Contradictory Cuba

A swath of white sand at the edge of the turquoise sea, a cool drink in hand; this could be any Caribbean destination — until I remember that the local residents are not allowed to share my experience.

Cuba is a country of contradictions, and that is among the factors that make it a very intriguing destination. Many Europeans, Canadians and others travel here for bargain-priced sun-and-sand vacations, recalling the times before the Cuban Revolution when the island was the No. 1 tourist destination in the Caribbean.

The U.S. government continues to maintain a strict embargo on trade with Cuba and severely limits travel there.

The streets of Old Havana, the section dating to the original 16th-century walled city, are lined by architectural gems that have earned it designation by the United Nations as a World Heritage Site. Mountain ranges rise dramatically from green valleys and seemingly endless fields of sugar cane.

And the people — ah, the people welcome visitors with a warm smile, hot music in their souls and a mix of resignation, humor and hope about their political and economic situation. Even the vintage American-made cars from the 1950s, which remain prized possessions for those who can afford them, add to the dichotomy.

Some cars have been restored to near-mint condition by owners with the resources to do so. Most are junkers kept running by a combination of mechanical innovation brought to an art form and, perhaps, prayer. Transportation for the majority of people is by bicycle; motorcycle; overcrowded, smoke-belching Soviet-era buses; and private vehicles of all sorts that pick up paying passengers. Then there is hitchhiking.

Whatever its problems, Havana shares an intriguing and captivating quality with other great cities. Thousands of buildings are shabby at best, but they provide background for the city’s attractions.

A quick glance behind the flaking paint and crumbling facades reveals the faded beauty of stately columns, ornate balconies, coats of arms, and patios lush with plants and fountains.

Behind its faded glory, Havana has attractions enough to fill many a day. With 2 million inhabitants, about one-fifth of Cuba’s population, the city has many more residents than most Caribbean islands.

MANY MUSEUMS

About three dozen museums combine to make the city an art lover’s paradise. Some offer the unsubtle propaganda and praise for socialism and the revolution that visitors to Cuba soon learn to expect. The National Museum of Fine Arts has works by Renoir, Rodin, Goya, Picasso and other European masters, but more intriguing to me is the Cuban section, which displays paintingsranging from canvases of early visitors to contemporary pieces.

The interest of some exhibits lies more in what they say about present-day society than their artistic value. That includes the painting of a pre-revolutionary farm family with looks of destitution on their faces.

Another depicts what can only be termed the indolence of the wealthy. A personal favorite is a 1980 work by Gilberto de la Nuez titled “History of Cuba.” It illustrates major events in minute detail, from the arrival of Spanish explorers to their slaughter of indigenous Indians to hundreds of tiny figures taking to the streets in the revolution.

This painting would be equally at home in the aptly named Museum of the Revolution. It is housed in the former palace from which a line of presidents ruled Cuba with an iron fist and the support of the military. After the success of the revolution in 1959, the ornate, magnificently decorated palace was transformed into a museum relating the history of the island from its colonial days. The focus is upon the uprising that led to the downfall of Fulgencio Batista and brought Fidel Castro to power.

Maps, displays of weapons and exhibits — many with English descriptions denouncing U.S. oppression, imperialism and capitalism — trace the revolution in detail. Graphic photos of people tortured by the Batista regime are not for the faint of heart.

An outdoor display area includes the bullet-riddled delivery truck used in the attack on the palace, and the 25-passenger yacht Granma, in which Castro and 81 other men landed in Cuba to begin their improbable but ultimately successful revolution.

The museums range in subject matter from Cuban heroes to slavery, automobiles to tobacco, rum to Ernest Hemingway.

PLAZA DE ARMAS

The streets and neighborhoods outside the museums provide an introduction to the island’s living history. The Plaza de Armas, the most important square, was laid out in 1519 and served as the center around which early Havana arose.

The Malecon, a sweeping boulevard between the city and the sea, is frequented by strollers, an occasional fisherman, and lovers holding hands. The stately old villas of sugar barons and other wealthy Cubans in the Miramar neighborhood, which were abandoned after the revolution, house government agencies, embassies and business offices.

