Casa de Velazquez
Parque Cespedes Santiago de Cuba Diego Valazquez was the first governor of Cuba. He was a cruel despot by all…
Cuba
Parque del Ajedrez or Chess Park
Santo Tomás and Enramada Streets Santiago de Cuba This small corner park was designed by American architect Walter Betancourt. Betancourt…
The Conga
Americans think of the Conga as a kitschy dance done in a line. It is a very different thing in…
The Knot
Santiago de Cuba In December of 2010, the city of Santiago de Cuba held its first Rene Valdes Cedeño Public…
Clouds in the Mountains
Santiago de Cuba In December of 2010, the city of Santiago de Cuba held its first Rene Valdes Cedeño Public…
S. T. by Mario Trenard
In December of 2010, the city of Santiago de Cuba held its first Rene Valdes Cedeño Public Sculpture Symposium, an…
Jose Maria Heredia – One of Cuba’s Great Poets
Traffic Circle at Avenue Manduley and Calle 11 Santiago de Cuba According to Cuba Facts Jose Marie Heredia y Heredia…
Jose Marti by Alberto Lescay
Santiago de Cuba José Julián Martí Pérez (January 28, 1853 – May 19, 1895) is a Cuban national hero. Martí…
Cuban Internet 2016
I recently read an article about Americans that don’t use the internet, and it was essentially what you would expect,…
Cuban Road to Freedom from the Spanish
October 2015 This trip goes from La Demajagua to Bayamo, the trail marks the beginning of the Cuban struggle for…
Cuban Families in the Countryside
October 2015 There is nothing like being a member of a Cuban family, there is love, fierce loyalty, and drama,…
Museo Zoologico de Piedra
October 2015 The Museo Zoologico de Piedra This fun little diversion about 12 miles east of Guantanamo is the brainchild…
Jardin de los Helechos
October 2015 One day, out for a hot and steamy drive from Santiago de Cuba, we tripped over the Jardin…
Cuba Factoids
April 2015 Every since I began writing about Cuba I have been asked some darn good questions. Before getting into…
Bits and Pieces of Cuba
January 2015 If you are traveling on a tour to Cuba you may see this statement on the top of…
Cuban Education
2015 I often hear people say that one of the advantages of Cuba’s socialist system is the free education. My…
Only Mad Dogs and Englishmen go out in the Midday Sun
While the actual numbers regarding July temperatures do not scream hot to many, it is one of the hottest July’s…
Today We Had Eggs
In July I was walking down the miserably hot streets of Santiago de Cuba on my way to the mercado.…
Today there is no water
It is July 26th, one of the most important days in Santiago de Cuba. The heat is stifling and the…
Religion in Cuba
August 2015 My Cuban friend, whom I call Tio, asked me the other day what I thought of Raul Castro…
I Tried to take a Drill into Cuba
It is actually very simple. You can not get decent tools in Cuba. Yes, you can purchase badly made, highly…
Monumento al Cimmarón
The Monumento al Cimarrón, by Alberto Lescay, or Monument to the Runaway Slave is in the Cuban town of El…
Carnaval in Santiago de Cuba
The most famous of all Cuba festivals is the Carnaval of Santiago de Cuba. The festival is held annually from…
Carnaval Santiago de Cuba for the Kids
The second night of Carnaval I headed out to the kid’s area to see the rides. This is worth every…
Odds and Ends
This post, I hope, will give you a better insight to the Cuba outsiders just don’t see or know. This…
Iris Jazz Club
Music: breathing of statues. Perhaps Silence of paintings. You language where all language ends. You time standing vertically On the…
Outer Harmony
In December of 2010, the city of Santiago de Cuba held its first Rene Valdes Cedeño Public Sculpture Symposium. Sponsored…
Nature
This piece, titled Nature, is by Juan Quintanilla. In December of 2010, the city of Santiago de Cuba held its…
Santiago de Cuba
It is April 2015 and I have returned to Cuba. This time I am traveling with a Cuban national, one…
Santiago de Cuba – El Morro
