport was
“Plaza de la Revolucion” and my hearing loss nearly set Cuban-American relations
back 10 years. What part of “pare” (halt) did I not understand?
TOUR LOGISTICS AND LEGAL REQUIREMENTS
The Cuban trade embargo is still in effect and can
only be ended by Congress. Nonetheless,
travel restrictions have been eased—but with lots of requirements. In 2011, limited travel restrictions were
revised to permit some religious and educational purposes. In 2015, Cuba was removed from the “State
Sponsor of Terrorism” list further easing certain limitations and 12 categories
of travel were permitted. Those categories included “professional research and
professional meetings”. To date, general
travel is not permitted for U.S. residents.
IMLA and the travel company, CCT, set up an agenda
that kept us busy in professional meetings and research. We travelers had to submit a lot of paperwork
in order to qualify for a visa which the travel company facilitated.
No U.S. carriers are permitted to fly to Cuba BUT charter
airlines may apply to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency for a
certificate to fly. Later this year,
U.S. air carriers will be permitted to apply as well under a recent
agreement. The charter companies lease
American Airline and Jet Blue planes and crew to operate these flights.
Also, no U.S. travel companies may operate in Cuba BUT
they may contract with Cuban companies for tours. In our case, CCT contracted with a Cuban
company who handled our tour from Miami to Havana and never left us until we
passed the final checkpoint at Jose Marti Airport in Havana, a facility best
described as akin to an aging warehouse in Detroit.
The Cuban company cannot own a tour coach but must
contract with the government for a bus.
There are hundreds of Transtur buses transporting travelers in
Cuba. They are manufactured in China by
Yutong and are equal to any other manufactured tour coach.
Also noted, there are no rental car companies as we
know them but Transtur, the Cuban government, provides rental cars at the
airport.
One other factoid we were advised of was that the U.S.
banks are still barred from processing credit cards so a healthy amount of cash
was required to be carried on a visit to Cuba.
With this background, here is how the trip went down.
The group of 37 from all over the U.S. met on a Sunday
evening at the Miami Crowne Plaza by the airport for cocktails and dinner. The next morning, Oscar, a Miami resident and
dual citizen of the U.S. and Cuba met us with all of our travel papers and we
were off to check in for our charter flight on an American Air 737 operated by
ABC Charters.
A ninety mile trip but 60 years back in time.
Upon landing, we went down the roll up steps from the
plane and took a long walk past other parked international planes to the
airport. The usual customs check and
luggage delay but noted that most all customs agents and later, “TSA” agents,
were bright young people. Oscar
introduced us to our primary guide, Lazaro, and our driver and the three of
them remained with us for the week.
Lazaro
Oscar
Our return was a little difficult as the Charter had
limited staff to check passports and issue boarding passes—very long line—“TSA’
was slow—a very long line—passport control had limited stations—a very long
line. Then, there were no boarding announcements in the dilapidated warehouse
they call an airport and no proper lines—and no time for duty free shopping for
Judy—I snagged some rum ion the run We
only found our exit to the tarmac to board by seeing others in our party that
had found their way.
ECONOMICS-POLITICS
Economics and Politics are so intertwined; they cannot
be separated when talking about Cuba.
The economy was going well (at least for the U.S.) in
Cuba in the 1950’s as 90% of sugar and tobacco exports went to the U.S. American capital supported natural resource
export, electric power production and 80% of the farmland. Cuba’s economy was
as rich as Italy and richer, per capita, than Japan.
On the other hand, although urban homes had water and
electricity, only 10% of rural homes did. Half of the rural population was illiterate.
Thus, the seeds of revolution.
My short summary of the economic and political affect
of the Revolution—the wealthy left town, the middle class were thrown in to
poverty and the poor remained poor.
Professor Rafael Hernandez
Our introduction to the economic effects of the 1959
revolution and the ongoing transition from the Castros’ power was addressed by
Professor Rafael Hernandez, a lawyer and author and also the publisher of
TERNAS, a Cuban quarterly the most intellectual publication in Cuba, In listening to him, I kept watching the door
as the things he stated would not have been permitted before the governmental
changes since Fidel Castro has stepped away.