A visitor to Havana could spend a week or a month exploring the must-see attractions and discovering hidden treasures, but to gain a more complete understanding of Cuba, it also is necessary to experience life on the rest of the island.

I travel from Pinar del Rio, the westernmost province, to Santiago de Cuba near the eastern tip, which was the launching ground for the Castro-led revolution. Along the way, Cuba’s natural attractions pass like a parade of paintings. Flat fields of sugar cane and what many cigar aficionados rate the world’s best tobacco yield to rolling plains where cattle graze.

VAQUEROS

Cowboys, or vaqueros, wearing straw hats and American Western shirts and riding on horses, come into view, as do farmers guiding plows pulled by oxen. Hills where coffee is grown rise into mountain ranges that form the spine that runs in a generally east-west direction. The northern coastline is edged with the best beaches on the island.

The premier ocean resort is Varadero, a leisurely two-hour drive east from Havana. Once a weekend getaway for wealthy Cubans and Americans, Varadero has been transformed into a collection of hotels built by the government in joint ventures with overseas companies.

These hotels attract sun-seeking budget vacationers from Europe and Canada — and many visitors from Central and South America — along with their currency. They come primarily to loll on the dozen or so miles of white-sand beach, one of the best of the 400 beaches along the island, and perhaps to enjoy a day trip to Havana.

Those who take time to travel beyond Havana and Varadero Beach are well-rewarded. Whether delving into history, observing the architecture or seeking encounters with a cross section of Cuban people, further explorations provide a wealth of experiences and impressions.

To stroll the narrow cobblestone streets of Trinidad on the south-central coast is to be immersed in a time capsule of Cuba’s colonial past. Founded in 1514 and having reached its peak as a 19th-century sugar port, the town lives up to its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The town center, where sightseers congregate, has been restored meticulously.

Terra-cotta roofs on the one-story houses have been repaired, fresh coats of soft pastel colors have been applied to outside walls, and traditional wrought-iron grillwork and oversize wooden front doors have been refurbished.

Not surprisingly, many homes in other neighborhoods that are off the tourist track are still in the disrepair to which one becomes accustomed.

SAMTIAGODECUBA

The second-largest city, Santiago de Cuba, is built on hills along the southeastern coast, about 50 miles from Guantanamo Bay. Despite its size, Santiago is more laid-back, tranquil and, in ways, more Caribbean than Havana.

Santiago’s past includes serving as the capital city during the mid-16th century, as a slave port and a refuge for French settlers from Haiti and, more recently, as the birthplace of the Cuban Revolution as well as of Mr. Castro.

The first shots of the uprising were fired there on July 26, 1953, when Mr. Castro led an attack on the Moncada Barracks. The raid was unsuccessful but was a catalyst for the uprising that, 51/2 years later, led to the downfall of Mr. Batista.

Holes from bullets fired during that attack, still visible on outside barracks walls, are a reminder of that event to visitors and to children who attend school in the former garrison. A well-organized museum inside relates the story of the battle with exhibits that include such stark reminders as uniforms of attackers, still covered by dark red bloodstains, and graphic photographs of torture implements used on rebels who were captured, and of their broken bodies.

ELCOBRE

Just outside Santiago are a site and small town that I found intriguing: the nondescript settlement of El Cobre, which takes its name from a copper mine established by the Spanish in the mid-1500s. Of note is the Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Cobre, which each year is invaded by thousands of people who, during some personal crisis, promised to make the pilgrimage in exchange for divine assistance in overcoming their problem.

Of greater interest to me was the opportunity to stroll along the narrow, winding dirt lanes outside the village. Even the most ramshackle house is neat, tidy and often decorated by vines and flowers.

The people I meet look at me with curiosity, then smile and offer a greeting in Spanish. One man gestures for me to enter his modest home for coffee and to meet the family I see inside, but my schedule prevents my accepting.

