I got back last month from a week-long jaunt to Cuba. It’s long been on my bucket list and as a warming winter break, not too far away, with some historical and cultural interest, it fit the bill (besides, who knows if the current administration will cut it off completely soon).
I traveled with a group tour for the first time in about 20 years, which provided structure, a (very) friendly group for interaction, and support (and ease of logistics). Road Scholar did a good job on the ground (although their air travel group dropped the ball on my arrangements).
Cuba was colonized by Spain for 400 years and then either formally or effectively under the thumb of the US for 60 until 1959. We’ve been at war with them since (occasionally hot, but mostly cold); marked by embargoes and isolation. Until the Soviet Union collapsed 35 years ago, a lot of support came from Moscow, but since then, Cuba has struggled pretty much on its own.
Any traveler (particularly for only a week and not speaking the language) can only dip their toe in the water of the local culture. Narratives are shaped by itinerary and guides (and preconceptions). This expedition was certainly no exception. It wasn’t a problem, but it was good to bear in mind. Road Scholar set this up as a culturally focused trip, including a cooking class, a couple of dance performances, a visit to Hemmingway’s house and fishing village, a tobacco farm, time with the famous old American cars of the 1950s, all on top of the usual sightseeing, both in Havana and the countryside. A couple of quite good lectures on the history of Cuban music and architecture also provided good grounding.
The lack of economic development, principally due to the impact of 60+ years of US economic boycott and sanctions, is a central fact of Cuban life. We imposed this mode of economic warfare at the height of the Cold War (immediately after the Cuban Missile Crisis). Since then, with some relaxation under the Obama Administration, we continue to pretend that the global struggle against Communism is still underway. Cuba clearly has a socialist economy, but we avidly trade with every other erstwhile (or continuing) Communist country. We’ve gotten over the “loss” of China (1949-1972), the loss to Vietnam (1954-1991), not to mention Russia (1917-1933 and occasional and limited sanctions since then thru to the Putin era). Why pick on Cuba? Could it be that the exiles in Miami who lost their property in Cuba as a result of the 1959 Revolution are stuck in the past? Could it be that there’s no clear major domestic US beneficiary of normal economic relations to lobby for change? It’s a minor issue for us; it’s been devastating for the Cuban people.
It's a curious corner of global imperial history that those who leverage the formal and informal structures of power to their own advantage—aligning with either the imperial power or a local regime of exploitation—are often the most vehement about the loss of that power. The ex-Battista-ites (i.e., those aligned with the regime overthrown by Castro in 1959) now in South Florida are of a piece with the pieds-noir (the French who lived in Algeria and violently opposed that country’s independence) or the Brits in residence in Kenya or Rhodesia. They all stood in opposition to history’s wave of decolonization in the mid-20C. The others have faded away. But not the Cubans.
It's hard to believe that a deal cannot be struck to provide a face-saving compensation plan to those whose families’ property was confiscated by the revolutionary state in the 1960s. More complex situations—post-Holocaust, post-Soviet, or even what we took from the Brits during the Revolutionary War—have pretty much been resolved through payments, claims processing, or a gentle consignment to the mists of “ancient history.” It’s more than time to move on. There is energy and opportunity all across Cuba (although less now, since about a million people have left and gone elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere for new opportunities.
The impact of the sanctions is quite evident in Havana, a city rich in history—empire, slavery, sugar—and home to about 2M of Cuba’s 10M people. Fine colonial architecture and a few modern buildings (built either by the Russians or, more recently non-US investors) sit cheek-by-jowl with crumbling concrete. It’s a vibrant place with plenty of sites for a few days of touristing. We were well fed (one goes only to the burgeoning private restaurants and avoids the overpriced and poor quality state-run stores and eateries). Our group was supplied with drinks at all meals—the usual range of tropical favorites—which one could get with or without “Vitamin R” (one of the many local rums). I partook regularly. Rum is my normal summer drink, so I was glad to get the chance to “taste local.” I still have (unopened) a bottle of Bacardi which my grandparents brought back from Cuba in the 1950s. Bacardi decamped to the US and Puerto Rico and has spearheaded the US sanctions regime against Cuba since.
Castro installed a “communist” regime, banning private industry, but that has long been relaxed in many sectors. Both in the capital and the countryside, small private businesses have been allowed for a couple of decades and are impressive. Road Scholar goes out of its way to feature success stories in multiple sectors. Private businesses are unconstrained by the formal currency conversion rate and US dollars are widely accepted (the de facto rate is about three times that of the formal rate, making many cash transactions (US credit cards are not allowed) a pretty good deal. Cubans have a long history of resilience—whether vis-à-vis the Spanish, local oligarchies, American sanctions, or the loss of Russian subsidies 30+ years ago, or the current nonsense of US foreign policy. They scrounge and scramble. There’s an appealing spirit and an informal motto that “nothing is impossible.” They deserve a chance to build on that spirit.
