Cuba: A Bridge Between Cultures - Old Cars

Old Cars in Cuba

January 22 - February 2, 2013

Since the Cuban Revolution of 1959 the United States and others have imposed hefty embargos on Cuba. Hence the Cubans have not been able to import any American cars since that date. This left Cuba with a large collection of American and some European cars dating from the late 1930s up through 1959. The Cuban people have been very ingenious in the ways they have kept those cars running. Some have newer gasoline or diesel engines gleaned from other imported cars. Watching the traffic was like being in a “Time Warp” that took us back to the 1950s. Many of these cars are used as taxis, both private and government. Here are a few examples.

That's it for now. Grace and Paul

Cuba: A Bridge Between Cultures - Back to Havana

Return to Havana

Ernest Hemingway's House

January 31 - February 2, 2013
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Hotel Nacional

On our long drive back to Havana, we stopped at Vinca El Vigia, the home of Ernest Hemingway, which is now a museum. From there we went to and checked into the Hotel Nacional, a beautiful old and well-maintained building constructed in 1930, a bit away from the city center. 

Dinner was provided for us at the Ludwig Foundation headquarters where we met many artists and learned about the foundation.

Lizbeth, our local guide does interview.

The next day we spent time at a day care center run by the Catholic Church where four-year-olds sang for us. We visited the Museum of the Revolution and had lunch at the Café del Oriente in Old Havana complete with live music and again the offer of a CD for purchase. In the afternoon we traveled through town to see a rehearsal of the Ebony Dancing Group, a collection of young aspiring ballet artists.

Cigar roller.

After free time we had our farewell dinner at the Conde de Villanueva in Old Havana. Just before going into dinner, we watched a cigar rolling demonstration – quite cultural, as Cuba is known worldwide for its fine cigars – which of course, cannot be taken into the United States. During dinner a seven-piece small group played for us followed by yet another chance to buy a CD.

The ride back to the hotel in old convertible cars made us all feel like teen-agers again.

As our plane to Miami did not leave until the afternoon of our last day in Cuba, on the trip to the airport we visited El Callejon de Hamel, a pedestrian street decorated with odd and unusual works of art such as contorted bathtubs and colorful unique murals on the building walls.

Next was a brief stop to see a statue of John Lennon and a final homage to Revolution Plaza where we saw the last of the old cars that have become a hallmark of Cuba. We flew out of Cuba delighted with our visit and with the work of our two guides, Ruby Gatins and Lizabeth Rodriquez.

Our Great Group (at the Hemingway House)

That's it for now. Grace and Paul

Cuba: A Bridge Between Cultures - Trinidad

Trinidad, Cuba

January 28 - 31, 2013

The drive to Trinidad, farther east along the south coast, was short. Trinidad is a UNESCO World Heritage site known for picturesque colonial-era buildings and cobblestone streets. The area around Trinidad is scattered with sugar cane fields and occasional coffee plantations in the surrounding hills. 

Our guide Ruby and the potter.

While in Trinidad we visited a shop of basket weavers and chatted with the few workers. We saw a ceramic workshop and learned how to mold clay and create various pots.

Iznaga Tower

Out of town we drove high into the hills and spent a few hours at the Manaca Iznaga Sugar Cane Plantation. There we took a train ride through the area and with the help of a guitar player in our car, we celebrated Grace’s birthday.

Grace's birthday serenade.

Back in Trinidad we again scouted for paladares for lunch, and then visited the homes of a few artists including a photographer and a wood carver. In the afternoon we met Santero Ismael who explained at length the intricacies of Santeria, a religion that combines Catholicism and African beliefs brought by slaves in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Heading high up into the Escambray Mountains north of Trinidad, we visited a coffee plantation and a family of farmers who showed us their home and the process of harvesting and drying the coffee beans.

Tired, at the end of the day, we spent one hour at Ancona Beach, sampling a tourist resort on the bay. That was our one brief brush with Cuba’s tourist industry. Most of the resorts in Cuba, populated chiefly by foreigners, are on the coast west of Havana.

Singing Group at our Hotel La Ronda

 

On leaving for our return drive to Havana, each of us received a bottle of rum as a gift from the hotel. As it is forbidden to take rum, cigars, or other manufactured items from Cuba into the United States, we gave the rum to the various workers at the hotel, which made them very happy!

