Cuba

In November, Casey and I traveled to Cuba. We went with an organization called Global Ministries and traveled with several other people from my church here in Bloomington. Our goals were to learn more about Cuba, make new friends, see old friends, and bring some art supplies in for the Martin Luther King Jr. Center in Havana.

I honestly hadn’t thought much about Cuba as an American. I knew about the Cuban missile crisis, and that some people were afraid of Cuba. I knew about Fidel Castro and the Bay of Pigs, but it was all removed history for me.

In the week we were in Cuba, I fell in love with the country and its people. Nearly everyone who helped us throughout the stay was kind, generous, and extremely educated. Sandor, our guide, is a lawyer. Edelso, our translator, knows several languages and is a professor. Esteban, our bus driver, is a mechanical engineer. They graciously invited us into their country and showed us the good and the bad. Families often live on $15 to $20 US dollars a month (and the cost of goods doesn’t reflect that—a can of Coke is still $1). But they have free education through PhD and healthcare is free and high quality. Whatever house your family lived in at the time of the revolution became yours, so most people inherit a house at some point. Very few people buy or build because of the expense. The government also provides some baseline food needs.

Cubans are friendly, well educated, and self-sufficient despite not having access to the tools we take for granted. That said, they are also in a big brother state and acknowledge that the US embargo makes life much more difficult for them than it could or should be. Instead of getting basic supplies from the nearest country (the US), they have to create workarounds. Even though we have relaxed restrictions on other former enemies—like Vietnam and Russia—Cuba is still under our heel, and it is heartbreaking. For the positives, there are definite negatives. Because education is free, for instance, the market is oversaturated.

Itinerary

Nov. 17: Arrival and the Hotel Inglaterra

We flew into Havana and were greeted at the airport by Sandor, our illustrious guide for the week. Some folks on the trip had visited two years prior, and knew Sandor already. After getting settled and eating dinner at the MLK Center, we headed downtown to the Hotel Inglaterra for a beautiful nighttime view of Havana. I got a piña colada and sat at a rooftop bar with my dear friends. “The breeze was just right, the music beautiful, the company was awesome—it was just one of those perfect moments,” I wrote in my journal.

Nov. 18: Reverend Raul Suarez, a traditional church service, Fabrica de Arte

After a breakfast of meat, cheese, rolls, pineapple, papaya, and hard-boiled eggs, we met with Reverend Raul Suarez, a slight man in his 90s. Not only is he the founder of the MLK Center, but he was also voted into the National Assembly. He spent years representing his community in the government. Speaking with him was a definite highlight of the trip. He told us about his ministry, NGO leadership, social justice work in Parliament, penal code reform, and what he sees as the role of the church in serving the community.

One thing he said is that he is poor but not marginalized or excluded. He is part of a community. Part of that is because he has helped create a community that refuses to separate and isolate.

He worked with Castro on both the penal code reform—to stop capital punishment—and also to let the church serve outside the four walls. Traditionally, because social services are strong in Cuba, the role of the church is not the same as it is here in the US. Whereas we preach to serve those in our community, they worship in their church building and then go about their lives. The government is the entity who should be caring for the poor and weak and broken in their view. Unfortunately, the government doesn’t always perform those tasks well. That’s where Rev. Suarez’s NGO, the MLK Center, steps in. It is a place to gather and to get clean, filtered water, but it also serves Cuba nationally (and internationally) with projects in education and ecumenical networks.

After our talk with him, we headed to a Pentecostal church in central Havana for worship. It was loud and excited with lots of music and prayers. An older woman preached a message Rev. Suarez would have appreciated, about taking Christ’s love out the doors and into the streets. After the service, they welcomed us, holding our faces and kissing our cheeks, and offering crackers and orange soda as a snack. There was a lot of joy in that room, even if I didn’t always understand what was being said.

After lunch at a nearby restaurant, we returned to the church to meet the congregation and chat. We talked about music and art, about the differences between the US and Cuba. We talked about what expectations they have for their government (such as social services) and how their job wasn’t to help the needy but rather to spread the gospel—very different from my own social justice oriented church.

In the evening, those of us old enough went to an amazing art gallery in Havana: Fabrica de Arte. It was such a cool experience. There are three floors of gallery space, live music, films, and a bar. It also gave me a chance to get to know Sandor a bit better. I highly recommend visiting this cultural gem if you get a chance.

Nov. 19: Organic farm and evening church service in rural Cuba

One highlight of the trip was touring an organic farm just outside Havana in Atamar. A lovely woman named Isis (“the good one” she told us), showed us around and detailed the ingenious methods they’ve come up with. Not many people want to be farmers in Cuba, so she and her family (who run the farm) have incentives for employees. They work 7 hour days (6 in the summer), get free haircuts and manicures, get decent pay, and are allowed to have flexible schedules. Now 150 people work there. She said it is hard to convince Cubans to eat vegetables. Between the Spanish and African roots, the traditional diet is meat, rice, and beans. She told us that Cubans eat more rice per capita than China, and they have to import it! Her goal is to prove it makes more sense economically and health-wise to expand to veggies. They also grow medicinal and spiritual herbs for Santeria, an African religion prominent in Cuba.

Because of the US embargo on Cuba, it is difficult to get the necessary farming equipment. A tractor with a single screw made in the US cannot be sent to Cuba, so they’ve had to get creative. They use oxen to plow, and to gauge the pH of the soil they know how many worms to expect in a sample. To test when compost is ready, they use a metal stake rather than a thermometer. And to ward off insects, they plant a “fence” of corn stalks around the garden to distract the bugs. They also use herbs and marigolds to fight pests.