Professor Hernandez has been a visiting professor at
Harvard, Columbia and many universities in the U.S. and was well equipped to
understand our perceptions and the questions we would have.
We had a spirited morning in reviewing the “13
accepted truths of Cuba and the Cubans”.
Those slides are below.
Most shocking was that the average wage was in Cuba
was $20 a month (the U.S. dollar was not legally permitted from 1959 to 1994.
After 1964, a dollar economy outstripped the Cuban peso so the government removed
the dollar from circulation and replaced it with Cuban dollar –CUC—and charges
a 10% conversion tax) and even a doctor was capped at $120 a month. It came apparent to we high tipping Americans
why the tourist industry employees, guides, drivers, wait staff are the
brightest and the best.
The discussion then
addressed the future and what could be expected after the Raul Castro
presidency ends and U.S. relations improve. The slides below reference the
seven key problems for Cuba.
Professor Hernandez spoke
about the new economic reforms brought about by Raul in 2011 (and told some
stories of his interactions with the brothers at meetings and receptions). Those
reforms were introduced to permit citizens to create private opportunities for
entrepreneurship. 181 government only
jobs were released such as taxi driver, construction worker, shopkeeper, barber
and the like.
Most remarkable was the
change in restaurants which were all government operated except for “paladars”
(limited to 12 seats, no beef or lobster, and only family members could be
employed). In 2011, paladars were allowed 50 seats and the family and menu
selections were lifted. Of our groups
ten lunches and dinners, nine were at the privately owned paladares.
These 2011 reforms
increased the co-op model, two of which will be discussed under Agriculture
below. Professor Hernandez’ finished his
morning lecture with the 2016 and beyond view of Cuba’s political agenda below.
He later led us on a tour
of Havana shopping areas but with an assignment to identify stores as pubic (government
owned) or private. That will follow under “Shopping”.
Co-ops
In heading out to a
community in western Havana to visit an agricultural co-op, we visited with an
entrepreneur who had built a “Cuban car wash” alongside his home. Zoning appears not to be an issue in Cuba.
His property had a hillside so he dug that out and built a bay with tracks
above it to place a vehicle on an open platform and to reclaim the water as well.
A picture below is a better descriptor.
On another day, we
travelled 40 miles south of Havana to the village of San Jose in Mayabeque
Province (pop. 73,000), a community where transportation is by pedicycle, horse
cart and horse for the most part—along dirt and muddy roads.
An entrepreneur had
started a bus company to compete with the government buses. The government charges the equivalent of 10
cents for a packed ride to Havana. He received a loan from the government for 25
buses (see picture—standup in the back deal) and hired 11 employees to compete
at 5 cents a packed ride (U.S. air industry - please take note of stand up
option for air travel).
He has to buy fuel, pay
employees and repair the buses. Cash flow does not support this so he does not
repair buses and is down to 14 running and cannot meet payroll.
Lazaro and the Professor
interpret this sad story in English as some of the employees helped answer
questions. One of our outspoken filter
free members said “How the hell can you compete with real buses. Anyone can see
you don’t have a chance”. The reaction
made it apparent some of the employees did understood English.
I observed that there could be a market for this
business. We had commented to our guides
about the numerous groups of people with their hands raised along the highway
near towns. Lazaro advised that after the Revolution, all state owned cars were
required to pick up any person along the road who hailed them since there was
no transportation network. Although that
is no longer the law, the tradition continues and huge groups of people are
still hailing rides and many people with cars do pick them up. It helped us understand the business model of
the bus entrepreneur to undercut the ten cent government bus to pick up folks
needing to go to Havana for work or whatever.
In the same community, we
toured a successful recycling operation.
The entrepreneur related
how she started by finding buyers for recycling materials and did this with her
family. She has expanded to a large facility and employs older citizens in the
community and continues to add employees and is very successful.