 Next we head back to Havana for a few more days of exploring.

That's it for now. Grace and Paul

Cuba: A Bridge Between Cultures - Cienfuegos

Cienfuegos, Cuba

January 26 -28, 2013

Hotel Union, in the city center.

On our fourth day in Cuba, we departed for a drive to Cienfuegos (the city of a hundred fires) about 160 miles from Havana. The highway was wide (four to six lanes in places) and well maintained but almost empty. Ruby Gatins, our guide, explained that gasoline in Cuba is quite expensive, and that keeps travel to a minimum, a problem we had not notices when we saw the traffic in Havana.

Concierto Sur Chamber Orchestra

We checked into the Hotel Union and began with a walking tour of the area. Dinner was at the Casa Verda next to the Bahia de Cienfuegos (Bay of Cienfuegos, which is a large port on Cuba’s south coast. We discovered that frequently while at restaurants a trio or quartet would appear to serenade us, always with a compact disc ready for purchase if anyone wished. Among other things, in town we listened to the Concierto Sur, a Chamber Orchestra of young people, and over the next days we visited the studios and homes of six artists. These artists spoke about their work, and exhibited samples.

In Cienfuegos we discovered ‘paladares’ or privately run small restaurants. These are appearing all over Cuba and are introducing an aspect of private enterprise and limited capitalism in an otherwise communist country where everything is owned and run by the government. The ‘paladares’ are among the reforms of Raul Castro, Fidel Castro’s younger brother, who is now in power.

As we were about to leave Cienfuegos, the street near our hotel filled with hundreds of students, all in their school uniforms, marching to celebrate the birthday of Jose’ Marti’. Marti’ is celebrated throughout Cuba as the spearhead of Cuban independence in the late nineteenth century. His statues are seen frequently and he is a genuinely popular figure.

Next, we head for Trinidad, Cuba.

That's it for now. Grace and Paul

Cuba: A Bridge Between Cultures - Old Havana

Old Havana, Cuba: 

Old Havana, as seen from the Fortress San Carlos de la Cabaña.

January 22 – 26, 2013

Visiting Cuba since the Cuban Revolution of 1959 has been problematic for United States’ citizens. The American government frowned on people going to Cuba, and most travel by Americans was through Mexico, Canada or some other neutral country. The Obama Administration changed this by authorizing “People to People” programs and giving official permission for U.S. citizens to travel in Cuba under their umbrella- not for holiday reasons, but specifically to enhance relations among peoples and learn of each other’s cultures.

The Old Capital Building, from our balcony

Our Grand Circle Foundation “People to People” tour of Cuba: A Bridge Between Cultures, began January 22, 2013 with an American Airlines charter flight from Miami, Florida to the Jose’ Marti’ International Airport in Havana. Our large, comfortable Chinese-made bus whisked us through crowded, sometimes narrow streets to the Hotel Saratoga in the heart of Habana Vieja (old Havana). We were pleased to see the blocks of buildings that exhibited Spanish colonial and classical architecture but sad to find many in sad states of decay.

Senior Center

From the hotel over the next three days we visited the Museum of the Revolution, and the ancient Fortress San Carlos de la Cabaña. We met people at a senior center, at a Sephardic Synagogue, and while taking a walking tour of the old city. In the city we visited the Plaza de la Catedral, the Plaza de Armas, and the Plaza Vieja.

Most exciting was a bicitaxi ride through the streets to one of the city’s flower, meat and vegetable markets. Later we visited a Downs syndrome center at the Parroquia de la Milagrosa.

 
A ride outside Havana carried us to the Organic Nursery Alamar where we had an outstanding lunch, all drawn from the farm’s fresh produce. At the hotel we listened to a lecture by two gentlemen who gave us their perspective on Cuban-American relations over the last hundred years.

On our own for dinner the last night in Havana, we walked from our hotel along crowded busy streets to a charming restaurant some distance away. Without a doubt, Havana is a vibrant busy city. Most fascinating was the constant parade of 1950s, some 1940s, and a few 1930s American and European automobiles, kept running by talented and imaginative mechanics ever since 1959 when Cuba’s ability to trade was curtailed by an international embargo.

Next, we head to Cienfuegos.

That's it for now. Grace and Paul