Cuba… where do I start?
The Grand Old Dame now shabby was once the Paris of the Antilles. A Spanish colony with an invaluable geographical location in the Caribbean aided in its fight for independence by the USA.. for a high price. At the turn of the 20th century Cuba was the biggest producer of sugar (white gold) in the world and Americans owned the biggest piece of the pie. Art nouveau and art deco buildings, mansions, theatres and lamp lit wide avenues filled Havana and its harbour. During the prohibition years in the USA Americans flocked to drink and gamble in Havana. There were politicians, movie stars and mafia. Classy American cars filled the streets in the 1950s.. Chevys, Buicks, Pontiacs. Then came Fidel Castro & Che Guevara and the Revolution- taking back Cuba for Cubans in 1959. The foreign exploitation came to an abrupt halt – Cubans now had education and healthcare- but also stifling communism and foreign assets were seized and nationalised. So came the international embargo by the USA on trading with Cuba and the terrorist attacks by the CIA- nobody bites the hand of the master that fed them!
And so Havana is frozen in time – the grandeur of the buildings is still there but some has been maintained and some left to crumble. The classy cars are now American classic cars – maintained and driven because there was nothing else.. unless you count the Russian cars that came after. Cuba -the only place in the world where you will see a Chevy and a Russian Lada revving together at the stoplight
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But people survive despite governments – farmers are required to sell 90% of their crops and produce to the government market. My guide explained about ‘Cuban mathematics’ to me as they sell the other 20% for a better profit. Cuban cigars are undoubtedly known as the best quality in the world and somehow despite the embargo they are still enjoyed by the rich and famous around the world.
I have longed for a trip to forbidden Cuba and have been richly rewarded. The history and grandeur of Havana, like being on a movie set in the 1950s, cruising around in classic American cars, the lively bar scene with Cuban live bands, the waft of cigar smoke always in the air.
And lastly something I didn’t know about Cuba – it is home to the smallest bird in the world- the bee hummingbird. The size of your thumb and weighing less than 2g when it’s wings beat they sound exactly like a bumblebee!
Buena suerte- good luck to my new Cuban friends as you deserve to be treated better by the world!