With the beer can cleaning
guy
Marc Frank, Reuters
On another day, we had the
pleasure of spending part of an afternoon with U.S. journalist, Marc Frank. He
has been the Reuters reporter from Havana for over 20 year. He also writes for
“The Economist” and the “Financial Times” and reports for ABC News. He has a reporter’s view of U.S. Cuban relations
and demonstrated the issues by comparing his water bottle (U.S.) to the bottle
cap (Cuba). He spoke of his current book,
“Cuban Revelations”.
He commented about the
importance of the Pope’s recent visit, the opening of the U.S. Embassy, the new
export agreement that occurred that day as well as future economic changes that
he sees coming.
His location was a good
fit as his wife is Cuban but “that comes with a lot of family” he said. As with most experienced political
journalists, cynicism was the order of the day.
Mark
Frank
Greg Binowski
Another “interesting”
speaker was Greg Binowski. Greg is the
only North American attorney “on the ground” in Cuba. He has been a resident for 23 years and he
said it took the first 10 to gain any trust with the government and their files
on him are thicker than his own.
As part of an
international law firm of over 1000, he is the entrée to many North American
companies wanting to have a presence in Cuba when the Embargo is lifted. Greg is a Canadian from north of Vancouver
and a self described “ultra liberal” although his hour long talk would suggest
left of that descriptor.
Nonetheless, Greg was an
engaging speaker addressing the hopes of Cubans. He directed staff while speaking by the bar
at Nazdarovie, a favorite restaurant of Cuban diplomats. His Cuban wife is of Russian descent and he
operates this Russian restaurant on the Malecon (a main highway along the ocean
with great views). He spoke about the
evolving political landscape and the fast changing business and investment
environment.
Ambassador Carlos
Alzuagaray
More insight on economic
and political issues in Cuba was gained from Ambassador Carlos Alzuagaray. He
was the Cuban Ambassador to the European Union. He is an adjunct professor at
American University and the University of Havana. He has lectured in forty countries, published
over 100 articles and served on numerous UN missions.
Opening slide
His experience and
knowledge was evident as he was at ease with any question and worked off of the
slide below, “Looking at the Positive” to discuss U.S. and Cuban economic and political
issues. He recognized that the hard line
Cuban opposition of expatriates in Miami is dying off and that change will
occur soon. He is confident that the
President will visit prior to the end of his term. With a post election
Congress, the chances of the Embargo being lifted are improved.
Ambassador Carlos Alzuagaray
A final note on the economy. Our guides shared many examples of the
flourishing underground economy. An example was television communication. There are only two channels offered to
Cubans, both government controlled (and no internet except a few hotspots
heavily controlled and intended for Skyping with family, thus very little
outside world information is disseminated.
Lazaro said that in most neighborhoods, someone has a Direct TV dish
heavily disguised and used to record various TV shows, “House of Cards” and
“NBA” were mentioned by Lazaro and separately, the Ambassador, as very
popular. The shows are downloaded and
then sold to neighbors. Lazaro said that most Cubans except the very poor are
informed in this manner.
AGRICULTURE
Our
intrepid group of municipal lawyers headed out to the country. We visited the
“Mayabeque Experiment—A Municipal Decentralization Pilot Project”. Located on a university campus, the
Instituto de Clencias Agricolas (“ICA”) this agricultural project that has been
ongoing for four years has had a positive impact on the community. Dr. Nicolas Medina met us at the gated entrance
and we bussed in to a meeting room at the Institute.
Dr, Medina
The group awaiting the presentation
Dr. Medina and a number of associates
explained how the area’s economy is based on agriculture and livestock. They introduced crop rotation to improve
yields and a co-op model to make economies of cost for marketing. Each Cuban farmer who owned land was
permitted to keep 65 hectares (2.6 acres) when the government took title to all
land in 1959. This project encouraged the farmers to work together to improve
the Province’s access to fruits and vegetables and to increase their own
income. This project is not unique, cooperative forms of production had been
widespread in the agricultural sector where farmers pool their land, livestock,
equipment and resources and split up the profits Nearly 500 non-agricultural
cooperatives have now been licensed employing 10,000 people.
The slide below indicates the success
of crop rotation, fertilizers and economies of scale.
On
another day, we went to a community just west of Havana where a family has
organized the community to reclaim unused land and to plant crops and create a
community market to help them both themselves and the community.