This friendliness of people whose lives are challenging and lacking in luxuries is one of my lasting memories of Cuba.

My experiences combine to form the confusing, often conflicting, impressions of the country. Those recollections will remain, along with images of Cuba’s natural beauty, glorious architecture and other man-made attractions.

Most of all, I will continue to follow sadly the suffering of the Cuban people, for now they are caught in a political vise.

Islanders deeply divided on Castro, tourism, future

By Fyllis Hockman

SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES

HAVANA — Once-magnificent colonnaded structures crumble beside beautifully reconstructed mansions and grand hotels. Tourist restaurants and well-stocked stores catering to the U.S. dollar coexist with the sparse provisions available to locals for pesos. Government anti-imperialist rhetoric exists alongside hospitality toward Americans.

Cuba may be on the brink of another revolution. With its increasing focus on tourism to combat the debilitating loss of financial support after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, the country is undergoing an architectural makeover, and with it come political and economic implications for the island’s future.

As tourism rises to a vision of economic savior, so does the demand for extensive renovation of hotels, attractions and historic sites to attract tourists.

The advent of larger-scale tourism brings with it other changes as well. Dollars, because they are negotiable on the world market, have become the currency of tourism. Waiters and taxi drivers earn more money than doctors and teachers, which creates a wide discrepancy between those working in the tourism industry and those not. Laurenzo, the bellboy at our hotel, says he has “the best job in the country.”

The terms haves and have-nots refer to those with and without access to dollars. This economic disparity is beginning to result in a two-tier economy, a very non-Communist agenda causing resentment among those not in the tourism industry. I hear one worker refer to it as “economic apartheid.”

This is aggravated by the fact that Cuban residents are not allowed to stay in or dine at those hotels and restaurants designated as tourist destinations. Many Cubans find it difficult to accept the notion that tourism is a major force in the economy and ultimately could benefit the entire population.

Havana-born Jose Valdes is turned down in his attempt to rent a scooter at the Varadero Beach resort: “Here I am, a Cuban worker, from a good, responsible family, and I can’t rent a scooter in my own country, while strangers from other countries are catered to,” he complains.

The government’s additional need for money has led to an uneasy experiment with capitalism as an alternative income-producing measure. Enter the self-employed. Some fast-food stands have cropped up, selling pizza and ice cream. Tourist-designated Coco taxis roam the streets. Private homes have been transformed into bed-and-breakfast accommodations and restaurants. In each case, the new entrepreneurs must purchase licenses and pay taxes.

Will Cuba soon be on a fiscal seesaw, trying to find a balance between communist ideology and commercial capitalism? That possibility depends on life after Fidel Castro, which is as far as the conjecture goes. What’s going to happen when Mr. Castro dies? Whenever I asked a tour guide, teacher or former government official, the answer was the same: a huge shrug of the shoulders.

Despite the repressive government and underlying poverty, Cuba in some ways defies status as a Third World country. Its universal health care system provides broad-based medical facilities to all residents, yet treatment is hampered by a severe shortage of pharmaceutical products and supplies — even aspirin. Each neighborhood has a doctor’s office responsible for preventive and primary care of about 150 families. The doctors divide their time between house calls and office hours daily and closely follow the medical needs of their patients.

In education, the country claims a 96 percent literacy rate, public schooling is mandatory, and graduate-level study comes free with a two-year community-service commitment.

Cuba leads Latin America in health care and education — doctors and teachers travel as emissaries.

Still, there are problems. “I don’t want to tell you that the educational system in Cuba is perfect,” says Nydia Gonzalez, vice chairman of the board of the Cuban Association of Teachers, “but it’s much better than it used to be.” She adds matter-of-factly, “We’d like the U.S. embargo lifted so we could afford more books and supplies, people would have more to eat and be able to pay for better housing, and young people would have money to go to a dance or show.”

