Deja Dragovic

Real Travel cuba Caribbean charisma in a country of contradictions The legend lives on—hasta siempre Cuba. I Words and Photographs By deja dragovic t’s a sunny Tuesday mid-afternoon and I’m standing on the wide Capitolio stairs waiting for my local guide Juan, a philosophy and communications tutor at the Universidad de la Habana. He’s running late and I am getting too much attention from the passers-by. Trying to ignore the salutations and accompanying remarks, I concentrate on a man wedged under a bright green 1950s Chevrolet that has broken down in the around the world. Except that this is Cuba and this year the country is celebrating half a century since the revolution that made it the only communist country in the Western hemisphere. It’s been 47 years since the United States economic embargo and travel ban intended to keep out mainstream westernisation. middle of the boulevard, And this island is still where he is fixing it. famed for its resistance Vibrant vintage and hostility to the U.S. Buicks, Lincolns and influence in the region. Fords are passing, along These kids raise their with peculiar limo modleft fists and chant els of Russian Ladas “Seremos como el Che— from the 1960s, all surWe will be like Che” prisingly still in decent every morning, and shape. Add to that a few learn about freedom horse-drawn carriages and human rights— and pick-up trucks the same freedom and jammed with men. No rights that the governone is honking at him ment still regulates. or yelling because he is That morning I disrupting the traffic. spent meandering Instead, bubbly cocoamong beautiful colonut taxis—yellow threenial properties of Hawheelers with a curved vana’s Vedado district roof, a Cuban version of and stood alone on a motorised rickshaw— Painting by a local artist (above). A church in Trinidad (above Plaza de la Revolución are whizzing by, com- right). Three-wheel coconut taxis (bottom right). imagining the echoes pleting the picture of eccentric singing, flirting with girls and tourof revolutionary cliques, while adtransportation in this city. ists, reading the papers, smoking, miring a mural reproduction of AlJuan arrives and starts poetically debating, playing chess, playing berto Korda’s legendary capture of describing the history of the city as baseball… The sounds of sensual Che Guevara. Mythical Che, lookwe head toward Plaza San Cristomusic are coming from above and ing ahead to his dreams, his gaze bal through the dark and narrow every balcony seems to double as full of determination. streets of La Habana Vieja (Old storage, holding bicycles and old We visit the peaceful Plaza San Havana), filled with people and furniture under washing lines. Cristobal and its imposing cathestray dogs. The number of people is School children in white and burdral, greeting a fortune-teller sitdue, Juan says, to the large unemgundy uniforms are cheerful and ting smoking a large cohíba and ployment rate. They are dancing, untroubled, much like any others shuffling cards. She offers to read May 2009 47 Real Travel accomModation Cuban Stays For an authentic experience, book private lodgings at www .casaparticular.org. Havana has several palatial hotels, including Hotel Inglaterra (www.hotelinglaterracuba .com) and Hotel Plaza (www. hotelplazacuba.com). Hostal Valencia is affordable and central. In Santiago, Hotel Casagranda’s rooftop terrace bar offers an unrivalled view of the city and great cocktails. Varadero prevails in allinclusive hotels and family resorts. The Sol Meliá chain (www.solmeliacuba.com) are reputable and must-visit places include El Floridita bar in Havana (www.floridita-cuba. com) and La Bodeguita del Medio in Old Havana. Book guides, tours and excursions via www.cubadirect.co.uk. Direct flights from London to Havana with Virgin Atlantic (www.virgin-atlantic.com) and Cubana Aviation (www .cubana.cu); to Varadero with Thomsonfly (www.thomson .co.uk) and Thomas Cook (flythomascook.com). Check bus schedules at www.viazul .cu and train times at www. hicuba.com/ferrocarril.htm. Sol Meliá has a good reputation. 48 National Geographic Traveler my palm, but instead I give her a few dollars for a photograph and we continue walking to the flea market. A few modest handicraft stalls sit alongside an alfresco gallery of original paintings by local artists. We stroll on through cobbled streets, dodging holes in the ground and propositions from jinteros (hustlers). Later that evening I join Juan and his friends on the Malecón, a seafront promenade where groups of young, old, lovers and families mingle. They speak confidently and openly about life, politics and religion, explaining the intricacies of contemporary society as they know it, in which the revolutionary past still has a strong influence on education, religion and principles. On the other hand, the poverty is widespread and people, particularly the young, are yearning for modern amenities and shun their beliefs for extra cash to survive. Some are still studying to be doctors, language and history specialists, but they say those salaries will not be enough for them and their families. So they try supplementing their income by renting out their flats as Casas Particulares, private accommodation. They