They
were able to compost sugar cane waste by getting the sugar cane from those
farmers who had no use for it and transporting to their fields.
The
family explained how they converted these fields and is able to support
themselves with hard work.
ARCHITECTURE
Havana is striking at first, due to the many shells of
building and so many structures in decay.
The takeover of all land by the government in 1959 left no one to care
for the buildings and no investment opportunity over the years to rehabilitate
them.
Construction cranes are now seen as renovation
projects are growing for rehabilitation each year although U.S. investment will
be a few years away. Noted is the lack
of any retail or business structures of a franchise nature, even European. Cuba
is the only country in Latin and North America without a McDonalds as an
example.
One noticeable rehabilitation project is the Cuban
capitol building a block from our hotel.
A double take to be sure it is Cuba and not the U.S. capitol which is
undergoing similar rehabilitation
We took a few pictures from the Mojito Bar on our
hotel rooftop which gives the feel of the city on the road to improvement.
The Plaza de Armas is a plaza that was the center of
influence in Havana and now is a gathering place with restaurants, a school and
an inviting area for families.
We viewed many old churches and historical buildings
but as in Italy, Argentina or wherever, my eyes glaze over. I am sure they are
on Google.
They are part of “Old Havana”, and include the Plaza
de Francisco, the baroque Iglesia and Convento de San Francisco dating from
1719 as well as Plaza de Aromas and Plaza de Catedral.
We
did spend part of an afternoon with architect Pedro Vasquez.
He
pointed out Havana’s contribution to 20th century architecture and
highlighted diverse examples of design in a number of neighborhoods.
Pedro Vasquez
A
fun stop to this old 1960’s Vegas visitor, Meyer Lansky’s Riviera, a casino
hotel and nightclub from the 1950’s was a treat. Much of it has been preserved. Only two floors of the resort have been
rehabbed and are being used for a hotel but they preserved the Copa Room, the
casino (closed off due to storage) and the pool. The Riviera is on Malecon
Highway and can be seen from many areas of the city.
We
continued on with Pedro to the whimsical fishing village of Jaimanitas, home of
artist Jose Fuster who has decorated not only his home/workshop but the
neighborhood. He works in small tile murals and has covered 80 houses in the
neighborhood with colorful murals and domes.
It was a fun visit but we did not buy any tiles as our HOA would not be
pleased.
We dropped Pedro off by his neighborhood after a long
afternoon of sightseeing.
The next pictures are from the Revolutionary Square
and include the Department of Defense, Department of Communications and an
administrative building.
THE ARTS
Latin
music is prevalent in nearly every restaurant and gathering area. The rhythms
are always around as you walk Havana streets, The night of our arrival, a
special introduction to Cuban music was arranged, We walked a block from the hotel to a small
bistro and showroom, Bar Asturias, to listen to the music of Professor Alberto
Faya. He has played and researched Cuban music for 45 years and has travelled
the world bringing Cuban music to many.
He took us through the mix of Spanish, African and other influences to
Cuban music over the past century. His group had all resided and performed in
New Orleans and New York and included
his son on guitar.
The
next day when we toured the streets of “Old Havana” (the city-center and one of
the 15 municipalities forming Havana -- It contains the core of the original
city of Havana) which is a UNESCO Heritage Site. We visited Escuala de Teller, a teaching
facility dedicated to the reconstruction of Havana Vieja (Spanish for Old
Havana). The intent was to preserve the
authenticity of important buildings by teaching builders, woodworkers, metal
workers the skills needed to restore and preserve the city.
The teaching facility and a work area
On another morning, we visited the Habana Comas Dance
Company at their rehearsal hall in a poor section of Havana. They are a unique dance company that fuses
Spanish choreography with Afro-Cuban rhythms using percussion. They all easily move from various types of
drums to dance and back. They are booked
around the world from time to time and are coming to our Tampa Bay area in
April.