Problems of a different nature, of course, are that Mr. Castro governs with a very heavy hand, media censorship is rampant, and leaving Cuba is almost impossible. Some people accept the trade-offs; others are eager for his departure. Though Cuba as a country works in many ways, it is important to recognize the serious hardships the people endure and the ruthless realities of the government.

Poverty is widespread, but starvation is not. Through a rationing program, every household is guaranteed a minimum supply of staples each month. The existence, though, is subsistence-level if there is not enough money available to supplement the government allotment. Although minimal amounts of sugar, eggs, rice, beans, soap, toothpaste and other necessities are provided monthly, items such as beef, chicken, fresh produce, cooking oil, shampoo and cleaning supplies are scarce. If you don’t like rice and beans, you’re in trouble.

With an eye toward improving the diet, the government is encouraging urban gardening. On many unused pieces of land, vegetables are sprouting up.

In conversations with people about health care, education, housing and transportation, there is no attempt to whitewash the problems. Though proud of the accomplishments, people are frank about the shortcomings and challenges.

Though housing is inexpensive, it is so scarce that several generations often share a sparsely furnished two-room apartment, and a decrepit building a casual observer might assume is abandoned could be home to several dozen families.

Comments about Mr. Castro also present a mixed picture. Some people seem to worship him, while others berate him with equal fervor. Most people, I find, combine an old-uncle fondness with the hope that when he leaves the scene, life will improve.

“Yes, Fidel is a dictator,” our tour guide says. “It’s a military state run by the army, but I can speak freely as long as I don’t conspire to overthrow the government. Most people like it this way. We have free health care and education, and there’s tremendous emphasis on improving social services for those in need.” He adds, though, that the Cubans would like “a better economy.”

His outlook is echoed by others. The belief that they and the country are much better off than before the revolution goes along with an apparent affection for Mr. Castro. I determined through discussion with a number of Cubans that unlike the previous dictator, Fulgencio Batista, Mr. Castro is viewed by many as wanting the best for the country and its people — even if the current system doesn’t always deliver it.

Still, a member of our tour group says: “I haven’t met anyone who likes Fidel. Many people are very open about their desire to see him go.”

Before the trip, I anticipated feeling a sense of oppression among the population. I find little of that — just people going about their daily lives, punctuated by tourists traveling in groups and looking the part.

A lawyer from Fayettesville, Ark., says he expected “more of a police state” but instead finds the people “very friendly and eager to help.”

Propaganda, though, is pervasive. An undercurrent of anti-U.S. sentiment is apparent through posters and other public messages. Throughout the countryside, images of revolutionary heroes and “Viva la Revolucion” billboards are interspersed with signs exhorting the public to work hard, get an education and conserve energy. One theory is that the goal is to keep the people focused on the outside enemy as responsible for their problems — the U.S. embargo, for instance — rather than internal dissatisfaction.

It is the enthusiasm and friendliness of the people — even in the face of the many shortcomings and challenges with which they deal — that breathe life into the country, which is brimming with open-air markets, art festivals and street musicians.

I am surprised by the positive attitude so many Cubans express toward Americans, even outside the tourist areas, so it has to be based on more than just our penchant for tipping well. “I am so impressed by how nice the people are, much more so than in the rest of the Caribbean, where often they are angry,” says Anita Madison of New York City.

Although Cubans see the U.S. embargo on goods and restrictions on travel as hurting their economy, I find the people more helpful than hostile. Speaking better English than I expected, the people I ask for directions take me more often than tell me.

“I love Americans,” a taxi driver says when he learns we are from the United States.

A chat with a woman in line at a Havana bakery leads to sharing coffee and conversation with her and her mother in their small but artfully decorated apartment nearby.

When I tell a man walking on a small street in Santiago where my home is, he looks around a bit before rolling up his sleeves to display his tattoos: a U.S. flag on one arm and an American eagle on the other.

Photographs by Victor Block/Special to The Washington Times

Public schooling is mandatory in Cuba, which claims a 96 percent literacy rate. Graduate-level study is free with a two-year community-service commitment. A Havana vegetable seller (right) awaits customers.

