The Cuban Dairies

RACE AND THE REVOLUTION

Injustice and discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender, religion, class, ability, and sexual orientation are the biggest travesties that plague society in my opinion.  I’d like to think most people around the world agree, but history has shown that time and time again, those that have power will do what they can to protect that power… even at the expense of others’ rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Cuban tobacco plantation during slavery.  Slavery did not end in Cuba until 1886.

Cuba and the Unites States share a similar narrative from colonization to independence, but in 1959, Cuba took a dramatic turn with Fidel Castro’s communist revolution.  I will spare you the back story, as a quick Google search will give you plenty of material to get a gist of how Fidel’s rose to power. 

Like the United States, Cuba's upperclass was almost entirely white.

In any revolution, there are winners and there are losers. Ninety-five percent of the Cubans who left were white upper class, leaving behind a historically disenfranchised black and mulatto population.  Most of the Cuban aristocracy lost everything but their lives.  The Jim Crow society of Cuba was over, and a new Cuba rooted in the complete state takeover of capital, labor, and resources began.  In theory, the state redistributes the wealth, with a goal of social, racial, gender, and economic equality based on the needs of the individual.  Consequently, there is a suppression of political dissent and freedom of speech is controlled. Political opposition is imprisoned or exiled.

Like the United States, Cuba prior to the communist revolution used Jim Crow style laws to marginalize blacks and mulattos.

This is what communism is.  It is the scariest thing to imagine for people who have had the privilege of self-determination and  free enterprise.  So why would any group of people support such an ideology?

Millions of Cubans celebrated Fidel's rebels victory in 1959.

The simple answer, a group of people who have been relegated as serfs in a feudalistic society where the aristocracy rules and protects its self-interest with legal discrimination, exploitation, and suppression of any upward mobility by those deemed a threat to their position and privilege.

Cuban women pledge to fight US imperialism in Havana's Revolutionary Square.

We’ve seen plenty of communist revolutions over the past century.  The first began in Russia in 1917.  China, Eastern Europe, North Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Cuba are successful revolutions that followed.  Like “democracy”, there are different versions; some more repressive than others.  Neither is exactly alike.  They all go through their own version and either evolve or disintegrate. 

Communist China doesn't resemble anything close to its early decades under the rule of Mao.  Yet, still remains Communist.

Democracies follow the same manner.  Take the US for example, which claims to be the first western democracy in the world.  At the time, only white men who owned property could vote, which was a revolutionary idea in itself.  White women would not gain the right to vote for another 150 years.  Blacks, nearly 200 years after the United States had independence from Britain.  Native Americans, Asians, and other people of color had been excluded from this US brand of democracy longer than they have been embraced by it.

The first century under America's democracy.

Even in the 20th Century, freedom didn't mean for everyone

We didn't have another revolution, but we did have a civil war and then a hundred years later, a movement to give equal treatment under the law for black Americans.  And still, the struggle continues.

So to experience the Cuba of today, you have to accept the fact that nearly 50% of the Cuban people were disenfranchised based on the color other skin in 1959.  These blacks and mulattos had been relegated to serfdom.  The White Cuban aristocracy used Jim Crow laws and it’s feudal style of democracy, military coups, and US intervention to protect it’s self interest at the expense of people of color  Just as the Spanish penisulares did before Cuban criolle before independence in 1898. 

Havana in 1957 looked like anywhere in the US where racial segregation made Cubans of color second class citizens.

My “people to people” interaction included many black and mulatto.  From home owners to taxi drivers, I was eager to hear their thoughts on the revolution and what it meant to them.  And time and time again, I heard the same.  They would not have what they had now, if it were not for Fidel.  The first taxi driver I spoke to was the one I had on arrival.  Raul was mulatto and stress to me he supported the revolution despite their hardships.  First, he said, his children are safe and get a very good education.  Second, when his mother had cancer, she received good treatment and did not have to pay a penny.  Thirdly, he said, since the 90’s, the economy as liberalized and he is able to make a very good living as a taxi driver.

