Cubans now allowed to stay in hotels

by Iva Skoch on

Things are changing in Cuba, but they are not changing fast enough.

New President Raul Castro, Fidel’s brother, has lifted a ban on Cuban citizens staying at hotels previously reserved for foreigners. They will now be charged in hard currency, like other guests. New rules will also allow Cubans to rent cars at state-run agencies for the first time.

On Friday, Cuba authorized its citizens to obtain mobile phones, which only foreigners and key officials in the Communist Government were previously allowed to have, The Chicago Tribune reports. A resolution signed by the Interior Commerce Ministry on March 21 also authorized the sale of computers, microwaves and DVD players, items which had only been sold to companies and foreigners. Of course, many people in Cuba are too poor to benefit from any of this.

As The Economist pointed out, if things keep going this way, by 2050 Cubans might be allowed satellite television.

Photo: localsurfer, Flickr

Adios, Fidel! Cuba won’t be the same without you (hopefully)

by Iva Skoch on

I cannot believe Fidel Castro actually resigned as the president of Cuba. I mean he is only 81 years old and still has plenty of energy to keep him going for at least 35 more years! Was I the only one who thought that Fidel was actually immortal? Well, we’ll still have to see about that.

In his written speech to the nation, Fidel said that he is not “fading into the sunset.” It’s just that his health is not allowing him to dedicate the energy necessary to run a country. I am sure running a totalitarian state takes a lot out of you. You know, it’s lonely at the top.

According to the NY Times, Fidel’s statement raised the possibility that little would change after Sunday, when the National Assembly meets to select a new head of state. Cuba will probably continue to be ruled in essence by two presidents, “with Raúl Castro (Fidel’s brother) on stage while Fidel Castro lurked in the wings.”

Reuters reported that Fidel’s resignation was unlikely to make the United States lift its trade embargo on Cuba. See, just more of the same old.

Local Bloggers Revealing Country Secrets

by Abha Malpani on

The political situation of many countries doesn’t allow much freedom of press; what gets printed is thoroughly watch-dogged. That’s kind of messed-up when you realize that the media is the one thing that keeps us connected and informed about the rest of the world.

I remember when I lived in Dubai, I saw journalists fearing to write about anything outside the standard protocol of the publication. I would get bored senseless reading the local publications and as a budding writer, would get itchy palms when some meaty news would come to me through the grapevine, that of course, would never see the day of light. Until we started blogging!

I think blogging has taken to new levels our insight into otherwise forbidden cultural information of cities. Secret Dubai Diary, UAE Prison blog (blocked in Dubai) and Neurotic Iraqi Wife, are some blogs I read for raw insight into lives of people and culture in these countries. Others such as Sex and Dubai and controversial Beijing blog of Zhao Jing have unfortunately now been shut down.

There was great story in the IHT recently about underground bloggers in Havana who are screaming out to let people know the realities of life in Castro’s city.

My only contribution to the free press cause is being part of Global Voices and Reporters Without Borders. Both blogs are fighting for freedom of press and doing their best to provide untainted feeds and news from around the world.

It takes solid guts to blog on the edge, as it could result in imprisonment and/or deportation. I don’t know if I’d have the balls.

Literary Gadling: Hemingway’s Cuba, Cuba’s Hemingway

by Iva Skoch on

Paging through the August 2007 issue of the Smithsonian Magazine, I found an article about Ernest Hemingway’s impact on Havana. It is written by Hemingway’s last personal secretary, Valerie Hemingway, who later married his youngest son Gregory (hence the same last name.) Hemingway lived in Cuba before 1960, when the US Ambassador advised it would no longer be safe for him to live there. He kept a presence there for 30 years.

Apparently, the Hemingway image–Bohemian, with a cigar–has become a Cuban export. Havana has museums dedicated to him and anything from soccer teams to cocktails named after him. A part of the America vs. Cuba rivalry, she suggests.

Although Valerie made me cringe with her use of “city of contrasts“, possibly the worst travel expression cliche there is, I still found the article about Hemingway’s life in Cuba and his current presence fascinating. It made me want to pack my bags and go there right away. Not being a US citizen, I actually can!