Trip to Cuba is illegal for most U.S. citizens

The U.S. government since 1963 has prohibited American citizens from spending U.S. currency in Cuba, in effect making it illegal for most Americans to travel there. Exceptions have been made for journalists, students and several other categories of travelers.

In addition to those who made the trip under permitted loopholes, tens of thousands of Americans have visited illegally by flying there from Mexico, Jamaica, Canada and other countries. In an effort to stop that flow, the U.S. government recently tightened travel restrictions and increased enforcement of the regulations.

The major change is to prohibit people-to-people cultural trips like the one I took. Licenses to visit Cuba still may be granted to specified travelers, primarily people associated with religious organizations and humanitarian projects. Some observers believe those exceptions still will allow Americans who wish to see Cuba to go there by affiliating with an approved organization.

Americans traveling to Cuba in these days of tighter restrictions face a dilemma in providing information to immigration officials on their return to the United States. If they fail to list Cuba under the “countries visited” section on the immigration form, they can be cited for making a false statement; if they list Cuba, they may be charged with going there illegally. Either offense carries stiff penalties.

Travel to Cuba is regulated by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control in the Treasury Department. For information, call 202/622-2480, or log onto its Web site, treas.gov/ofac/cuba (country summaries). This Web site lists authorized U.S. travel-service providers to Cuba.

The agency that planned my trip is a knowledgeable source of information about the regulations and the country: Transeair Travel, 202/362-6100 or blubic@aol.com.

The Web site of the Cuban Ministry of Tourism is www.cubatravel.cu.

WHETHER TO GO

If travel to Cuba were not caught up in a political struggle, it is likely the country quickly would become the major Caribbean destination, as it was for Americans before Fidel Castro came to power and is for some countries today.

Critics of the travel embargo make several points. They note that the United States restricts travel to Cuba but not to China and other countries that also do not respect human rights. They point to the irony of objecting to the Cuban government’s violations of its citizens’ freedoms by restricting the right of Americans to travel there. They also argue that rather than bringing Mr. Castro down, decades of the travel and trade embargoes have provided a convenient boogeyman in Uncle Sam. That, the argument goes, has enabled Mr. Castro to deflect criticism that otherwise might be directed at him.

On the other hand, at the time he announced the tightened travel restrictions, President Bush said the goal of the move was to hasten the end of the Castro regime. He said tourism provides “the hard currency to prop up the dictator and his cronies.”

Supporters of that position say little of the hard currency that tourism brings into Cuba finds its way into the hands of average people there. They say much of it is siphoned off by the government and used to maintain the government’s iron grip on the country.

When I asked about that charge, I was told that a percentage of dollars and euros from tourism is earmarked for reconstruction. Also, several guides and others who work in tourism said they regularly give part of their earnings to support health care and education, although I could not verify whether that meant voluntary donations. Cuban tourism is run by a department of the Cuban military establishment.

WHERE TO STAY

Accommodations are included in the package price paid by most Americans who travel to Cuba with a group. They can vary from top-of-the-line to rather rundown facilities. Even the most expensive hotels sometimes suffer from shortages and other inconveniences. It’s best to take along a lot of patience and a sense of humor.

WHERE TO EAT

Paladares (palates), little underground restaurants formerly hidden in people’s homes, were made legal in 1995. Some have clandestinely expanded in size beyond the 12 allowed chairs and beyond family members who are supposed to staff them. In general, they offer the best food available.

My favorite was Vistamar in the upscale Miramar neighborhood of Havana, which deservedly has been included on lists of “best paladares.” The extensive menu lists fresh fish and scarce meat and chicken, all prepared in a number of ways. Most entree prices are $12 or $13, including vegetables and potato or rice.

The best government-owned restaurant I discovered was Zunzun in Santiago de Cuba. It is in a fine old mansion from pre-revolutionary days decorated with graceful chandeliers and furnished with antiques. Dinners featuring beef filet with red wine sauce ($10) and grilled garlic shrimp ($12) are augmented by an elaborate wine list.