Raul

Another taxi driver, name Juan, I spoke with in Havana, who is black, enthusiastically, told me he loved Fidel, because what he has was never possible for black Cubans his grandparent generation.  They were so marginalized prior to 1959, that it was equivalent to being a black sharecropper in the segregated South.  His father was born a year after the revolution and made a career in the military.  Juan, who is thirty, is married with two children, earned a degree in engineering, and has his own taxi living in Havana. 

Juan

He continued to say that with each generation, things have improved and he gives credit to the revolution.  I asked him about the importance of freedom of speech.  He said, he could say what ever he wanted with a big white grin.  And I responded, with “What about criticism of the government? “ He replied, “It wasn’t important to him”, still grinning.  

I heard similar responses from my Chinese students when I worked in Shanghai in 2008.  Most all said, for them, as long as the quality of their lives (economically) is improving, they don’t care about politics.  China has a more than four thousand years of history of emperors, imperialism under the “democratic West”, and now communism.  The worst period of their history was under the western democracy.  It really made me look at things through an alternate lens.

hanging with my students in Shanghai in 2008

For the Cubans of Miami who lost everything to Fidel… I understand your anger and despise for this man.  My grandfather lost everything to Mao in 1949 when China experienced it’s own communist revolution.  He spent twenty years in a reeducation camp, never to see his wife or five children again. Eventually hanging himself from the rafters of his prison cell in the early 1970’s.  It pains me to imagine the suffering those who fought against the communists went through.  But, I also understand that ninety percent of the Chinese people were subjects to a feudal society that were victimized generation after generation by those who had monopolized their power and privilege.

My grandmother, great-grandmother, and mom in a family photo just before losing everything to the communist.

So, I understand what it means to come from a family that was victims to communism.  There are winners and there are losers in any revolution.  Today China is still communist, but economically and socially, life for more and more Chinese is drastically different from the time of Mao.  From my travels on the island, I’ve learned that Cuba has and will continue to experience changes to their own brand of communism.  Life on the small island has changed incrementally since the downfall of its Soviet patron in the early 90’s.  Even more change has come since Fidel stepped down in 2008, and I think it is safe to say, liberalization will continue to happen now that he has passed.

My hosts Fidel and Marlene own two homes and rent one through Airbnb.

Excitement would be an understatement, as I prepared for my first trip to Cuba.  Hearing the heavy criticism of Fidel since living in Miami by Cuban Americans has made an impression on me.  Despite my understanding of Cuban history, I found it nearly impossible to get them to acknowledge anything positive of the revolution.  All the achievements in health, equality, and education for the masses were undermined by the fact that living conditions are spartan, choices are few, and political dissent reigns supreme.  But the Cubans in Miami can’t be the only source to help one form an objective opinion.

Cuban Americans celebrate Fidel's death in Little Havana, Miami.  Even brought out an inflatable Trump!

FIRST TRIP TO CUBA

The only way to really get an impression of the quality of life is to visit the island and see it for yourself.  So that is what I did.  Booked a two-week trip through six cities in five states over the two week winter break.  It was fascinating and taxing at the same time, as lines for everything is just a way of life.  I was able to get a glimpse at the everyday life from a tourist’s perspective.  Each night, I stayed with locals in their homes and was able to hear their sentiments about their lives in Cuba and hopefully, a more accurate understanding of what living with communism means.

My stops through Cuba

STREETS OF HAVANA

First of all, the greatest impressions left on me was the liveliness, friendliness, and resiliency of the people living with so little.  No matter where I went, the people did not look depressed.  They beamed with optimism, kindness, and energy.  I didn’t witness extreme poverty, but a people that live a humble life with the little that they have.  During the week, I’d awake early to just people watch; roaming the streets or countryside, going to work, students walking to school, farmers toiling the land, and taxi drivers hustling to find passengers.  The exterior of the buildings in Havana were in the most dilapidated state that you can imagine but from the inside and on the outside life was vibrant.  Reggaeton blared from open windows, with children running around, as streets become playgrounds.  Neighbors enthusiastically chatting outside, laughing in the front of their homes.  The elderly posted on chairs, just inside the foyer watching the world go by like spectators at a baseball game.  There is a real sense of community.  The kind you’d imagine living in a neighborhood in Brooklyn or Queens in the 1950’s.  No internet to keep you glued to your cell phone.  It was like going back in time.  A time when social networking was done in person and the greatest technology was a radio playing the latest tunes for all to share.

