The cast bronze sculpture rests one arm on the bar. He looks ready to order another daiquiri, but in reality he's observing, with his metal eyes, everyone who comes and goes from El Floridita. Some flash their cameras at that life-sized Hemingway statue, while others see it as something from the past, from that long-ago era when there was nothing unusual about finding an American drinking in some bar or walking along the crowded streets of Havana, a time when 90 miles didn't seem a great distance, and the language barrier was surmounted by dint of drinks, music, hugs, and jokes.
Despite geographical proximity, for the vast majority of Americans today, Cuba is unfamiliar territory, a region deep in mystery. It so happens that many Americans can't even locate our country on a map or imagine an island where one can see the entire periphery of its shores from the height of a coconut tree (something like the space inhabited by Robinson Crusoe, but in this case it is not occupied by one solitary man but by 11 million people). In that vast country to the north, there are still those who believe the story of the heroic David resisting the onslaught of Goliath in order to establish a kingdom of social justice, and others who see us more as a political monster where a people, deep in material and moral poverty and turned into robots, threaten to invade them, as soldiers as well as immigrants.
It's already been half a century that American citizens have been denied the legal right to visit our country. While they have had to learn the names of 11 different leaders who have passed through the White House in those five decades, our Plaza of the Revolution has had only two tenants, both with the same surname. In all that time most of America's enemies have evolved into business partners, like Russia, China, or Vietnam, or into NATO allies, like the various Eastern European nations. On the other hand, former friends have become adversaries, like Iran or Venezuela, but the name of Cuba (along with North Korea) remains on the same list.
So from the other side of the Straits of Florida, the image of Cubans has been shaped with a great deal of imagination, a lot of past memories, and the stories of the exiles. As a result, it is not strange to view us as if we were living in one of those old sepia postcards, forever frozen in an image from the mid-20th century. A people who still travel in old cars made by Cadillac, Chevrolet, and Plymouth, cars that came off the assembly lines of American factories. An Island trapped between the beauty of nature and the deterioration of its architecture, with neighborhoods that at times seem to be located in New York or Washington, D.C., while at others recalling Calcutta or Somalia.
To walk along the wide avenues of Havana is a trigger for nostalgia for Americans over 60. A kind of déja-vu, bringing back memories from childhood, sensations from their teenage years. We are something like a museum of the early 20th century, but one where those in charge of the "collection" haven't taken care of the pieces they display to the public, an agglomeration of obsolete and patched objects that evoke a glamor now extinct.
It's obvious that we are the only inhabitants of Latin America who do not call these visitors in pink-flowered shirts by the derogatory name "gringos." Here, no. Here we say "yumas," which has a laudatory and admiring tone, even a certain fascination. Although the political propaganda tries to get us to call them "yankees," that little word has failed to permeate everyday language. And the same thing happens in the other direction. Many Americans look on us with the affection they would show to a younger and poorer cousin, one who still has a lot to learn. At times, with a certain arrogance, they ask questions only they understand: Why doesn't my Blackberry work here? Where's the machine to pay for parking? Is there somewhere I can buy Kleenex? And each one of these questions exudes an innocence that we find funny, that makes us laugh. Perhaps that is the source of their image of us as a people who are always smiling, which they then pass on to their friends in New Orleans, Arkansas, and Texas.
Among the Americans who have been treading this earth in the last five decades, there are many exceptional people, from academics to TV stars, movie directors like Steven Spielberg (why not travel to a Jurassic Park?), and ex-presidents like Jimmy Carter, all full of good will more than ingenuousness. Thousands of others come each year, daring to challenge the controls imposed by U.S. law, using the old trick of traveling through a third country and taking advantage of the customs authorities who do not stamp their passports so no one will find out they entered this demonized territory.
Among these intrepid visitors was Jaime, a boy from New York; not content with immersing himself in a passion for Cuban literature, he fell helplessly in love with a young brunette with almond eyes and the hands of a healer. One day, more than five years ago, someone asked him how, exactly, he saw Cuba. "My experience is unique," he said, "so I can't make generalizations. I am aware that I am on this Island when I open my eyes in the morning and the first question that comes to mind is: What will I find to eat today?"
Follow Yoani Sanchez on Twitter: www.twitter.com/yoanifromcuba
The fact is that there are hungry folks in any country, and there are over-fed ones as well.