Our
last night in Havana took us to an old orchestral hall. We ventured up dark
stairs and were led to an outstanding smaller acoustically designed room at the
facility. The unforgettable private
performance of the Orchestra Sinfonica Juvenil was excellent. The selections of international classics as
well as several exciting Cuban compositions were outstanding. The string performance by Sinfonica is one
that has won awards in Salzburg and elsewhere in the world. We estimated the ages as college age but they
were all extremely talented.
On the morning of our last day in Cuba, we visited the
Museum of Cuban Art, a modern facility equal to any New York gallery. We were led by art historian Sara
Alonso. I was struck by the dark colors
of the 60’s contrasting with the brighter colors of this century indicating
that the arts community is optimistic of the future of Cuba.
HOTEL-RESTAURANTS
When asked by friends to describe our hotel, the Hotel
Parque Central, I described it as an atrium style Hyatt Regency. It is operated by a Spanish hotel company,
Iberostar, with 100 hotels in 16 countries.
All personnel spoke good English. There was an around the clock cash
exchange person near the front desk, courteous doormen, uniformed maids, a large
lobby with circulating cigar guy, 50 foot bar, music entertainment every night
by the bar, lobby food service, meeting rooms, large well appointed guest rooms,
great location—enough said!
Music
in the atrium Lobby
Each
morning, we had breakfast at the hotel buffet.
A very large room with entry near the elevator seated at least 200. The buffet was equal to or greater than a
cruise ship breakfast with way too many pastry selections. We arrived early each morning and sat by a
window along a main street and watched the city come alive with ever so many
1956 Chevys. Uniformed chefs and wait
staff assured that coffee cups were full and plates removed.
LUNCHES AND DINNERS
Let’s see, five lunches and five dinners provided by
the tour equals ten welcome Mojitos—nice tradition!
Our first lunch was on our way to the hotel from the
airport. We toured an upscale
neighborhood, Miramar. Our restaurant, El Aljibe, was a block from the Canadian
Embassy and was the only public (government) restaurant we visited. After a long wait for lines in Miami and
Havana—and a short flight—we were hungry and the service and pleasant
surroundings did not disappoint. A Latin
rhythm group was playing in the open restaurant with a slight breeze and a
beautiful day inspired us to buy their CD. Our first embrace with “Guantanamera”.
A
happy diner at El Aljibe Son por Cuatro
That night, after Professor Alberto Faya’s Cuban musical
history performance, we went up an elevator to La Terraza, a delightful palador
for more good food with a terrace overlooking the busy street. As we were learning, a Mojito, one “free”
drink, appetizers, choices of lobster, beef and chicken and a rich dessert is
the deal struck but we were free to upgrade any thing we wished,
La Terraza
On
Tuesday, we did our walking of the retail streets and the old historical
churches and government buildings. On a
back street, four flights up (we were learning this is de rigueur), a welcoming
Latin band greeted us to open palador, Palador Los Mercaderes, for lunch. This was an impeccable mansion converted to a
restaurant
Tuesday
night was a bus trip to the other side of town to Rio Mar, a delightful palador
in a quiet neighborhood along side a river.
We could look out at the Riviera Casino Hotel and see homes stretching
for miles along the river. Drinks, appetizers and entrée choices were served in
a lovely terrace setting. At one point,
all those homes disappeared on a clear night as the electric went out. Our guides said not to worry, the lights used
to fail daily -- sometimes for days, “but its better now”. The lights did come back after a while. It was nice to have a nice quiet setting for
a change. As usual, the staff was
outstanding.
Rio Mar
Wednesday brought lunch at the “Must Go” palador in
Havana, La Guarida.
Cuba’s only Oscar nominated film, “Strawberries and
Chocolate” was filmed here for all of the indoor scenes. The palador was a private home at that
time. The wall hangings are exactly as
they were in the movie. It is the most
popular restaurant in Havana and dinner reservations and next to impossible to
book.
LaGuardia is on a narrow side street, far from vehicle
or foot traffic. Four flights of marble steps are required to get to the top
and the bottom two floors are gutted for renovation.
As always, great service, great food and a strawberry
and chocolate dessert.
Wednesday
night was finally a break from all of this high level dining. The schedule
called for dinner on your own. Some of
the group had particular restaurants they had researched and wanted to go to.