market them as a great opportunity for travellers to experience and participate in the real Cuban lifestyle and practise their Spanish or rumba. Soledad rents out her flat and performs with her ensemble in clubs and hotels. Her brother Manuel is rhythmically beating his bongo and says he works in Fundación Havana Club, but often drives a taxi or tours that Juan heads. His girlfriend Alena works at the prestigious El Floridita in Obispo, a bar/restaurant famous as Hemingway’s favourite haunt. She also makes little wooden souvenirs for sale at a flea market and souvenir shops in Varadero. It is not easy to come by money or a steady job, so many head to Varadero’s resorts in season to work as cleaners, drivers and caretakers, where they rely on generous tips from tourists. They are prohibited from approaching the tourists outside their line of work, but secretly offer tours, salsa lessons, hand-made crafts, or even sex, to make extra money. Prostitution is widespread and also depends on tourism, with offers to try “the real Cuban treat” and “dance the real Cuban dance”. The following evening I meet the same crew at La Bodeguita del Medio, an authentic bar in the centre, sporting inscriptions on the walls made by visitors over the years, revolutionary and affectionate slogans and autographs, with “Make Love, Not War” alongside beautiful poetic verses by Borges, Márquez and Cuba’s own José Martí. In the corner, a four-member band is playing softly and I slip them US$5 for a request of “La Historia de un Amor”, to the general amazement of my compañeros. Perhaps they expected me to request “Guajira Guantanamera”, Cuba’s best-known song. La Bodeguita is only narrow, so Manuel and Alena dance outside the bar while we sip delicious mojitos. Soledad is heading to perform in Santiago’s famous music district, Calle Heredia, so I hop on the bus with her. We travel across dusty Real Travel A fortune-teller smoking a cohíba. Opposite: The rooftops of Havana. Cuba’s revolutionary past still has a strong influence on education, religion and principles. interstates and dirt roads, passing scattered settlements, villages and valleys of banana groves and sugarcane plantations. On the way I spot many revolutionary slogans painted on crumbling walls, such as the prevalent “Socialismo o Muerte!— Socialism or Death” and “Libertad o Muerte!—Freedom or Death” in red and black block letters. Soledad explains the faded illusion of revolutionary ideals at what is now the end of Fidel’s uninterrupted fivedecade rule. Cuba’s economy has seen some progress since the 90s tourism drive, with steady arrivals and investment from Latin America, Canada and Europe. Due to its isolation and poor infrastructure, Cuba has managed to preserve its diverse, unique fauna and flora and natural attractions. It also has sustainable development that most other countries are struggling to attain. Although the authorities don’t have the resources to protect the natural habitats, they understand the benefits of keeping out western mass tourism and are working with many conservation organisations and unions to safeguard their riches. We make a pit-stop in Trinidad, central Cuba, a little town near the Valle de los Ingenios (Valley of the Sugar Mills). Under UNESCO’s World Heritage protection since 1988, it is more manageable than Havana and its neighbourhoods and buildings are in better shape. Barefoot and shirtless boys play football on the cobbled dusty streets, guajiros (farmers) tend their meagre stalls, and no hustlers bother me with offers of tours or lodgings. It all feels less hurried than in Havana. We get back on the road to Santiago, which, though much less relaxed than Trinidad, is still welcoming. Dilapidated and crumbling facades surround us, scuffed, neglected and awaiting better times. Some still display revolutionary slogans such as “Señores Imperialistas, No Les Tenemos Absolutamente Nungo Miedo!—Dear Imperialists, we have absolutely no fear of you”, a trace of former glory and of a onceambitious insurgent nation. We reach the club where Soledad is to perform. Deep African tribal sounds fill the club; Soledad’s rumba is passionate, vigorous and skillful and I admire her moves. Even after a few lessons, I am certain I will never achieve the same vibrancy, even though she assures me I am not bad—for a tourist. I leave her to her performance and take an overnight train back to Havana, sharing snacks with some traveling locals. Soon after daybreak I arrive in Matanzas, where I disembark for a visit to the nearby popular beaches of Varadero. I think of all the friendly and educated people I have met, making their living far from these postcard-perfect white sandy beaches, flashy all-inclusive package holiday resorts with free-flowing rum. This is not the anti-capitalist ideal that they fought to uphold. This is not the country of cohíbas and colourful vintage cars. This is not what Che Guevara meant when he addressed the UN in 1964, speaking of Cuba as “one of the trenches of freedom in the world, situated a few steps away from U.S. imperialism, showing by its actions, its daily example, that in the present conditions of humanity the peoples can liberate themselves and can keep themselves free.” May 2009 49