"One's
destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things." Henry
Miller
The day before we
leave the island, my son asks what's still on my Cuba bucket list...then dedicates
himself to helping me scratch them off. "It's Mothers Day," he
reminds me, grinning.
Back in the symphony of light that
is Havana, back from our around-the-island tour, in our rooftop suite - with
its high ceilings and windows overlooking the cathedral, I lie, just cool
enough with my Pashmina shawl over crisp sheets, wondering if team Mantansas
took the playoff game...while I listen to the morning clamor of birds over the
loud din of the air conditioner. Today I'll do laundry and work/play the Havana
bucket list. Shop. Re-pack. Visit Margot to leave a care package for a Cuban
friend. Spread love and joy...and gratitude.
Peter and I head to Obispo to shop...and
run into the ceviche place we've looked for for weeks - since an initial visit
during our second day on island. It's closed. We buy a few mementos and gifts, watch
as a burly local fills our glasses with freshly-squeezed orange juice, swig
down the juice and a cappuccino. We shop some more, wanting to buy more art
than we have space or money for, then spy a street cart - fabulous fried rice,
followed by fresh coconut ice cream. We head towards the plaza, ducking into the
famed Floridita Bar, known for Papa Hemingway's daiquiri[1].
There's great live music for the crowd and $6 daiquiris (most expensive yet).
The Museo Nationale is closed for the national
holiday (bummer!), but the National Theatre has free art exhibits
(photographic, videos, live, mixed media), many by students, all exhibiting
unusual creativity. We walk to the
Ingleterra Hotel and up to the famed rooftop, where the Foreign Press Club met
for years. We do egg salad and pulled pork sandwiches, looking over the
Capitol, take dozens of photographs of the square below, the Capitola, Parc
Central, clear to the Malecon and the fort across. A delicious and inexpensive
lunch fuels us for the late afternoon, then we taxi to Hotel Nationale
(rooftop-bar hopping) only to find the rooftop closed for renovations, but
where we enjoy a Piña Colada in the (Hall of Fame) bar. The famous room is stuffed with memorabilia
about the hotel and celebrity guests who gave this hotel its reputation over
the years. 426 rooms, built in 1932, this historic site is a National Monument of the Republic of Cuba.
I love feeling safe -
day or night, alone or with others. Having lived in the US for most of my life,
where robberies, crime and violence are common, feeling safe is something I
seek...and treasure. In Cuba there are no guns, freaks, violence - except for the
occasional TV news story about more mass murders in the USA or US troops
killing civilians in Afghanistan.
Everyone holds hands - grandparents
and niños, girls, boys, muheres, guys. It's so sweet - the hand-holding, the
smiles. Children are not hooked up to machines, games, hand-helds; they
play outdoors the way we did when I grew up. So much is changing. Lonely Planet is as wrong as
much as it's right - as visits to Habana Tour or Cubanacan attest. Changes are
happening, so if you go, watch Cuban media and bogs.
New regulations and guidelines (over
300) from recent congresses are affecting lives, designed to renovate economic
and political institutions, stimulate local entrepreneurial enterprise,
increase political participation, and overcome the continuing economic crisis
that a small country such as Cuba finds itself in as a result of natural and
political disasters as well as a continued effort by the “Colossus of the
North” to overthrow the leadership and sovereignty of Cuba, harming the global
reputation of the US in the process. I feel especially glad to have seen this
lovely island in this moment in time. A proud people, happy despite all the
odds. Wanting freedom like all other souls.
ERNESTO CHE GUEVARA
1928-1967
CHE - iconic and
beloved by Cubans, Latin Americans, other freedom fighters the world over - is
ubiquitous throughout the country he helped to free. Like other famous Cuban
characters: Fidel, Al Capone, Graham Greene, Frank Sinatra, Ernest Hemingway,
Che Guevara remains top slotted. A book by several photographers who
photographed Che while he was in Cuba finds its way to my Mothers Day. As a
photographer myself, I love reading the stories about Che (himself a
photographer) by others who spent time with him, documenting the revolution.
And when I begin to really get
trinket fatigue in Varadero, I find a silk screen of Che's iconic image by
Alberto Korda, which reminds me of Warhol's Marilyn images. I buy it and some
small Cuban flags. Still, the anti-corporate revolutionary would roll over in
his grave[3],
knowing his image was used to sell more stuff than anything else in the
country. Che T shirts, paintings, key chains, flags, books, license plates, and
more...are found everywhere. Instead of celebrating his 84th birthday, the
slain revolutionary hero would be rolling over. Meanwhile, we observe the
changes throughout Latin America, inspired (still) by Che and Fidel.
I love this poem:
"Guevara" by Nadja Tesich, (translated from Serbian)
GUEVARA
If the death
comes
may it be welcome
others will
replace me
he said once.
His beautiful
face
killed by US
mercenaries and CIA
Bolivia, La
Hugaera.
Yet his face
is all over
America Latina
next to Christ
in every peasant
hut.
Che never died
in death he grew
and grew and
grew.
Latin America
moves
is moving
will move
with his face
in front.
I celebrate Mothers Day with my son,
walking Habana Viejo and checking off my Habana bucket list. He reminds me how
quickly we went from first discussions of Cuba in January to here mid April.
We're good at realizing dreams and making things happen!
I lie here,
wondering what the next will be...
As we wait in Jose Marti Airport for
our quick flight back to Cancun, we share a last Cuban coffee (with a shot of
Havana Club), wondering when the embargo will be lifted, when the US will believe
in freedom enough to allow its neighbors to have it, unfettered by a mean,
obsessive bullying.
Imagine
a place where everyone's basic needs are met: housing, food, education,
healthcare. Where corporations are NOT
persons, do not rule. Where the Internet has no Google and the people have no
Apple. But receives an A+ in sustainable development practices and is the
largest per capita producer of organic food in the world with the 2nd highest
literacy.
Like none of the other
eighty-four islands I've visited or lived on, Cuba is really big. HUGE. Flora
and fauna remind me of tropical islands the world over, but the lack of
commercialism (especially overt corporatism), stunning colonial towns, and the
cheapest ice cream on the planet, keep it singular. Its Architectural eclecticism is well-known.
Mudéjar, baroque, ecclesial, classical and neo-classical, art nouveau, art
deco, and modernist styles create a vibrancy, town to town - nestling in
mountains or sprawling around picturesque bays. Cuban architecture enlivens the
cities - as fields and orchards, mountains and beaches, do the landscapes in
between. The music and dance fill local culture. (Did I mention the baseball?!!)
But it's the people who light up our island time, playing music, dancing like
they were born to, laughing and smiling as they go about their simple days -
this is the magic of Cuba.
THE END
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