Eastern Cuba – ALL I NEED IS MY PASSPORT

Casa de Velazquez

Jul 072016

Parque Cespedes
Santiago de Cuba

Diego Valazquez was the first governor of Cuba. He was a cruel despot by all accounts, but his home, built in 1515 still stands as the oldest colonial-era house on the island.

The home is of the Mudéjar style (or Hispanic-Moorish). This style is characterized by its balconies, carved ceilings and the intricate geometric patterns found in the tile, metalwork and even the furniture.

These patterned wooden screens are called celosos.

The one outstanding characteristic of the Velazquez house are its celosos. They greet you at the front door, covering the second floor balcony, and then are found throughout the house screening the walkways from the hot Cuban sun.

The boat shape of the ceilings throughout the original house suggest that ship builders may have been involved in the building of this home. The very intricate patterns of the ceiling timbers are derived from Arab architecture. This joining of wood in intricate patterns hides the joining of short timbers. This was only possible during the colonial period when wood was still abundant.

These intricately carved ceilings are called alfarje. Alfarje (meaning paneled ceiling) is a type of horizontal wooden ceiling primarily found in Islamic and Spanish Moorish architecture. The ceiling structure is made through a series of beams called girders, sometimes intricately carved and stylized.

It is said that the lower floor contained the Crown’s Forge and Contract Office, while Diego Velazquez used the upper floor as his residence. Experts argue that in its backyard, which in the past led directly to the sea, there was a small fortress.

The second floor of what is said to be the house's gold forge.

On the second floor, looking down into what is said to be the house’s gold forge.

Two letters by Don Diego to his Majesty Philip II as early as August 1519 mention that gold was being forged there.

Standing on the second floor of the original home

Standing on the second floor addition that connected the old home (on your right) with the original.

The home went under a complete restoration between 1965 and 1970. The restoration was overseen by professor Francisco Prat Piug. The house then opened as the Museum of Cuban Historic Ambience.

One of the many chandeliers throughout the 19th century addition

The complex includes a 19th century residence, said to be the home of a chandelier maker. A patio was added between the two homes at some time, but is not original to the 1700 structure.

The tile floor of the original home.

A close up of the second floor door that can be seen from Park Cespedes.

The much later patio that sits between the two structures

Some of the pottery on display in the museum

Some of the pottery on display in the newer portion of the museum

Parque del Ajedrez or Chess Park

Santiago de Cuba

Jul 062016

Santo Tomás and Enramada Streets
Santiago de Cuba

Betancourt follows many of the strictures of one of his mentors “A building should appear to grow easily from its site and be shaped to harmonize with its surroundings if Nature is manifest there.” – Frank Lloyd Wright

This small corner park was designed by American architect Walter Betancourt.

Betancourt was born in 1932 in New York, son of Cuban parents that had escaped to Florida during the Cuban War for Independence.

The park works itself into the contours of the streets starting with an easy entrance at the street level.

As a child of Cubans, Betancourt vacationed often in Cuba. After graduating with a degree in Architecture in 1956 from the University of Virginia, Betancourt entered the US Navy where he served, coincidentally enough, at Guantanamo. Significantly, Betancourt was in Cuba during the July 26th coup attempt on the Moncada Barracks by Fidel Castro.

The focal point is a angular fountain that has been turned off.

After leaving the military Betancourt moved to Los Angeles to work with Richard Neutra. This was an unpaid job and only lasted six months as it is said that the job did not meet Betancourt’s expectations, or live up to his ideals.

During this period of time the revolution in Cuba was growing, so in 1959 after being interviewed by Frank Lloyd Wright and being offered a position at Taliesen, Betancourt, instead headed to Cuba to dedicate his skills to the revolution.

One works their way up the park to a nice little cafe that sits under the canopy. This mimics the hills of Santiago de Cuba.

Betancourt arrived in Havana in 1961 but quickly moved to Holquin and eventually settled in Santiago de Cuba. By this time most architects had fled Cuba so the work to launch a new building program by Castro was left to the younger generation.

This building efforts goal was to reapportion wealth after the Bautista regime. The hopes were high, and architects experimented with new forms and materials to help define the Cuban definition of Modernism.

Betancourt is credited with fifteen built buildings, and another 30 unbuilt buildings before his early death at 46 in 1978. His was the last era of private practice architects in Cuba. In 1963 the Castro regime abolished the practice of architecture and shut down the College of Architects.

