Cuba Libre: Havana – Part One

The old part of Havana (Habana Vieja, they call it) reminded me a great deal of Cartagena with its fairly well-preserved colonial and often brightly colored buildings. In just our first two days in Havana, however, I was most astounded by the Cuban people. Lora’s guidebook says that the locals earn on average U.S.$25 a month and that, in some cases, even doctors double shift as waiters by night. The people are extremely friendly and accommodating, helpful and vibrant.

On our first day in Habana Vieja (the old part of the city) passed just one restaurant that appeared affordable for locals called El Restaurante Bucanero, where everything – even lobster pizza – was less than $5 and mini mojitos and Cuba libres were just $1.

Another surprise for me was browsing the books in the Plaza de Armas. Nearly all of them were histories, biographies, or autobiographies of Che or Fidel, collections of poetry by famed pre-revolutionary José Martí or Nicolas Guillen, or a mish-mash of Revolutionary cartoons. Sprinkled throughout the racks were Lenin, Marx, and Malcom X books. I saw a Spanish version of the Communist Manifesto.

Frank found some good old-fashioned, hand-rolled Cuban cigars and I purchased my own for $5. It’s the smallest one and the most mild, but boy did it pack a punch. I slowly made my way through the mini-cigar for a solid week, though it was common to find “caballeros” (Cuban gentlemen) dressed in their finest suit and smoking an enormous stogie. At the end of the first day of our Habana exploration, we discovered La Floridita, the bar that Hemingway made famous.

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The following day was full of rain – from when we woke up until 5 p.m. it was a constant and miserable kind of drizzle. Despite the poor weather, we made a very full day of it, as it was the perfect day to stay inside by visiting the Museo de la Revolución and watching a ballet at the Gran Teatro.

Lora and I spent a good 3 hours browsing the very odd propaganda-filled, revolutionary museum, which is housed in the old Presidential Palace. Some things I learned: Che Guevara is really hot; so is Fidel Castro but less so; the Revolution and overthrow of Batista is a really fascinating story; Fidel doesn’t hate America, he hates the capitalist nature of American society and the holier-than-thou mentality of the U.S. administration.

The museum lacks modern updates, so bringing my camera in (for an extra $2) to take photos of the displays and interior of the “palace” was pretty useless. Nearly everything was displayed in glass cases, and most of the Revolutionary artifacts were copied photos. There were some seemingly worthless items on display as well, such as spoons used by second commanders or patches worn by soldiers, but other items like Fidel, Raul, and Che’s attire or letters were rather interesting to see.

In all, I see the Cuban Revolution that culminated with Castro & company’s march into Habana as an awfully great feat of determination and heroism. In school in America we learn about Fidel in a completely different way, so I’m grateful to have learned both sides of the same story. To be perfectly frank, I don’t blame Fidel one bit for his hard feelings toward the U.S. I also think Fidel did a bold, noble, and heroic thing freeing Cuba from a criminal like Batista.

However, I still don’t understand what drew Fidel to Communist ideals, nor what made him stick to such extreme socialism beyond the Revolution into today. Fidel is a brilliant lawyer, one who would have clearly recognized how socialism couldn’t possibly solve the problems that his nation faces today. While Cuba’s health care, organic farming, and education are some of the best in the world, the reflection cast is not the same. I walked through the crumbling city of Havana, witnessed with my own eyes how families are packed into shared apartments, and heard personal accounts where citizens rely on monetary deliveries from overseas to survive. There is something dearly wrong with the Cuban system: a sound quality of life is nearly impossible or certainly not easy to achieve.

Following our museum visit, Lora and I had a local beer (Bucanero Fuerte – which has a whopping 5.4% of alcohol… I was happily buzzed) at Hotel Inglaterra, a $1 mojito at the Bucanero Bar just down the street by the Capitolio, and then a Floridita daiquiri a few more blocks away (at that same bar that Hemingway made famous in the 60’s). Between these pub stops, Lora and I procured four tickets to see a performance of the National Ballet of Cuba at the Gran Teatro, a 200 year-old architectural gem. The ballet itself was only average, but well worth the $10 ticket.