Not
Judy and I. Being hard of hearing and
“impossible” of hearing in noisy
restaurants,
we opted for a choice of one of the “tourist trap” restaurants, El Floridita’s
or Sloppy Joe’s-- both Hemmingway places,
Hemmingway still sitting at
Floridita’s Sloppy Joe’s
Having been to Sloppy Joe’s in Key West many
times, we opted to see how the Havana “branch” stacked up—plus it was adjacent
to the hotel.
The
place was surprisingly inviting and not that crowded. It could fit in at any trendy
Mall outlot in the U.S. Our tour friends
from Florida were there and waved us over, soon we numbered 12! Apparently many others wanted to kick back
for one night. The $7 club sandwiches
were so huge; we gave half to some beggars on the street (no homeless in Cuba).
A few good Cuban Cristal beers and it was a fun night—although loud.
On
Friday, we had lunch at Nazdarovie,
the Russian restaurant mentioned in Economics-Politics above.
This is a “should go”
restaurant for the view, the choice of menu and perhaps a little political talk
with Greg, the owner.
The view from
Nazdarovie overlooking the Malecon highway
Thursday
night was a fun night as we were treated royally at Palador San Cristobal. The
bus could not traverse the narrow streets in the area so we were dropped off
and wandered our way several blocks in the dark on crumbling walks and streets
with the warning to stay to the side as cars do not stop. Unlike many foreign cities, Havana streets,
even these, are safe as minor crime and tourist issues are rare.
Upon
arrival we were greeted by a Latin serenade and seated in a room filled with
art nouveau. Mojitos and wine were the order of the day. Jorge, the owner chatted with all of us and
then shared his new 15 year old rum after dinner. Digars were passed out and a
Latin farewell was played by the musical group.
,
A
fun night at Palador San Cristobal
Friday
was our trip out to Mayabeque and a lecture awaited at the hotel so Oscar and
Lazaro ordered ahead to an Italian and pizza restaurant near the hotel for a
family style serving for us. We arrived and the tables were set and food
arrived, which was as good and as much as any American casual Italian place.
That
evening, our “farewell dinner” was scheduled at Atelier in the best area of
Havana. We were at the Concert Hall and surprised when our bus was not there as
we left but 10 of the finest 1950’s convertibles awaited to take us the long
way with horns blaring to Atelier. The
restaurant was crowded and although our seating was prepared, it was a nice
evening and we were moved to the outside patio where the night atmosphere made
friends and food so much better, The
decorating of the restaurant, a large converted mansion, had both modern art
and eclectic things like old typewriters, 1950’s TVs and other collectibles.
Dishes
of lobster, paella, chicken, beef and side dishes were served—a fitting finis
to Havana dining.
Luxury high rise condo across from
Atelier Atelier by day
SHOPPING
To my delight, there was little free time for
shopping. In any event, shopping choices
are very limited in Cuba—no malls, no designer items, nothing too expensive as
Cubans can afford little and tourism is just beginning to come back.
We did stop at the cigar “factory store” which was not
near the factory but the main outlet for cigar purchase for use or export. It is also stocked with Havana Club rum, the
only rum choice, the government’s own brand.
It is distilled at the former Bacardi property. The cigar factories and rum distilleries were
taken over by Castro in the Revolution and continue to provide one choice and
one price shopping. [Side note—Bacardi operations were primarily in Cuba and
the Bacardi family supported the Revolution with monetary contributions—how did
that work out for them—there is no Bacardi presence or sales in Cuba today]
We did not encounter any abundance of tour buses or
tourists anywhere but at this in-town outlet.
It was much too crowded to attempt to purchase anything. I bought Havana
Club rum at both the hotel cigar and rum store and the duty free store at the
airport for the same price.