As far as travel to Cuba, she is as limited as any other inhabitant of a Caribbean Island, not many are allowed as they usually don't go home.
She has also failed to comprehend that a wealthy country like US cannot house, insure and take care of its own citizens, while Cuba with all of its difficulties does, or at least pretends to do, albeit modestly and frugally.
I have to extend an invitation and place the author in South Chicago or North Philly, for her to grasp the notion of Shangri-La which is a relative concept. I am sure she will return with a more clear perspective and thankful for her beautiful Island, despite its difficulties which is prevalent all over the world.
HAVANA TIMES : The (Non) Right of Cubans to Travel -Haroldo Dilla Alfonso-February 1, 2010-
Above all, travel for Cubans is not a right, but a legal privilege. It is a condition that can be granted or rescinded. It is a revocable concession by an unappealable power and is without a defined judicial framework.
In all cases, the departures of these people imply considerable fees that can end up in well excess of US $500, an immense sum for a population with exceedingly depressed wages that average $20 a month. In short, to leave, each person must be able to pay for a letter of invitation, a passport and an exit permit.
On top of this, once in the destination country, the traveler must make payments to the Cuban embassy in that country a sum that varies each month they remain in that country, which is a highly uncustomary practice. This sum fluctuates between $40 and $150 a month.
There are no laws or clearly written regulations covering these processes; rather, there are arbitrary and discretionary practices that mix starkly fascist reins of political control with mercurial motivations of the worst kind.
CLICK LINK FOR ENTIRE ARTICLE!
But then again, we HATE Cuba and cannot go there..
And we are at war with Communist North Korea, as we never signed a peace treaty
Huh?
Someone please explain this to me...
According to the UN, the life expectancy in Cuba is 78.3 years (76.2 for males and 80.4 for females). This ranks Cuba 37th in the world and 3rd in the Americas, behind only Canada and Chile, and just ahead of the United States. Infant mortality in Cuba declined from 32 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 1957, to 10 in 1990–95.[177] Infant mortality in 2000–2005 was 6.1 per 1,000 live births (compared to 6.8 in the United States).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba
Cuban's here in the U.S. are coddled and pampered, relatively speaking, to other minority cultures that come to the U.S., having to battle, in some cases to the death, to enter this country!
Most Cuban's, including your Fl. Senator, Marco, would not understand that battle!
The Republican party makes sure to take care of you, since they hate Fidel just as much as many of you do.
Also to my point about sugar uncle, yes, Cubans have done well as a whole, generally speaking but as I noted, much of it is because you first don't have to fight underground methods to be classified with a legal status, once you set foot, you gain some acceptance here in the U.S., by the Cuban Adjustment Act, which today is obsolete and not necessary, in my belief.
I stand by feeling that you, as mainly Repugnant-can in nature are helped quite a lot by the "Whites" in this country, the U.S. because of the mutual hate they and you have for Fidel.
Once the white establishment gets tired of you or Fidel passes, they will probably throw you away like a worn out toothpick!
VICTIMS OF THE CUBAN REVOLUTION- Cases up to January 25, 2012
This work documents loss of life and disappearances of a political or military nature attributed to the Cuban Revolution. Each documented case is available for review at The Cuba Archive and substantiated by bibliographic/historic data and reports from direct sources. Due to the ongoing nature of the work and the difficulty of obtaining and verifying data from Cuba, the following totals change as research progresses and are considered far from exhaustive. Cuba Archive is currently examining additional cases -most are expected to be added to this table. Experience has shown that as additional outreach efforts are undertaken, many more cases are likely to be uncovered.
Non-Combat Victims of the Castro Regime: Work-in-progress-Documented Cases
Total = 10,500
"Balseros" (estimate to 2003) = 77,833 victims
http://cubaarchive.org/home/images/stories/1.25.2012_update.pdf
For years there was no other voice for the Cuban people. Since then lots of other voices have added themselves to the debate ranging from "new" exiles to dissidents in Cuba.
Please note that the majority of the people on the island isn't worried about a "foreign" take-over. The minority regime fears losing power to the majority of Cubans: both those on the island and in exile.
What "rules the roost" is the desire of a failed regime to cling to power.