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We were sufficiently hungry by the time the ballet was over, so we headed to the eclectic yet delicious paladar (privately-owned restaurant), La Guarida, which was made famous by the Cuban film “Fresa y Chocolate.” These paladares are pretty much the way to go if you want to get the authentic Cuban dining experience, so I intend to have many while I’m here. While there are a few paladares that are actually legal, there are many others that are not government-approved. They can only be legal if the private home that houses the restaurant pays a heavy tax to provide meals for tourists.

I have a feeling La Guarida is the real deal. Not only was it on the third floor of a dilapidated residential building in Centro Habana, the marble stairs leading up to them were steep and precarious. Then, of course, was the interior of the restaurant. There was a small sitting room and then three small rooms that seat up to twelve in each (most paladares are not allowed to host more than twelve, so this one likely pays higher taxes to be host more people each night). The kitchen spits out healthy meals from a room smaller than my bedroom. We were seated at a table in a room with a mish-mash of Christian, film, and art paraphernalia. Instead of sitting one to a side of the table, Lora and I sat on one side together, tightly squeezed in.

We really splurged on dinner. Between the four of us, we ordered a bottle of Italian Rioja, two appetizers (eggplant caviar and chicken in spinach crepes), a main course each (I had a delicious grouper; Lora had pork medallions; Frank had swordfish; Peter had chicken curry), followed by a yummy “three chocolates” dessert. The bill came to about $30 each (pricey!), but really worth it considering the atmosphere, company, and unique experience.

We capped off the evening with a brisk and slippery walk along the Malecón, which was pretty barren with locals. The waves would crash up off the wall and onto the promenade making it very difficult to walk down, but it was worth the experience, and something that I couldn’t have done had I been traveling on my own. We passed by the U.S. “Special Interests” building, which is the only thing resembling an Embassy here in Cuba.

For a complete listing of my Cuba Libre posts, please click HERE or skip straight to the good stuff —

Obama’s closure of Guantanamo already in sight

The Castro brothers in Cuba extended a warm welcome to Obama into the political limelight. This message was relayed through Argentina‘s President, Cristina Kirchner, who recently returned to Buenos Aires after a brief visit to Havana.

Within 24 hours, Obama has already halted proceedings involving two Guantanamo detainees and intended to close Guantanamo by the end of the year — and likely much earlier.
While most would like to see Gitmo gone as soon as possible, it appears there is a slew of red tape that could slow this process:

  • the decision must be made at the Cabinet level, and Clinton has been reluctant to conform to Obama’s views of Guantanamo in particular
  • the prisoners will be displaced and moved to several other prisons around the world, which still remains a logistical question mark
  • legal actions on all 200+ detainees must first be issued before official closure can occur

Amid the increased attention on Obama, Fidel and Raúl Castro, and Guantanamo, there still remains an awkward silent treatment among all parties. Obama has yet to open talks with Castro (or vice versa) and Gitmo prisoners are showing their displeasure through hunger strikes and complaints of harsh mistreatment.

Right now, Gitmo and relations between America and Cuba as a whole remains a “wait-and-see” endeavor, but with Obama comes a dramatic changing of the guard that could soften the strained emotions all are feeling right now.

[via the New York Times and AFP]

Cuba’s 50th anniversary

Cuba has a lot to mull over as it rushes in the new year. That’s because it’s no longer up to Fidel to make decisions about the nation’s state — particularly with regard to its relations with the world’s most powerful nations (Russia, China, and the United States to name a few…). It’s up to Fidel’s brother, Raúl, who officially took the reigns from an ailing Fidel back in February.

Fifty years ago today, Fidel Castro marched his revolutionary troops down to Havana and freed his nation from dictator Fulgencio Batista. It only seems fitting, then that this photo is Cuban propaganda that says, “Fight and conquer the impossible.” Let no one argue Fidel’s power and influence in Cuba. He entered the picture fifty years ago. The rest, they say, is history. Soon after Castro’s rising, the U.S. government banned exports and broke diplomatic relations with Cuba. The Bay of Pigs, the Cold War, Guantanamo are all marked in his nation’s history, indicating moments of victory, defeat, and uncertainty.
To be certain, this new year will be an exciting and perhaps tumultuous one for this Caribbean nation. The Guantanamo military prison, which Bush opened in January 2002 in response to the September 11 attacks, will likely close very soon. Some European countries such as France, Germany, Portugal, and Switzerland are considering taking in some Guantanamo detainees. Obama, once inaugurated, will likely open talks with Raúl Castro, possibly ending a near-fifty year cold shoulder and allowing greater ease in travel between the two countries. Citizens of both are optimistic.