She showed us some really cool plants. One was a mushy fruit that smelled like blue cheese. Another has a high calcium content in its leaves. They also have a mini jungle of fruit trees because the close proximity of the trees confuses the scent for bugs, who then leave the fruits alone.

We helped them weed a carrot patch for about two hours as a thank you for the hospitality. It was really satisfying work.

In the evening, we attended another church service—this time out in the country in a little town called Caimito. They regaled us with all kinds of music, including a violin performance from a young boy, and engaged in great conversation. Cubans have a deep appreciation for art, and this group in particular was very talented. They really love their community and their town. It’s small, safe, and—according to them—less formal than the city.

Nov. 20: La Guira National Park and Historic Havana

This day trip was a bit of let down. After a very long bus ride on terrible roads (Cuba does not maintain highways well at all), we arrived at what we hoped was a jungle we could explore. Instead, it was an old summer mansion of the Cortina family from prior to Castro’s takeover. There were building ruins, a Japanese garden, and lots of sculptures. After a tour, we had a terrible lunch. Casey got some kind of pork meal and couldn’t eat it. Sandor took one look at what they were going to serve us for dessert and vetoed it. Instead of taking free time there as planned, we collectively decided to return to Havana.

In the evening, we took a red machina taxi downtown to the historic district of Havana. We went to Hotel Ambos Mundos first, where Hemingway lived, and I got a mojito with mint grown at the organic farm we visited the previous day.

We also wandered Cathedral Square in the dark, which was gorgeous, and returned to the Hotel Inglaterra for another drink. That part of town has gorgeous architecture, including the ballet and a statue of Jose Marti.

Nov. 21: Art Lessons and the Cuban Art Museum

One of the main reasons for our visit was to bring art supplies and do some art lessons at the MLK Center. We began with a group of senior citizen women, whom we taught paper marbling and watercolors. They loved it and were so excited that they got to take paint and their finished artwork home with them. One woman named Maya adored Bess, who led the workshop, and gifted her art to Bess.

After lunch, Edelso gave us a fabulous tour of the Cuban art museum. He knew so much about the various eras of art and what things represented. We saw amazing work from the dark period of the revolution when much was censored. We also saw the painting known as the Cuban Mona Lisa.

In the evening, we returned to the MLK Center and taught paper marbling to a group of kids—aged around 7 to 20-something. They loved it as much as the seniors and were really creative with new techniques.

Nov. 22: Thanksgiving, Art Lessons, and Muraleando

We began the day repeating the previous morning with a different group of seniors, including several men. Omar painted an airplane in crazy wind and titled it “Climate Change.” He was a pilot and said he is very concerned with the changing climate. Another man told Bess that he had an artist’s soul but was in the Bay of Pigs and got a head injury. Doctors told him he was too injured to continue as an artist, but he still felt full of creativity and was so glad to have the opportunity to paint. A woman had Joe, Bess’s husband and also an artist, sketch a fetus for her, which she put in a heart. I’m sure her story is interesting and potentially heartbreaking.

In the afternoon, a group of us went to the Muraleando Community Art Project, which was incredible. There were murals and sculptures and tile art everywhere you looked. The site used to be a garbage dump, to the point where the water tower on the site was buried. But a collection of artists dug it out and covered it in paintings, mosaics, and other types of art until it was happy and beautiful. A highlight was the live music and an awesome cocktail with rum, coconut, and chocolate.

Nov. 23-24: Varadero

We were lucky enough to spend two days at the most beautiful beach I’ve ever visited. Varadero is a beautiful beach town on the north coast of Cuba. The water is perfectly clear and the sand bright white. We got to relax and play in the ocean while also exploring the town itself. There is a lovely set of artist stalls with local crafts that we got to shop in for some souvenirs. We also picked up some rum and cigars, because Cuba. If Cuba is ever opened to US tourists again, I’m going to Varadero often.

One of my favorite parts of Varadero was sitting at an outdoor burger joint with Sandor, Edelso, and Esteban. They talked to us freely about the blockade, about life, and about how they see the world. Sandor told us about growing up in the late 80s and early 90s—how his entire class had their growth stunted by the effects of the Soviet bloc collapse. Bess said the country lost 30% of their body weight during that time, which is known as the “Special Period.” Despite these hardships, they are such a kind and generous people.

Tips and Tricks

Visa

Though the rules about traveling to Cuba from the US are constantly changing, we were able to enter with a People to People Visa. The organization we traveled with, Global Ministries, applied and provided the visas for us.

Currency

There are two forms of currency in Cuba: the convertible peso (known as the CUC) and the Cuban peso (the CUP). The CUP is just 1/24 of the CUC, so it can get a little confusing.

Food

Women at the MLK Center in Havana cooked for us the majority of the time. Most meals featured rice, beans, plantains, pineapple, yucca, and cabbage. Cuban coffee is to die for, and even though I am not great with caffeine, I drank as much as my body could handle.

You have to be very careful with water in Cuba. Make sure it is filtered and don’t eat ice in restaurants. Folks in our group did get sick at one point, and while we’re not sure exactly what caused it, we think it was the reconstituted powdered lemonade used in some drinks in the Hotel Mundo Ambos, where Hemingway lived for a time.

I highly recommend visiting Cuba and making a point to get to know some locals. It is a beautiful country with beautiful people. Beyond visiting, however, I urge everyone to petition our government to end the Cuban blockade. They deserve better.