MODERN ART

The biggest surprise of Havana was a place called the Fabrica De Arte Cubana.  This old factory has been reappropriated as a space for contemporary visual and performance art.  It was like something out of Miami’s Art Basel in the hipster neighborhood of Wynwood.  Extremely rustic and modern at the same time.  Galleries showcasing photography, conceptual and provocative art by Cuban artists.  In spite of the liberal environment, there was nothing critical of the Cuban government, which is interesting, because artists have a way of exposing hardship and being critical of the establishment.  It will be interesting how this space will evolve and what will and not be tolerated.

There are at least three spaces for live music or performances.  The two nights I went, I was able to experience everything from flamenco, jazz, Afro-Cuban funk, and electronic.  The space is open like a warehouse with large rafters.  Several bars inside serve great drinks for less than $3 CUC.  And even a great tapas café but the lines is ridiculously long.  Be prepared to wait a minimum of two hours to get your food.  This is the spot to be in Havana, so go early.  Opens from Thursday through Sunday.  Doors open at 8pm, but you can go earlier, as the queue wraps around the block and maxes out at 800 people.  It’s only $2 CUC to get inside.  Lots of Cubans go as well, so it’s an incredibly mixed crowd and easy to interact with the locals, and not in a touristy kind of way that make you feel you have the word GRINGO written on your forehead.  This place is hip and hard to tell who is local and who is foreign.

CLASSIC CARS

And then there are the gas guzzling American classics: Chevy Bel Airs and pickups, Ford Thunderbirds, Packard sedans, and Mercury Eights just to name a few.  It was like Jurassic Park for cars all over the island.  A place lost in time.  It was magical to say the least.  You really begin to understand why America was the fascination of the world in the 1950’s.  The cars alone create a romanticism that can only be found in Cuba today.

THE ECONOMY

Shopping mostly happens in state owned stores, so that means queues for nearly all necessities.  From food, to household products, to electronics, to hardware, you will see people lined up to get their monthly rations.  Compared to stores in the United States, the shelves are bare of choices and options.  You will have nothing, or too much of the most random thing like mustard, olives, or rum.  Most everything is ridiculously cheap by American standards because the average Cuban income is peanuts.  But for a luxury item like a brand new bicycles that you can buy at Walmart for $100, will cost $300 in Cuba.  Just to put that in perspective, $25 is the average monthly salary for a Cuban, which makes the whole experience so mindboggling.  How can one have any kind of quality of life at $25 a month?

Everything is subsidized: healthcare, education, and living expenses.  To make things that much more complicated to understand, there are two currencies.  One for foreigners called CUCs, and one for locals called CUPs.  1 CUC = 1 USD.  1 CUC = 25 CUPs.

So here is where it gets tricky.  Price breakdown on a few items.

As a foreigner, I paid on average in CUCs:

$25 for a night for a private room with a local Cuban.

$1 for small bottle water on the street.

$10 - $30 on long distant transport (hired taxi or seat on a state owned bus).

$5 - $10 for dinner (steak, chicken, pork, fish, shrimp, or lobster) with a simple salad and rice and beans.

$5 for breakfast (omelet, fruit, bread, ham, cheese, coffee, and juice)

Interesting note.  I was able to convert $40 worth of CUC for $1000 CUP at the bank.  I felt like I was about to make it rain at the strip club with all that cash in my hand.  I went to a local breakfast spot and paid $12 CUP for a ham, cheese, and egg sandwich, espresso, and three biscuits, which converts to just under fifty cents USD.  I still had $988 CUP in my hand.

I didn’t really buy any souvenirs, but they would be considered just as cheap as if bought in any other Latin American country I’ve been to. 

