There is no simple way to describe Cuba to you. Every image, every encounter, every experience evokes a rush of conflicting emotions, because it is a country of such incredible contradiction.
It amazes me to think I actually visited a country whose government suppresses free speech and restricts the freedom of its citizens, and while I enjoyed unlimited internet access (when the router was functioning), Cuban citizens do not.
What amazes me more is that this same government affords these same citizens universal, free medical care, with an infant mortality rate and life expectancy equivalent to ours, a literacy rate of 100%, and an education system so excellent that they are exporting doctors and scientists across South America.
We exit the airpot to see anti-American billboards,
It is a place where one cannot get something as simple as an Excedrin, where bathroom attendants dole out small rations of toilet paper like precious jewels and flush the toilets with buckets of water because the plumbing system is unreliable. But the food system is working, and Cuba is now one of the world leaders in successful urban gardening and sustainable agriculture.
We were forced to change our Havana concert venue twice because air conditioning broke down, and the union hall we ultimately performed in, never designed for musical performance but graciously offered for our purposes, had both an out of tune piano and poor acoustics. And yet, in that hall, I heard a flute solo I shall never forget and some of the most beautiful voices I think I will ever hear.
I was told that Cuba was an anachronism, a country trapped in the mid-century, epitomized by the many antique cars we saw on the streets. And while it is true that there are pockets of the past, they exist mostly in the architecture and the automobiles. The people I met were very much citizens of the 21st Century, in many ways poor by our standards, but in some ways rich. Those I met were doing important work in medicine, science, agriculture and the arts, despite what for us might be a crippling lack of resources. And while I remain confounded and disturbed by the harsh realities of their political system, and frustrated by their crying needs for so many of the things we take for granted here, it is the strength, warmth and talent of the Cuban people that I will recall most when I think of my visit there.
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Up next – Cuban Food.
I so enjoyed reading your post. In 1959 I had just graduated high school, my father had passed away – suddenly – at the age of 46 leaving a 35 year old widow with three girls. My aunt, her husband and two children needed a vacation break and headed off in a VW van to Daytona Beach, Key West and ultimately Havana. As we arrived at the airport we were greeted by the sight of military everywhere. Castro was just coming into power. That week in Cuba was breathtaking. Every minute of it. At the Tropicana, a middle-aged gentleman asked my mother for permission to dance with me. I felt so grown up.
I cherish those memories.
Thank you for a look inside Cuba. I have met a couple of people who lived there, before Castro and barely made it out. They would tell me stories of the Cuba of their youth. When they talked you could see the pride and the pain on their faces for their country and the ones they left.
Hi Margaret, I love this your interesting reportage of Cuba, thank you for having shown with your explanations
Wonderful! Love the stories and photos.
Fascinating insights and great photos. My "experience" of Cuba is limited to books and movies: if you haven't seen Julian Schnabel's amazing Before Night Falls it is a must (also the book it is based on by the persecuted gay poet Reinaldo Arenas).
While Cuba has done well in the fields of medecine, education and alternative energy, I wouldn't say that the food system is working. Many of the vegetables that come from the countryside are wilted, after age seven it is rather impossible to get cow's milk if you're not pregnant, and while I was there a few months ago we experienced shortages often. The meat is not generally of great quality, unless you're in a western-style hotel, as that's where most of the meat, (which is overpriced,) goes anyway. How long were you in Cuba? Were you able to venture outside of Habana? I'm looking forward to reading the rest of your Cuba posts, and great photos!
~Delia
I really enjoyed reading your post. Beautiful pictures and your descriptions of your experiences in Cuba, quite poetic.
I thoroughly enjoyed exploring Cuba thorough you photos and words. My image of the country was shaded by my being a military brat living in the middle of a potential target (Norfolk, VA) during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
My father went to the base one morning and didn't come home for a month. We had no idea where he was as the Base Operator refused to provide any information. We found him again when we saw footage of his ship on blockade duty during the Huntley-Brinkley Report on NBC.
Ten years later I found myself on a US Air Force missile combat crew in an ICBM complex in central Arkansas and Cuba was just part of the Soviet Empire.
Helen –
You were a witness to history. Perhaps one day you will get to revisit Cuba. I hope so.
Theresjustlife-
I, too, saw such pride in the Cuban people, even from those who saw room for change in their system. It is the currency of that country, more than any peso.
Sciarda and RL – thanks – more to come…
Delia –
Agree – I think I was speaking more to the fact that the Cuban people are being fed, not that the food itself is always great – the phrase "some kind of beef" comes to mind.. (see my upcoming post about the food….). And you are correct that milk rations are restricted to children, pregnant women, the ill and the elderly.
But given what I understand were terrific food shortages after Russia pulled out in the 90's, there is much to applaud in the Cuban response to that "special period" as they call it. I'll be posting more about this later, and would appreciate your comments then as well.
Thanks for your comments.
There are plenty of licensed ways you can still travel to Cuba, and, hopefully, the bill which recently passed the House Agricultural Committee will pass Congress and be signed by President Obama.
I'm not terribly optimistic about that, but with all the Cuban prisoners now beginning to be released, there's a possibility of some improved relations.
I've spent close to three of the past ten years in Cuba since retiring from a 31-year career as a social worker in Los Angeles. I'll share your comments with the readers of a Yahoo news group which is about to enter its second decade and which you or others following Cuba may find informative.