Perhaps, when the next holiday season comes around, loved ones will not need to rely on web-based shopping sites to send gifts.

Travel read: Around the Bloc

I stumbled upon Stephanie Elizondo Griest’s writing on a stopover in New York City. She was reading from her third and most recent travel-related book, Mexican Enough: My Life Between the Borderlines, at Book Culture near Columbia University. I was immediately struck by her engaging use of language and her savvy presence. It’s a pleasant sight to behold a young, female traveler and writer who is curious about the world and daring in her attempts to understand it.

Her reading finished, I bought her debut book, Around the Bloc: My Life in Moscow, Beijing, and Havana, and when I asked her to sign my book I told her I too was an aspiring travel writer, working on a memoir of my own. “Can’t wait to read about your travels someday,” she wrote in curly script on the title page. I have since been in correspondence with Griest, who has agreed to have me interview her in early January. Until then, I plan to review her three books for Gadling. Here is the first review, of her debut book on her travels around the Communist bloc of Russia, China, and Cuba.
Griest’s three-part memoir documents her experiences in Moscow, Beijing, and Havana during the late 1990’s, and it does so with humor and humility. It took nearly three months for me to make my way through Around the Bloc — not because it was a slow read, but because I wanted to gain an understanding of the three places she writes about in her memoir. Russia, China, and Cuba have long intrigued me as culturally rich places with politically backward power struggles.

Similar to Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love, where the traveler’s experiences are summarized by culturally specific activities, Griest’s journey around the bloc are punctuated by drinking, dining, and dancing:”…while Russians bonded over drink and Chinese over dinner, Cubans connected through dance.” Griest’s youthfulness and occasional naiveté captures just how eye-opening one’s travels abroad can be. It is clear by the end of the memoir just how much her experiences in these countries reshaped her values and shook the foundation upon which her life had been seemingly secure.

The tragic Russian Mafiya, Chinese propaganda, and Cuban Revolution stories swirling in Griest’s memoir make her self-discovery that much more palpable. Griest navigates the socialist and political struggle of being in the bloc, and walks away not at all unscathed. Rather, she sets her original assumptions straight again, allowing herself to understand her place in the world that much better.

Of the three parts presented in her debut novel, I must say the most enlightening was the first on her experiences in Russia. It seemed that here, in Moscow, Griest experiences the most profound awakening. I sense these early times, fresh from her undergraduate studies in Austin, that Griest transforms from a hippie wannabe to a truth-seeking, life-living journalist and hearty traveler.

If the popular Eat, Pray, Love is any comparison, I feel Griest’s Around the Bloc far surpasses Gilbert in all the categories I hold dearest to a literary travel writer. Griest masters the art of language and humor; she is finely atuned to her youthful innocence (and, at times, ignorance); just as in life, Griest does not tie her three parts together into a perfect red bow. Instead, there is an imperfection that permeates through her memoir that is raw and real — not just real, but realistic. If Gilbert’s travel memoir satisfied you just enough, then Griest’s will take your breath away. It will teach you things you didn’t know before, but more than this, it will make you get off your couch and out into the wide world, experiencing things you once dreamed of but now can see with your own two eyes.

My review of Griest guidebook, 100 Places Every Woman Should Go, is forthcoming in about a week. Should you pick up any of Griest’s three offerings during the holidays and have a question you’d like me to ask her during my interview with her in early January, feel free to shoot me an email (brendayun@gmail.com).

Cuba & Fidel in Photos

We can all thank the folks at Polo’s Bastards for bringing us this fine collection of Fidel and Cuba photos while we pack our bags and prepare to flock over when the time comes. (Coughs.) If you didn’t know already, Fidel hasn’t been feeling too well and Raul is helping out around the little island located approximately 91 miles from the U.S. Whether Fidel has reached the end of the road or not, Cuba is such an amazing country in my book. It’s the type of place I’d like to go sit rolling cigars with an old wise lady twice my age discussing politics and they way things were back in Fidel’s heyday. Of course my Spanish would be beyond broken and her English the same if not worse, but over time we’ll come to understand one another. Wouldn’t hurt if there were some Omara Portuondo humming from a radio in the background either, but I won’t be too picky here and I’ll stop rambling now.

Head to: Cuba – Hi Fidelity