Interestingly, modern architecture tended to thumb its nose at tradition and tended to stay away from symmetry. The symmetry in this park is striking in its use.

The Conga

Carnaval, Santiago de Cuba

Jul 052016

Americans think of the Conga as a kitschy dance done in a line. It is a very different thing in Cuba. During the weeks leading up to Carnival, the streets fill with the Conga on any given day at any given time.

The Conga is both a drum (traditionally called a tambore or tambadora) and a dance.

The dance originated in Santiago de Cuba, exactly when and how, is not really known, although documentation traces it back to at least 1902. It is said that the Conga was appropriated by politicians during the early years of the republic in an attempt to appeal to the masses before the election. During the Machado dictatorship citizens were forbidden to dance the conga because rival groups would work themselves to high excitement and explode into street fighting, some things never change. When Batista became president in the 1940s, he permitted people to dance congas during elections, but a police permit was required. Today police still accompany the Conga dances.

The use of costumes or props is personal, and not necessarily representative of anything in particular

The Santiago de Cuba Conga is slightly different than the Conga of Havana.

These differences are in the instruments. The Santiago de Cuba Conga or Congas Santiagueras includes the Chinese cornet, an instrument in the oboe family introduced to Cuba by Chinese immigrants during the colonial period (specifically the late nineteenth century). .

The Chinese Coronet has a very distinct high pitched sound

The Congas of Havana or the Congas Habaneras do not have the Chinese coronet, but do have trumpets, trombones and saxophones with a few cowbells and frying pans thrown in for good measure.

The drums used can be complicated. These are variations on African drums that have been altered over the years as to be unrecognizable from their original form. This description is of the traditional Cuban tambores.

There are three tambores : one requinto and two galletas. The requinto is shaped somewhat like a snare drum- about 50% wider than it is tall. It is hung from the left shoulder with the top of the drum slightly skewed to the left and is played with a stick on the right-hand. The galletas are like bass drums, but flatter. They are both played with a stick in a manner similar to the requinto, except that they are hung from the shoulders in such a way that the skins are nearly horizontal to the ground. The higher pitched of the two is called a redoblante. The lower-pitched galleta is called a pilón.

However, often the drums will be whatever form makes noise.

The Conga today is a mass of humanity and noise. People pour into the streets and follow the music. The Conga itself is just a few small steps, and a feeling of movement, so the street is not so much filled with dancing as with rhythm and energy.

If you are interested in getting a feel for the sounds of the Conga here is a short video.

Fights do break out on occasion

Homemade alcohol can be the fuel for fights or for more relaxed dancing styles

The choice of clothing is as colorful as Cuba. This is a typical way for a Cuban to wear a shirt on a hot day.

Neighbors hang from balconies and sit on rooftops to watch the spectacle go by

The Knot

Cuba, Santiago de Cuba

Mar 102016

Santiago de Cuba

El Nudo (The knot) by Luis Silva – 2013

In December of 2010, the city of Santiago de Cuba held its first Rene Valdes Cedeño Public Sculpture Symposium, an homage to an artist and teacher who authored works as important as the Cuba’s Abel Santamaria Monument.

Sponsored by the Caguayo Foundation and the Advisory Council for the Development of Public Sculptures and Monuments, the symposium seeks to promote sculpting in marble and metals.

The second Symposium was held in November of 2013, this sculpture is a result of the second Symposium.

Clouds in the Mountains

Cuba, Santiago de Cuba

Mar 102016

Santiago de Cuba

Nube en la Cordillera – Clouds in the Mountains by Rene Negrin – 2010

Sponsored by the Caguayo Foundation and the Advisory Council for the Development of Public Sculptures and Monuments, the symposium seeks to promote sculpting in marble and metals.

The second Symposium was held in November of 2013. This sculpture is a result of the first symposium. The same year Negrin also had the entry Lluvia en la Cordillera (Rain in Mountains)

Rene Negrin was born September 28, 1949. He is a consulting Professor of Artes Plasticas at the Superior Institute of Art in Cuba.

In this situation Artes Plasticas is not necessarily a literal translation to Plastic Art. The term has also been applied more broadly to all the visual (non-literary, non-musical) arts (such as painting, sculpture, film and photography).

Negrin studied at the National School of Art, the Superior Institute of Art and has a master of art with a specialty in sculpture.