My father and his parents lived in Cuba during World War II and he took me to see Cuban friends and acquaintances before the Cuban revolution, during the Batista dictatorship in 1957.
Did you know that there are even recent graduates of Cuban medical schools working as doctors in the United States? They got their education in Cuba, paid nothing, and were only asked to return to the US and work in poor, underserved areas, like in New York City.
Details about the news group, with over 1500 subscribers:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/
Janet – I have seen Before Night Falls, and agree it is a must see for anyone interested in Cuba. Other readings/films that were recommended to us before our trip are –
Havana Dreams by Wendy Gimbel
The Cuba Reader
Waiting for Snow in Havana by Carlos Eire
The Boys from Dolores by Patrick Symmes (Fidel in High School)
Dreaming in Cuban by Christina Garcia
The Buena Vista Social Club (movie)
Thanks for reading!
Dear Blogger,
I think you were given lots of propaganda while you were in Cuba. Cubans are totally cut off from the outside world. They haven't even heard about the recently released prisoners. People who try to protest in the streets are insulted and bitten up. It's very much like the nazi system.
And, talking about meat, if a person is found out with meat from the black market, they go to prison to spend years in confinement. What kind of a system is that? Remember, the ones in charge have all the privileges, even private hospitals. Your picture of Cuba is simply mistaken. Believe me, all your romanticism is simply insulting to those of us who have been living under the ridiculous dictator for more than 50 years.
Anonymous-
I don't think I am romaticizing Cuba at all – much of what I saw was sad and disturbing, as I think I described, and I believe my point of view on the political system was clear.
The facts I presented on mortality and literacy are straight from Unesco and the WHO. The images are real and representative of what I saw there.
What was inspirational was the people, and what they have accomplished given how little they have.
If somehow that insults you, then I am sorry.
Peace,
Peggy
Rocket Man –
Since visiting Cuba, I have heard so many stories of folks whose lives were touched by the events in Cuba. Thank you for sharing yours
Peggy
This is the perfect chance for Pres. Obama to End the Blockade of Cuba. Notice I did not use the false word of "embargo"! This is the longest economic siege in history – bar none. 1960 to the present – 50 YEARS.!!
Then, the semantic juggling practiced by the U.S. government to deceive and confuse (propaganda} as regards its true intentions towards the Cuban Revolution, as a subversive strategy in the field of ideas.
Possibly one of the best examples we can invoke to define the most important U.S.measure against the Cuban economy is the substitution of the word "blockade" with "embargo".
Their intentions are still very much alive today. If only the AVERAGE U.S. citizens knew what these terrible intentions really are……….even right now. President Obama knows and I hope he has at least as much success with ending this Blockade as he had with his Medical Assistance program and his Cleaning Up Wall Street action. Congratulations on that Sir
Dear Doctor,
Thank you for answering my comment. One issue that should worry you as a doctor has to do with the conditions under which Cuban doctors live and work. When doctors appliy for a government permit to leave Cuba, they are placed under close scrutiny for 10 (ten) years and have no rights to travel abroad or apply for a better position until they leave. Consequently, any problem or mistake could land them in jail for counterrevolutionaries. By the way, those Americans that are given free medical school in Cuba can go back to the US and become self-employed. In the meantime, the Cuban people are being deprived of the most basic needs to give support to those Americans, many of which could not make the cut to enter a regular American medical school (I am a professor and know how the system works). A PERSONAL ANECDOTE: My uncle suffered a stroke recently and my family in Cuba cannot find cream, nor "pampers" to collect his urine and fecals. So far, I have spent hundreds of dollars already sending jello and other liquid foods for him ($6 a pound). Every phone call is charged $1 a minute of which the government collects 90 cents. The system is simply unworkable and they are still there because Chavez, from Venezuela, supports them. With the money I send,my family goes to government stores that only sell to people with dollars
Please, when you come back to the states, talk to Cuban doctors and find out the real truth. Remembers, statistics are a way of manipulating reality, and the Cuban government has made an art of it. ONE more thing: the Cuban press does not publicize medical mistakes, people that die due to lack of higiene in hospitals, etc. All health news are a state secret.
I have goose bumps reading your posts and the comments. What a dichotomy! Such dramatic images!
I never would have thought I would be so interested in Cuba. It has always seemed like a romantic and distant place, hopelessly mired in failed Communism. Too hopeless to give a lot of thought to, because it is overwhelming. Classic putting one's head in the sand syndrome.
Your posts have brought Cuba alive, along with the dire conditions our neighbors live in. Impossible to ignore. Amazing reports. Thank you so much Dr. Peggy!
[…] matter where we ate in Cuba, the bread was delicious – almost always freshly made, even warm on occasion. Sort of a cross […]
Thank you for appreciating the complexity of the Cuban system. Another point to consider is that Cuban healthcare (and resultant infant mortality and life expectancy rates) and education were very strong before Castro took power. They are not a result of the current totalitarian regime, but remnants of the past.
Also, even though the available statistics are from the WHO and UNESCO (reputable, authoritative), those organizations rely on data provided by the Cuban government.
Furthermore, the Cuban government exports doctors to other countries as a mode of propaganda. The reality is not that the Cuban system has doctors to spare, but more that the Castro regime would rather bolster its world image than serve the Cuban people.