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Laurie-Ann Scott- Exchange Director
 pril 4 we head to Omaha with our lightly packed bags and our heavily packed “humanitarian boxes.” The sun is just starting to lighten the eastern sky as we get to the airport. We negotiate the check-in and manage to take our many boxes without hangup. Two more ambassadors join us in Houston and all the rest except Rosemary from the U.K. meet us in Cancun. There we encounter Mexican immigration, who has a distinct problem in that many of our contributions were packed in BANANA boxes. The officials were indeed kind as they unpacked and repacked hundreds of little bottles of medicines into new boxes until finally realizing these “suspect boxes” were not staying in Mexico, but going to Cuba. Why should they care, and so they sent the remaining “banana boxes” intact!
Our next hurdle was that our flight to Havana was on a subsidiary of Mexicana Airlines, AeroCaribe. Mexican had given us permission to bring 69 pounds each, but AeroCaribe limits you to 44 pounds. We actually had a total of nearly 600 extra pounds, plus the contributions that most people had packed in their luggage that was only to weigh 44 pounds. Approval of the extra weight required some time and €ve or six people until we found the person in charge. She copied a letter explaining the nature of our mission from The Friendship Force and quipped that Jimmy Carter himself would only be allowed the 44 pounds. She had to justify the extra weight somehow. A charge of $300 was suggested. This could have been much more were it not for the language prowess of Erika Birky Rios who pulled out all her considerable acting skills as she began her negotiations at $25 and cajoled and pleaded until a total charge of $100 was agreed upon for the entire group.
Our plane was the only one arriving in Havana at that time and we could see the customs officials scurrying to their posts to look official for our appearance. Successfully through the travel gauntlet, we are warmly welcomed by Sergio, our excellent Cuban Guide and Juan Carlos, our driver, and taken to the beautiful Miramar Novotel in Havana. Here Ana Puerta from the Cuban Council of Churches and Lourdes, our travel agent in Cuba, and her husband Oskar add to the hotel’s welcome. Now it is a relief to hand over $23,000 cash we all had been carrying for The Friendship Force because checks from U.S. banks do not work in Cuba! Whew!
The first morning we go to ICAP, the Cuban government’s institute of friendship, where we meet Juan Antonio, a delightful young man who is involved with North American relations. He tells us that he has The Revolution to thank for his being where he is today. He expounds upon the improved conditions for the masses, particularly in the fields of literacy and health care. There is a doctor for every 125 Cubans. (However we visit several doctors’ offices delivering medicines and they are very primitive, some with no running water.) The Cuban literacy rate is among the highest in the Americas. Children must attend school through the 9th grade. Those who are having trouble fitting in or those who are getting into trouble are sent for some special schooling in order to go into social work. (I thought this unusual to send this particular group of young people into the social work arena, until Erika learn that the social work is usually “working in the cane fields”.)
Next we meet Javier, who is the man in charge for the North American area. He is very candid and open. After a question about the limitations to the entrepreneurial spirit which might benefit the Cuban people, Javier likens Cuba to a horse that is set to move, but must be reined in lest it go too fast. He says, “Sometimes I would like to see it go a bit faster, but it is better for the country that it go more slowly.” A number of years ago, Castro flirthed with more independent initiative allowing people to operate a number of small shops or services. This may have been too successful, because for some reason this initiative was curtailed and a hefty tax remains on those independent ventures plus certain restrictions. For example, having a private restaurant in one’s home, a PALADOR, must have only family members doing the work and may only serve up to twelve customers, as well as paying a high tax regardless of the amount of business.
Javier says he senses change is in the air. He notes the tourism industry and how it is now the most important business in Cuba. He mentions the many USA states that have sold products to Cuba. He is very friendly and open to all questions. He is obviously very proud of his country and the accomplishments of The Revolution, like Juan Antonio, giving it credit for his education.
