Cuba – Extreme Americana

December 12-14

Ola! As part of Operation Christmas Surprise, I needed a place to hang around for 10 days or so before heading off to the Bahamas. This has given me the opportunity to visit a place in the Caribbean which is quite different to the other islands: Cuba.

One of many Chevrolets from the 1950s
which still glide through the city of Havana

Hotel Nacional in Havana, where Frank Sinatra and
many mafia members stayed in the 1950s

Cuba has long fascinated me, ever since learning all about the Missile Crisis when I studied history at school. For a relatively small island, it is filled to the brim with history and its story is fascinating. A publisher of fiction would probably throw your tale of Cuban history into the bin, saying it is too far-fetched to be believed.

Cuba is 90 miles from Florida

A replica (probably) of a part of the U2 spy plane
which was shot down by Cuba in 1960

I’m also drawn to places which are a bit more of a challenge to enter and explore (Myanmar and Turkmenistan spring to mind). Cuba doesn’t exactly fit that specification…unless you’re American. Though President Obama’s visit in 2014 paved the way for a more promising relationship, the current administration has slightly tightened restrictions. Americans I met in Havana, Cuba’s fascinating capital and my first stop, had often been allowed to come as they had told their government that they were here to ‘help the Cuban people’.

When he came in 2014, President Obama ate
in this restaurant in Centro Habana

The US Embassy building is opposite a set of poles, which
used to have anti-American flags waving on them

It wasn’t always like this. A lot of Cuba’s history, positive and negative, is linked to intervention from its big northern neighbour. The most positive from a local perspective was America’s first involvement in 1898 in what is called the Spanish-Cuban-American War. Spain surrendered, Cuban revolutionaries were martyred and the island became a Republic four years later.

A statue of liberation hero Antonio Maceo

Cuba became a republic in 1902

Before this, Cuba was under the rule of the Spanish Crown. Much of Havana has been designed in this architectural style, making the old quarter (Havana Vieja) a very pleasant area to stroll through in the winter sunshine.

Plaza Vieja, ironically not the oldest
plaza in the city

Plaza de la Catedral

For the next fifty to sixty years, America heavily influenced Cuban life. Walking along the Malecon, the beautiful, wide ocean road in Havana, you can be transported back to a different era. Open-top Chevrolets of pink, red and blue are omnipresent, whizzing by the grand old hotels where mafia men from New York, Chicago and New Orleans used to gather for a grand old time.

Couples relaxing on the Malecon

The Chevrolets without tops were used for tours -
Chevrolets with tops are cheaper taxis without suspension

To many Cubans, however, America merely replaced Spain in the role of coloniser. Part of the cost for becoming a republic was to have the option of American intervention enshrined in Cuba’s constitution. The US naval base on Guantanamo, which has become infamous in the last twenty years, was created at this time, meaning that America permanently had officers on the island. In the decades that followed, Cuba became a Caribbean Wild West for corruption, always at the whim of the US.

Graffiti on the wall of the Malecon

Ernest Hemingway used to stay here

Revolutionary thoughts flickered and then ignited in the late 1950s, with the triumph announced on January 1^st, 1959. The US didn’t like this or its leader, Fidel Castro – the stories of assassination attempts are both numerous and humorous. His chum, an Argentine called Che Guevara, was also on the naughty list. Che’s face is plastered across Havana and you can visit his headquarters at Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña.

Che - an Argentinian word for 'mate' - is an icon

Che Guevara commanded forces from this fort in northern Havana

Near this is a barracks which shows what Cuba thought of US actions on the island in the early 1960s. The writing tells of an ‘aggressive Yankee policy’ and ‘imperialism’s defeat’ at the Bay of Pigs, which I’ll visit later in my trip. The remnants (possibly replicas) of the U2 spy plane which was shot down over Cuba are a chilling reminder that actions accompanied this fiery rhetoric, though thankfully for mankind tensions eased before any big red button was pressed.

A part of the U2 spy plane

An interesting contracdiction between times when Cuba
liked and disliked the United States of America

Soviet influence is visible in the form of some brutalist buildings and the little Ladas which intersperse the massive Chevrolets on Havana’s streets. When it collapsed in the early 1990s, it almost dragged Cuba with it into oblivion.

One of Havana's main hospitals, built in the Soviet style

A Russian Lada, which is a common feature on Havana's roads

What Castro called the ‘Special Period’ was a time of desperation and severe austerity for the island, from which it hasn’t really recovered. Ration shops still exist; some goods we take for granted in developed countries don’t. The average wage is about $25 a month, meaning many take risks selling items on what is dubbed the ‘informal’ market.

A ration shop - interestingly, rum features
prominently next to sugar and flour

A pulley system transports goods up to
the higher floors of Havana's houses

A relaxation of some regulations by Fidel’s brother, Raul Castro, has helped. Cubans are now allowed to sell their car or property. There are now ‘private’ restaurants in addition to the government versions. It’s very difficult but Cubans are now allowed to travel abroad, a right we take for granted but they didn’t have ten years ago. Ultimately, hands are still tied by an embargo placed on the country by the US a long time ago.

Many buildings, called 'casa particulares', double
up as homestays for visitors

Many buildings are in a state of disrepair

Do Cubans hate Americans for this? Not that I could tell. Many people wore clothing with the stars and stripes on it, though that may be just accepting any clothing as it is a relatively expensive purchase here. The Americans I’m travelling with haven’t had any issue. They have money and have come to invest it in Cuba and its people – I guess locals are thankful for that.

American flags on cars and rickshaws are a common sight

A large sign on one of Havana's theatres

Cuba’s past has been described as turbulent and troubled. There is no doubt that the people who populate this island – and the many who fled in the aftermath of the revolution – have had very hard times to survive. That the spirit and incredible culture, which I will identify in the next blog, shows the strength of their character. Understanding Cuba’s history will hopefully help me appreciate the island even more, starting with its beautiful and fascinating capital.

Love you all,

Matt