I did buy a communistic style bike helmet from a state store for the equivalent of $6 USD.

At the state stores you can buy a liter of rum for $5 – 7 CUC.  Pack of cigarettes for $1 to $2 CUC.

I saw jeans sold for $2 CUC. Men or women’s shoes for $2 CUC.  You will find western brand stores where the price of a pair of Adidas sell for $75 CUC.  I even saw a Nike store in Havana.  So there are few options to get western brands, but the average Cuban is not purchasing these products on their salaries alone.  So how is it affordable?

What has happened in Cuba over the last decade is a liberalization of the state owned economy.  There is more and more room for Cubans to be private entrepreneurs, especially in the hospitality industry.  In the places I visited, the local economy is heavily reliant on tourism.  There were more tourists in Cuba than in any other Latin American country I’ve visited, with the exception of maybe Peru.  For example, it seems everyone is getting in on the opportunity to create Cuban art and crafts, open private restaurants, casa particulares (rooms rented out in private homes), or taxi services.  So, there is plenty incentive for the government to allow this kind of privatization.  All these businesses are heavily taxed:  More than 50% goes to the government.

AGRICULTURE & CIGARS

Agriculture is taxed heavily. 75% of coffee. 40% of yucca. 90% of tobacco is taxed.  WTH! But it's not as bad as it seems.  The farmer will only make about 60 CUC for one band of tobacco leaves.  However, that one band of tobacco leaves can make twenty cigars. And in turn, the farmer can roll and sell the cigars for whatever a tourist will may pay him directly.  I spoke with a Puerto Rican expat who told me you can sell a $25 CUC box of Cuban cigars back in the US for $500 USD.  I don't know if there is any truth to that but I ended up bringing a couple boxes home.  Lastly, I'm not sure the level of oversight the government has over “farmer to tourist” sales, but I’m sure it is easily underreported. 

EVOLUTION OF COMMUNISM

So, like China, during it’s economic liberalization policy after Mao died in 1976, China began to experiment with privatization and a one child policy.  Since the late 90’s, the communist economy has nearly changed to a capitalistic one, where the only thing really communist about China today is political.  I suspect, Cuba will follow a similar path.  Like democracy in the United States, it has been a process of inclusion.  Communism experiences the same kind of evolution.

INTERNET AND THE OUTSIDE WORLD

Access to the outside world is available.  As far as I understand, all major websites are available to Cubans.  Affordability and hotspots are another question.  Every city I was in had hotspots where one can access the Internet.  I was offline for nearly two weeks, but anytime I went by a park with wifi, it was filled with both tourists and locals using Facebook, whatsapp, and any other sites they desired.  Word is, in 2017, locals will begin getting wifi in their homes.  The problem is that it is expensive for locals to use the Internet regularly.  $1.5 CUC for one hour, and the queues to buy the wifi cards from the state owned communication agency are ridiculously long.  It can take hours just to get a card.

CUBAN MACHISMO

The Donald Trumps’ of the world don’t need to show their power through raw masculinity.  We recognize it in their custom made suits and the businesses they own and operate.  But for many of those that don’t have that kind of capital, end up wearing a different uniform and flaunting the power in a more physical manner.

If you’re not sure what machismos is then let me explain.  It is the male ego on steroids.  It’s commonplace in Latin America, and Cuba is no exception.  Matter a fact, I’d say, it’s hyper inflated in Cuba like no other place I’ve seen than maybe in Hip Hop videos. 

The first example, I saw of this Cuban machismo was at the Miami airport, on the plane, which was full of Cubans returning to their ancestral “home”.  They were blinged out on every extremity, tatted up, rocking shades in dark spaces, ice in their ear, skinnies, and brand new kicks like they were about to star in their very own Reggaeton video.  It’s easy to understand this brand of machismo.  I grew up on Hip Hop and it doesn’t take long to understand when a people have been deprived of real economic power, the bravado to show your worth is in the swag you carry.