After lunch we must produce passports to enter the United States Interests Section located in the Swiss Embassy. A representative working under “Ambassador” Vicki Huddlestone meets with us but does not engage our group as a whole as much as the two men from ICAP. She recites the U.S. position on Cuba which is as follows: the policy of the United States Government is to promote a peaceful transition to democracy in Cuba through a combination of pressure on the Cuban government and outreach to the Cuban people. The U.S. embargo and diplomatic isolation of Cuba are tools we use to deny resources to the authoritarian Cuban government. She says that one of their main jobs was to disseminate information, newspapers, books, magazines, not only from the U.S. but from around the world. Although we could watch CNN in our hotel rooms, it is not available to the average Cuban, as it is illegal to have an antenna. So Cubans can legally only receive government approved broadcasts and read the one government-controlled newspaper. We observe a heavy police presence there and would see people being “written up” for various infractions, although tourists were never bothered. Someone told Erika Birky that if you disagreed openly with the government you could “just disappear.” There are a number of laws affecting our relationship with Cuba, and as our speaker pointed out, we live in a free country and can work to have these laws changed. I am glad I am not a politician.
Our second full day features a city tour. We go to a building that looks much like the U.S. Capitol that used to house the government and we see the beautiful theater in Old Havana, many statues, and the area built especially to demonstrate about Elian Gonzales. We also visit Revolution Square, where the offices of Fidel Castro and the Cuban Communist party are located across from a building-size portrait of Che Guevera done in metallic sculpture. Propagandist billboards are relatively common. We walk around Old Havana and have a great visit to the Fort, which in its prime defended Havana from pirates and buccaneers.
Our next day we take off for the Hemingway Museum at La Vigia, his country house, presumably in the same condition as when he left it. On the beautiful grounds we find the dog cemetery, the four-story building that had one floor reserved for the family cats, a separate house for the children, a lovely pool, and the boat, Pillar.
When we return to Havana, about a dozen of us decide to go to an African Cuban street dance where music is played each Sunday afternoon. The crowds grow increasingly thick as we near the band area and we are simply shoved and pushed and jostled as people try to negotiate their way through the narrow street. Unfortunately, there are unscrupulous folks at this venue because many attempts are made to get into our pockets, purses, or backpacks. They are successful at lifting the wallet from one of our group.
This very full day ends with a beautiful experience, in that most of our group took advantage of the optional visit to the Tropicana. This cabaret show began in 1939 and has continued in essentially the same format ever since. The outdoor setting is beautiful with the staging extending far up into the trees on two sides and the full orchestra suspended in the trees on a third side. The costumes are extravagant and the dancing and staging absolutely spectacular with nearly 200 performers participating.
Now it is April 8th and we are off to our next destination with a stop at Cienfuegos. We have free time to visit any of a number of places or just wander. Many young people are on the square as both an elementary school and high school are here. All elementary students wear red uniforms with white shirts. and the secondary students wear yellow...the girls having VERY short skirts. This square resembled small town America with a bandstand. Lunch at the Palacio del Valle is al fresco, but the real enjoyment here is the fascinatingly ornate Moorish architecture of the building designed to be a casino...a goal cut short by The Revolution. The exotic Carmelita who sang and played piano, has red, (we’re talking “fire engine red”) eyebrows penciled in and keeps people entertained inside the restaurant.
En route to Trinidad, we pass an area where an interesting natural phenomenon is occurring. The annual migration of the land crabs from the nearby “mountains” to the sea to lay their eggs or whatever crabs do to reproduce, unfortunately, involves crossing the only major highway in the area. Splat! We all groan when Juan Carlos tries in vain to thread his way through the tens of thousands of crabs. Finally he finds an opportunity to stop and those of us who wish pour out of the coach to crabwatch and crabphoto.
In Trinidad, we have a lovely newly remodeled hotel, overlooking the old city. Here I have an interesting experience in the bathroom. I am relaxing on the only seat in the room with a book, when a little lizard jumps on my lap! YIKES! I am out of there and into the bedroom in a flash, barely impeded by my slacks around my ankles. Don’t know who was more startled, the lizard or me! He stayed with us until the next day.
Our first stop the next day is the pottery shop, a true success story of independent business. Buses of tourists flock in as a potter demonstrate and we all enjoy looking at the myriad of home made objects available for a reasonable price. As we leave, a number of ladies are offering us home made crocheted items and beads for sale as well.
Trinidad is a most interest city, designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. It holds two very old churches, one still intact and one that needs restoration. It is the third oldest city in Cuba, 1514, an outpost for smugglers and pirates. It later enjoyed boom times in the 18th century in the sugar plantation era. It turned into somewhat of a backwater once again as a highway did not reach here until the 1950’s.