The store’s name “Romeo y Julieta” Store employee explains cigar making to a very
Our one morning of shopping was actually a classroom
assignment. Professor Fernandez
explained that the Cuban currency, the CUC, was tied to the U.S. dollar as the
dollar had taken over the underground economy in the 1990’s so Cuba issued its
own dollar base currency. The CUC is equal
to 24 pesos of the primary Cuban currency which is still the standard for the
citizens. [Note—U.S. dollars are not accepted and there is a 10% tax in
exchanging dollars to CUCs]. He also
explained that since the 2011 reforms, private businesses can compete with the
state in 181 official categories. He
gave us pen and paper and assigned us to four groups (led by himself, his wife
and two adult children) to head out to Obispo Street, the main street of
shopping in Havana, and we were required to determine which stores and services
are private and which are public.
Professor Fernandez explaining pesos and CUCs
to Judy
At a bookstore,
the pricing was in pesos which was a hint that it was “public”-- same for a
ladies salon (first time I entered one!). We continued to restaurants, gift
shops and so on. Suffice it to say, Judy
did some shopping but was kept too busy to buy anything substantive and too
scheduled the rest of the week to return.
Ever present music at restaurant on Obispo
Street and a drugstore’s wares
The Professor and our friend, Kelly,
determining if restaurant is public --
Obispo Street
The Professor professing and Judy
and friend, Libby, listening to a pitch
We found the busiest retail street to be non
aggressive, especially compared to similar streets in Barcelona or Buenos
Aires. The restaurant had barkers but
they were not loud like Bourbon Street and took no more than one step
forward. Also, there are a few beggars
in the tourist populated areas but again, very passive. I asked about the homeless or lack thereof
and was advised by several that they are provided for and I suppose, with no
ACLU to claim an “arrest” when they are moved to a shelter, it works. The hotel shop was minimal with only rum and
cigars for sale and there were no “name” shops anywhere to be seen.
Lots of street art to be found
SIGHTS
I found a morning walk along Prado y Colon to the sea
and back to be very refreshing and informative.
One morning on the way to an event down the street, we
saw school kids parading down the Prado in celebration of Jose Marti Day. Marti
was the intellectual leader for Cuban independence from the Spanish in the
1890’s. Unfortunately, he was not a great soldier having lost his life dressed
in black on an all white horse leading the troops.
The newspaper showed President Raul Castro leading
dignitaries and others down the Prado late in the day for the official
celebration. We saw school children
daily throughout Havana and the countryside.
Before the Revolution, 80% of young people were illiterate but now education
is mandatory –so there is that.
A view of “rehabilitation” and the tools of the Prado street
sweeper
Some serious
rehabilitation where the Prado meets the Malecon Highway
School kids exercising and the corner by our hotel
Street performers and school kids
Locals shopping in San Jose, Mayabeque
Province
CARS
I had read stories about the cars of Cuba. I had seen the cars in the backdrop of news
reports from Cuba but still was not fully prepared for the time warp experience
when exiting the airport after arrival in Havana.
I took over 100 car pictures and include a few
here. The two below are representative
of the average car out on the highway.
A
Havana street and a car by a farm 40 miles out of town
Chevys were by far the most popular car along the
streets. There are, however about 50% 5 to 20 year old Kias, Toyotas, Skodas
and other foreign brands that have either been imported or purchased from the
government after being used by the governmental rental car operation. Our tour guide mentioned that when cars come
off rental (5 years or so), they are put on auction and a five year old Peugeot
he looked at was $22,000. Since salaries are so low, it is difficult for anyone
to own a car. Hence, the proliferation
of pedicycles in the city and horse carts in the country.
A couple of nice
tour taxis by our hotel
Typical cars in the country and the city
Tour taxis lined up by the hotel
After seeing the cars of Cuba for a week and admiring
some of the really pimped out cars, we were surprised with 10 of the finest
1950s convertibles to take 39 us from the Symphony to our evening restaurant.
With engines screaming, oil burning and horns blaring, we went racing along the
Malecom Highway, down by the cruise ship port, up past Parliament and Raul’s
house, down the narrow bar streets and loudly to the Atelier restaurant on a
moonlit night.
Racing through Havana was a blast
A not uncommon sight was broken down cars. We saw them every trip out of town as well as
in Havana. There seemed to be a helpful
protocol among the owners whose cars were all prone to break down.
Nine more random pictures of Cuba’s cars
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