I traveled with a group tour for the first time in about 20 years, which provided structure, a (very) friendly group for interaction, and support (and ease of logistics). Road Scholar did a good job on the ground (although their air travel group dropped the ball on my arrangements).
Cuba was colonized by Spain for 400 years and then either formally or effectively under the thumb of the US for 60 until 1959. We’ve been at war with them since (occasionally hot, but mostly cold); marked by embargoes and isolation. Until the Soviet Union collapsed 35 years ago, a lot of support came from Moscow, but since then, Cuba has struggled pretty much on its own.
Any traveler (particularly for only a week and not speaking the language) can only dip their toe in the water of the local culture. Narratives are shaped by itinerary and guides (and preconceptions). This expedition was certainly no exception. It wasn’t a problem, but it was good to bear in mind. Road Scholar set this up as a culturally focused trip, including a cooking class, a couple of dance performances, a visit to Hemmingway’s house and fishing village, a tobacco farm, time with the famous old American cars of the 1950s, all on top of the usual sightseeing, both in Havana and the countryside. A couple of quite good lectures on the history of Cuban music and architecture also provided good grounding.
The lack of economic development, principally due to the impact of 60+ years of US economic boycott and sanctions, is a central fact of Cuban life. We imposed this mode of economic warfare at the height of the Cold War (immediately after the Cuban Missile Crisis). Since then, with some relaxation under the Obama Administration, we continue to pretend that the global struggle against Communism is still underway. Cuba clearly has a socialist economy, but we avidly trade with every other erstwhile (or continuing) Communist country. We’ve gotten over the “loss” of China (1949-1972), the loss to Vietnam (1954-1991), not to mention Russia (1917-1933 and occasional and limited sanctions since then thru to the Putin era). Why pick on Cuba? Could it be that the exiles in Miami who lost their property in Cuba as a result of the 1959 Revolution are stuck in the past? Could it be that there’s no clear major domestic US beneficiary of normal economic relations to lobby for change? It’s a minor issue for us; it’s been devastating for the Cuban people.
It's a curious corner of global imperial history that those who leverage the formal and informal structures of power to their own advantage—aligning with either the imperial power or a local regime of exploitation—are often the most vehement about the loss of that power. The ex-Battista-ites (i.e., those aligned with the regime overthrown by Castro in 1959) now in South Florida are of a piece with the pieds-noir (the French who lived in Algeria and violently opposed that country’s independence) or the Brits in residence in Kenya or Rhodesia. They all stood in opposition to history’s wave of decolonization in the mid-20C. The others have faded away. But not the Cubans.
It's hard to believe that a deal cannot be struck to provide a face-saving compensation plan to those whose families’ property was confiscated by the revolutionary state in the 1960s. More complex situations—post-Holocaust, post-Soviet, or even what we took from the Brits during the Revolutionary War—have pretty much been resolved through payments, claims processing, or a gentle consignment to the mists of “ancient history.” It’s more than time to move on. There is energy and opportunity all across Cuba (although less now, since about a million people have left and gone elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere for new opportunities.
The impact of the sanctions is quite evident in Havana, a city rich in history—empire, slavery, sugar—and home to about 2M of Cuba’s 10M people. Fine colonial architecture and a few modern buildings (built either by the Russians or, more recently non-US investors) sit cheek-by-jowl with crumbling concrete. It’s a vibrant place with plenty of sites for a few days of touristing. We were well fed (one goes only to the burgeoning private restaurants and avoids the overpriced and poor quality state-run stores and eateries). Our group was supplied with drinks at all meals—the usual range of tropical favorites—which one could get with or without “Vitamin R” (one of the many local rums). I partook regularly. Rum is my normal summer drink, so I was glad to get the chance to “taste local.” I still have (unopened) a bottle of Bacardi which my grandparents brought back from Cuba in the 1950s. Bacardi decamped to the US and Puerto Rico and has spearheaded the US sanctions regime against Cuba since.
Castro installed a “communist” regime, banning private industry, but that has long been relaxed in many sectors. Both in the capital and the countryside, small private businesses have been allowed for a couple of decades and are impressive. Road Scholar goes out of its way to feature success stories in multiple sectors. Private businesses are unconstrained by the formal currency conversion rate and US dollars are widely accepted (the de facto rate is about three times that of the formal rate, making many cash transactions (US credit cards are not allowed) a pretty good deal. Cubans have a long history of resilience—whether vis-à-vis the Spanish, local oligarchies, American sanctions, or the loss of Russian subsidies 30+ years ago, or the current nonsense of US foreign policy. They scrounge and scramble. There’s an appealing spirit and an informal motto that “nothing is impossible.” They deserve a chance to build on that spirit.
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