While reports of reforms by the Cuban regime – including the purchase and sales of homes and limited licensing for independent businesses – continue to generate widespread news coverage, IRI’s survey found that 85 percent of Cubans cannot cite any effect reforms have had in their personal lives.
Other interesting results:
- Nearly nine-in-10 adults (90 percent) between 18-29 years of age desire fundamental political change.
- Four-in-five Cubans (80 percent) support greater economic freedom, including private property rights.
- 70 percent do not have confidence that the Castro regime will succeed in resolving those concerns.
- Less than 5% identified U.S. sanctions as the cause of their problems.
The survey was conducted in 14 Cuban provinces and has a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percent, and a 95 percent level of confidence. This survey was the seventh of its kind conducted by IRI on the island since 2007.
This is a study that was done in the 1960’s in Miami about the Cuban exile community there. It is very detailed and it contains survey results on things like: when and why they decided to leave Cuba, how they first felt about Fidel Castro and the Revolution, and things of that nature. This book is very good for Cuban Americans and for anyone else who is curious about where we (the Cuban Americans that came during the first wave of the exile) come from.
PARTICIPATION IN ANTI-BATISTA ACTIVITY BY OCCUPATIONAL GROUP- P. 55
SKILLED LABOR = 44% (my family was part of this group)
SEMI-SKILLED AND UNSKILLED= 41%
CLERICAL AND SALES = 30%
PROFESSIONALS AND SEMI-PROFESSIONALS= 30%
MILITARY AND POLICE= 0%
Page 56 : " The predominantly young and relative well educated refugees who participated in the struggle against Batista would be more likely than other refugees to engage in anti-Castro activity once in exile."
READ ON FOR MORE INFORMATION ON LINK BELOW
http://books.google.com/books?id=DjisAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA55&lpg=PA55&dq=members+of+batista+army+in+exile+cuban&source=bl&ots=K7D0Ptnw40&sig=UqTlrMYPIOA8are9qhtEcqPkDCg&hl=en&ei=A4CsTonZEZKBsgKgzKDrDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CEoQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q&f=false
Actually Fidel Castro is still in power as Ricardo Alarcon confirmed: he has as say in all important matters:
Cuba: Cuestiones de “primer orden” todavía se consultan con Fidel Castro, El Nuevo Herald, 03.31.12
http://www.elnuevoherald.com/2012/03/31/1166968/cuba-cuestiones-de-primer-orden.\
html
The Castro brothers are still in power.
The average Cuban salary is about 350-400 Peso Nacional. One Peso Convertible CUC equals 1 USA dollar or 24 Peso Nacional. Some people work for less in shops or museums. There are dentists earning as little as 12 dollars a month. A taxi driver can make more money than a doctor. The pension is between 3 to 8 dollar per month. Among the best paid are the Police, between 2500-3000 Peso Nacional (= 150$ per month)
Secondly there are the social benefits, with the ration booklet (the libreta) each Cuban family get a basic ration of staples such as rice, beans, cooking oil, salt, sugar and bread. They also get the following in limited quantities: 1 piece of soap, 1 toothbrush, and 1 tube of toothpaste. Milk is only available for mothers with children below the age of six
For many families this ration is only sufficient for 15 – 20 days so additional food must be bought. However nobody dies of food shortage, but for a lot of Cubans meat or chicken is a luxury. For elderly people and single mothers the life in Havana can be hard and they have a difficult time to meet ends.
http://www.havana-guide.com/lifeinhavana.html
Get real.
No hotel could employ her.
No paladar would.
NINEMSN: The average monthly salary in Cuba rose 17 per cent between 2006-2011 to the equivalent of $US19 ($A19.67), the state statistics office say.
That meant the average monthly wage of workers in Cuba - where the Communist-ruled state controls more than 90 per cent of the economy - climbed from the equivalent of $US16 ($A16.56) a month in 2006 to $US19 ($A19.67) last year, the office said on its website.
Low salaries are a key complaint in the Americas' only one-party Communist regime. There is a very small salary range from unskilled to highly skilled labour; so a street sweeper might make $US17 ($A17.60) and a brain surgeon $US22 ($A22.77) a month.
http://finance.ninemsn.com.au/newsbusiness/aap/8478584/cuban-salaries-rise-to-19-a-month