Strategically located on a cliff top, the structure, Castillo de San Pedro del Morro, took 62 years to build and…
Saint Ifigenia Cemetery – Santiago de Cuba
Created in 1868 to accommodate the victims of the War of Independence and a simultaneous yellow-fever outbreak, the Santa Ifigenia…
El Cobre – Santiago de Cuba
This is El Cobre, a church with a colorful history and a stunning interior. Built in 1926, El Cobre lies…
El Cobre for the View
Once you leave the Cathedral in El Cobre, and if you are willing to walk 400 steps, be certain to…
Guantanamo
April 2015 I have come to Guantánamo to visit my friends family. This post is really just a walking tour…
Felix Baez Sarrias and Jennifer Reyes Chavez
Jennifer Reyes Chavez is a very very bright young 9 year old from Cuba. When this article appeared in the…
Camilo Cienfuegos
Revolution Plaza Havana, Cuba On the Ministry of Ministry of Communications building is another line sculpture by Enrique Avila Gonzales.…
Che Guevara, Korda and Gonzales
Plaza de Revolucion Havana, Cuba Plaza de la Revolución “Revolution Square” is one of the 13 largest outdoor plazas in…
Cuba in January 2015
Cuba has the most tightly controlled internet in the world. Their internet is characterized by a low number of connections,…
Miami/Santa Clara/Cienfuegos
January 16, 2015 The day started at 5:00 in the morning to get to the airport for the Cuban airport…
Cienfuegos/Trinidad
After a buffet breakfast we were bound for Trinidad. Before leaving town we headed to the local Mercado. It was…
Cuba-Topes De Collantes:Parque Codina
We were joined by a local guide Luise. Luise has a degree in journalism but is a fountain of information…
Cuba – Topes/Zapata Peninsula/Bay of Pigs
We began our day in the Zapata Swamp looking for the Emerald Hummingbird and the Bee Hummingbird. This was day…
Cuba Playa Larga/Soroa/Vinales
We had the privilege of a lecture from Frank Medina, director of the Zapata Park. This 5000 square kilometer Park…
El Caballero de Paris
This is one of my favorite public sculptures in Havana, and as you can see how the patina has been…
Cuba – Vinales/Soroa
Today was filled with those moments that just reek of the tourism that no one in this group wants, and…
Cuba Soroa/ Terrazas/Havana
The morning began with a tour of a Botanical Garden that specialized in Orchids. Our guide, Aliett Cecilia Diaz, was…
Cuba – Havana
The older portions of Havana are built on a system of squares. We hopped off the bus at the Malecon…
John Lennon in Cuba
Lennon Park Havana, Cuba In the John Lennon Park at 17th and 6th, is a sculpture of the former Beatles…
Benny Moré
Prado Promenade Cienfuegos, Cuba Benny Moré (Bartolomé Maximiliano Moré Gutiérrez, 24 August 1919 – 19 February 1963), or Benny, was…
Yasser Arafat in Cuba
7th Avenida Havana, Cuba Havana, Cuba, Nov. 24 2012 In the words of its sculptor, Andres Gonzalez Gonzalez, the bust…
Cuba – Havana
The morning of Day 9 we started at the largest crafts market, a grouping of storage lockers inside a quonset…
The Cars of Cuba
Wow, I got to see the backseat of a ‘56 Chevy again. – William Madar So you have heard about…
A Small Sampling of Art in Cuba
Cienfuegos Our first people to people experience was in Cienfuegos. We had the pleasure of listening to a choral group…
The Buena Vista Social Club
Dancing in Cuba is spontaneous, and absolutely gorgeous. I am convinced the Cubans have an extra gene just for grace…
Hemingway and Cuba
I had the luxury of being given a tour of the grounds of Hemingway’s Cuban home by Deputy Director Isbel…
Tobacco Farming in Cuba
One of the best regions for growing tobacco in Cuba is the Pinar del Rio region which is where we…
Buddy Bears
Oh Cuba I Bearly Knew Ya….Bill United Buddy Bears is an art project to promote tolerance and understanding among nations,…
Gifts to Cuba
I am often asked what to take to the Cuban people. Please tread carefully here. Like so many countries around…