Being isolated saved the heart of the old town from development and the 6000 residents today can enjoy the benefits of tourism as they work toward restoring the old neighborhoods. From the tower of an old convent we can see many street vendors below, but soon it is time to scurry on to our lunch in the jail! No kidding! The old jail is now the scene for a lovely lunch, with Cuban music, of course.
There are several old caves in the area which were once home to the Indians, or indigenous people, the few who were not killed off in short order by the initial Spaniards. Around 10 P.M., several of us head to the cave, a walk of about half a mile around a bend and up a steep, steep hill. At the top of the hill, we enter the cave and then descend down, down, down to a really modern disco, where our white clothing glows in the black light and the mirrored ball has additional facets that open up and shoot flashing lights down on the dance floor. Fog blows out of the cave walls to add to the ambiance and the pulsations of the accomplished Cuban dancers and the wonderful acoustics of the Cuban-disco beat. The local mustachios were chained to their chairs like boys at a junior high dance, until the entertainers arrived-the same entertainers that performed the sedate dances at the hotel came here in thongs! After their show, everyone starts to dance....cha-cha, limbo, salsa, even a conga line...plus American favorites and even “Who Let the Dogs Out!”
Moving again, and we are off to Santa Clara where we visit one of the most impressive monuments to The Revolution, the grave of Chen Guevara and a number of other revolutionaries, including one woman. An air of solemnity is required and you are not allowed to carry anything extra inside, no purses or cameras. There are flowers at each site in the mausoleum and an “eternal flame.” One of the ubiquitous power outages occurs after we have been in the rather sparsely filled museum a short while, and we are asked to leave.
Next we go to another huge monument to Che which has revolutionary billboards nearby. Finally we stop at the Armored Train Monument, where rebel troops led by Guevara derailed one of Batista’s troop trains. Four rust-colored railcars are preserved with their contents supposedly as they were at the time. Che Guevara, a revolutionary, who died later in Mexico, is memorialized everywhere, but pictures and statues of Fidel Castro, are virtually nonexistent.
Finally we arrive at Varadero Beach, past one beautiful hotel after another until we arrive at ours. It is quite impressive even though they are still engaged in repairs from the onslaught of Hurricane Michelle last November. This area is truly an enigma, in stark opposition to the poverty we can’t help but see as we travel through the countryside. They call this the Cancun of Cuba. Everything is free and we are given schedules for the various buffets, bars, and restaurants. The grounds and pool are quite extensive and the beach is lovely, particularly as it is populated by foreign visitors who think nothing of going topless. On our second night we decide to have a farewell dinner of sorts and they set up a table for 27 at the outdoor restaurant by the beach where we are served and entertained with panache!
Ambassadors have a number of different options to occupy their time. Some go deep-sea fishing. There is a dolphin show and a chance to swim with dolphins next door, a shopping mall nearby, the pool, and of course, the beach! After a second night “roughing it” at this resort where Cuban people are not allowed, we return to Havana. Some people €nd the local PALADORS, some go to a wonderful buffet, some have eaten enough! We take Ana, from The Friendship Force, and her Methodist minister husband, Pedro, to their favorite palador, called La Mulatta. The owner is mulatto, which, according to Ana, is a word of respect here to describe her mixed racial heritage. She has hosted Friendship Force gatherings a couple of times risking fines if she is caught serving more than the twelve officially allowed.
We enjoy discussing our week with our new friends and learning more about them and their family. We give them the monetary gifts that were contributed by several people so that the Council will be able to buy medicines for the many people who stop by for help. Ana has written a postcard in Spanish to the Girl Scouts thanking them for their work in getting medicines and pens and colors for the Cuban children and she has a brand new Cuban peso for each. She tells me that they have packed up our contributions into twenty boxes to distribute to churches throughout Cuba where the need is great.
On the 13th of April, we leave the country that so few others have visited, feeling a bit more informed and certainly impressed by the beauty of the landscape, and the wonderful openness and friendliness of the Cuban people...people who say that change is in the air. I hope it is!
Postscript
Eleven ambassadors stayed an additional three days in Cancun, Mexico. They enjoyed more all-inclusive pleasures including sumptuous buffets, drinks, entertainment, and tours. We spent one day lolling around the “digs,” a second day visiting the Mayan ruins at Tulum, and a third day visiting the huge Mayan pyramid at Chichen Itza. Bob Wittstruck brought the house down on Karaoke night. We all arrived home safe and sound April 16th and no one had even gotten sick, not even those who “drank the water!”
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