For many Cuban men who don’t have access to material power, a façade will do just fine.  Especially with the younger generation, they see the superficial power that comes with clothes and jewelry easy to mimic, so a lot of the men will sport whatever they deem powerful and attractive… even if it’s fake, cheap, or broken.  It was funny to see guys sporting fake gold watches, the size of clocks on their wrists even when it they don’t work.

The best place to watch this kind of flexing was anywhere taxis gather in a city looking for customers.  It was a real spectacle.  Dudes yelling, prostrating, grabbing their nuts, while acting as middlemen for tourists looking for taxis.  I asked my taxi driver what the deal was?  He told me, most of these guys choose not to work because the only kind of jobs they would get are on some construction site making peanuts, doing backbreaking work, and sweating their balls off.  If they hustle right, they can make anywhere from $5 to $10 CUC a day as a middleman hooking tourists up with taxi driver.

For Cuban women doing the same, I saw something equally amusing.  In Miami, we call the female equivalent a Chonga.  But in Cuba, lots of these women wear blinged out form fitting t-shirts with huge portraits of glamorously dolled up, white faced chicken heads in cotton print.

This is not the best photo of Cuban women being glamorous, but you will have to use your imagination.

Younger western women that are solo will likely get approached with the “hey mami” constantly.  But if you have thick skin and walk it off, you should be alright.  Something western men don’t have to worry about.  But you will see some prostitution outside the large hotels and on some streets in Havana.

SANTERIA AND AFRO-CUBANS

I first learned about the Afro-Cuban practice of Santeria from my friend Toni back in college.  She was heavily involved in the local Santeria community in Pensacola.  So what is it?  Basically, Santeria is a blend of West African animist religions and Catholicism. Brought over during slavery, the practitioners are primary black and mulatto Cubans.  Catholic saints provided a guise for Africans to continually worship their African deities.  It was banned, but now is officially recognized.  I spoke with a few Afro-Cubans who said that, unofficially, Fidel converted to Santeria and even a high delegation of African Yoruba priests and priestess came to hold secret ceremony after his death.  It was extremely common to see Afro Cubans wearing Santeria attire in the streets.  I even had the opportunity to witness ritual dancing at the Callejon de Hamel in Havana, where they are open to the public on Sunday’s at 12pm.

One of my host explaining Santeria in from of his family's shrine.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I’m sure many of you are asking how safe is it in Cuba.  And, I'd say, the safest city I’ve ever visited in the Latin America. Yes some Cubans will try and get the most they can from an naive tourist.  But that is common in any place where there is a economic disparity as great as you will find in any developing country.  Just pay what you feel is fair and in the end you will be alright.  In terms of violent crime, never did I feel concerned that I would be a victim.  In a world where terrorism has become the norm or being a target for robbery or assault, Cuba is as safe as it gets. 

I had the pleasure to speak with a Hungarian woman who had returned to the island ten years after her first visit.  For her, the island has already dramatically changed.  I can attest, I was unprepared for the number of tourists already visiting the island.  Certain cities like Varadero, Trinidad, Vinales, and Havana felt like Disney World with tour buses galore.  Just in the last year, the number of tourists have skyrocketed over 450% and that number is expected to climb.  So, it is inevitable that Cuba will change with or without Donald Trump as President of the United States. 

Most of the tourist I saw weren’t from the US.  Most of them were not your traditional backpackers.  They were wealthier and older travelers who desire fine dining and five star accommodations.  People say they want to experience Cuba before all the changes come now that Americans can visit.  Well, guess what?  A lot of everybody complained about the lines, options, and things getting done the "Cuban" way.  So, you can bet the foreigners will eventually be accommodated. 

I suspect Cuba’s government will “capitalize” on this now that Fidel has passed.  And they should, because it’s in their own best interest.  The door has been open.  The force is too strong to close.  The incentive too great, not to embrace the opportunity that will follow.  I just hope they can mindfully accommodate the Cuban people and the foreigner in harmony, in a way that doesn’t create a great disparity between the have’s and have not’s, as was the case prior to the revolution. 

Also, if you can, bring small practical gifts for the Cuban people: toys, cloths, makeup, toiletries, school supplies, etc.  They will be greatly appreciated.

-->