(Last Part)
Photos by Brad Geiser
Old world preserved: Where to stay.
Accomodations are a study in contradiction; the government of Cuba runs most of the grandest hotels in the city.
We stayed in a number of places. The first place was the best: an adaptively reused Andalusian-inspired Mansion from the 1800s. The courtyard will make you imagine what Intramuros could have been. Another massive hotel we stayed in felt like a huge white elephant, conspicuously themed for Jewish travelers, down to a marble statue of Moses pulled from the Nile. The architecture is amazingly preserved, down to turn of the century floor fans and stained-glass ceilings. The rooms are magnificent in their size and appointment, but the sheets have holes, the soap, when there is any, is two-star at best, and the food…just try to dine out whenever possible in a privately owned establishment. On the other hand, when visiting the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization-heritage city of Trinidad, we “home stayed”, meaning someone turned their home into a little rudimentary hotel and I had really delicious octopus there. There are early stage cottage industries here and its refreshing to see that even in the stalls selling tourist memorabilia, 100 percent of everything is handmade in Cuba. The hot industry is here in tourism itself, and the guides here are highly educated, well-spoken and very charming. Apparently, you can’t earn much as an engineer or a doctor in Cuba, but guiding tourists…that’s how the real money is earned. The overqualified guides are real value for money for the traveler, but an unsettling commentary on their economy.
Richness is relative
Because everything is government rationed, Cubans have very little understanding of retail, so some things are ridiculously cheap and other things are priced like we were in Western Europe. For instance, handmade Guayaberas, the elegant four-pocket barong of the Cubanos, costs the equivalent of P200. They even have two different currencies: One for the citizens and another for the tourists. When you change your money, do it from euro to avoid overpaying in dollars, and only get what you need, Cuban currency is not traded anywhere else. There were almost no efforts at marketing and advertising, the few examples I saw were charmingly primitive, leaving me as a consumer a little at a loss as I am so used to having my oversaturated sense of consumption expertly titillated. But I got used to it real fast. It will be a shame when that goes away. Also, the Internet is a rare novelty involving standing in line for card purchases and crowding in the street for Wi-fi. So my advice; take it as an opportunity to digitally detoxify. I did not miss it nearly as much as I thought I would.
Cuba libre: Che and Fidel
The controversial and enigmatic Fidel Castro admittedly adds to the seduction of Cuba.
Imagine, taking on a nuclear super power—at its height—while the rest of the world held its breath.
While equally hated by the West, secretly envied for his longevity, he couldn’t have stayed that long in power if he didn’t enjoy the support of his people.
And instead of burgeoning hate and yearning to break from the shackles of Fidel, we found a Cuba conflicted. They know they need western trade and economics to survive in today’s time, but they were also immensely proud of their country and of what Fidel did for them. Never have I heard so many references to pais in regular conversation!
This is obviously one lesson we can learn from Cuba: that wealth need not be synonymous with pride. On a personal note, I didn’t expect to fall in love with Fidel prior to Cuba.
But to have elicited the love support and admiration of a Che Guevarra, you know that there was a great man, a great leader there worth following.
Many many years after, pouring over photos of Che and Fidel together, you could still see the warmth and tenderness the two shared. A stark contrast to the strongmen persona required of them to wage and win a revolution.
Admittedly, I am not special for having chased Che all the way to Cuba but what I came to appreciate of Fidel is what Che saw in the first place, which is that every liberator-revolutionary needs a builder, stabilizer. And both of them had the wisdom to appreciate each other for what they were and what they weren’t.
Cuba is entering a new age, one where its infamous heroes have all gone. But with Fidel’s youngest brother Raul, taking the reins in 2008, we are about to see where Cuba goes. Whether the story ends here or picks up again to start a new chapter but, perhaps, one with different faces at the front lines and a different world to face.