He is a member of the Writers and Artists Guild of Cuba and the Association of Artes Plasticas.

Rain in the Mountains

Cuba, Santiago de Cuba

Mar 102016

Santiago de Cuba

Lluvia en la Cordellera – Rain in the Mountains by Rene Negrin 2010

Sponsored by the Caguayo Foundation and the Advisory Council for the Development of Public Sculptures and Monuments, the symposium seeks to promote sculpting in marble and metals.

The second Symposium was held in November of 2013. This sculpture is a result of the first symposium.

Rene Negrin was born September 28, 1949. He is a consulting Professor of Artes Plasticas at the Superior Institute of Art in Cuba.

Negrin studied at the National School of Art, the Superior Institute of Art and has a master of art with a specialty in sculpture.

He is a member of the Writers and Artists Guild of Cuba and the Association of Artes Plasticas.

S. T. by Mario Trenard

Cuba, Santiago de Cuba

Mar 102016

S. T. by Mario Trenard 2013

Sponsored by the Caguayo Foundation and the Advisory Council for the Development of Public Sculptures and Monuments, the symposium seeks to promote sculpting in marble and metals.

The second Symposium was held in November of 2013. This sculpture is a product of the second Symposium

Mario Trenard graduated as a sculptor from the Higher Art Institute (ISA, in Spanish). He is a member of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) and won the Order for National Culture and the José María Heredia plaque.

Trenard is a member of the Instituto Superior de Arte de Cuba and lives in Santiago de Cuba.

Jose Maria Heredia – One of Cuba’s Great Poets

Cuba, Santiago de Cuba

Mar 102016

Traffic Circle at Avenue Manduley and Calle 11
Santiago de Cuba

According to Cuba Facts Jose Marie Heredia y Heredia was born in Santiago de Cuba on December 31 1803, and lived a short thirty-five years, spending most of his adult life in exile.

In 1818 he enrolled in the University of Havana as a law student, and it was about this time that he met Isabel Rueda, to whom he wrote and dedicated erotic poetry. His first dramatic effort (the play Eduardo IV o el usurpador clemente) was produced by a theatre group in Matanzas.

On October 31 1820, his father died in Mexico.

In November 1823 Heredia joined the secret society: LOS SOLES Y RAYOS DE BOLÍVAR (The Suns and Rays of Bolivar, named after the liberator of South America, Simon Bolivar), which sought independence from Spanish rule. The conspiracy was discovered, and Heredia, disguised as a sailor, escaped to Boston. He later spent time in Philadelphia and New York, where he earned a living as a language teacher.

Heredia’s first collection of poetry was published in 1825, and was dedicated to his uncle, Ignacio. Another collection was published in Toluca in 1832.

On September 1 1836, Heredia wrote to Captain-General (of Cuba) Tacón and requested permission to return to Cuba, claiming that his ideology had changed in the 12 years of his absence.

After he returned to Cuba, he was not very popular with many who called him a “sell-out.” As a result, he returned to Mexico, where he died in May 7 1839.

A fragment of Ode to Niagra.

The sculptor on this piece is not known, however, the statue, erected some time before the Castro revolution, was funded by the Bacardi family.

Ode to Niagara was written n 1824, when Herdia was 20 years old. It is actually an ode to Niagara Falls. It has been said it is the greatest poem written about the falls.

There is a plaque at Table Rock, near the brink of Niagara Falls on the Canadian side.
It reads: “To the Niagara from the Cuban people, October 1989”. Heredia (1803-1839) was exiled in 1823 for penning his first Cuban revolutionary poem The Star of Cuba. Although banished officially to Spain for agitating for Cuban independence, Heredia continued to work for Cuban freedom. In 1831 he was sentenced to death in Havana for “criminal involvement” in a conspiracy for Cuban independence. He died in Mexico at the age of 35.
While in exile, he visited Niagara Falls and wrote his famous “Ode to Niagara”, which was first published 1825. In 1827 William Cullen Bryant was the first to translate it into English. Lines from the poem are inscribed on the plaque.

Photo from WikiCommons

Here is an English translation of the poem:

NIAGARA
My Iyre! give me my Iyre! My bosom feels
The glow of inspiration. O how long
Have I been left in darkness since this light
Last visited my brow, Niagara!
Thou with thy rushing waters dost restore
The heavenly gift that sorrow took away.
Tremendous torrent! for an instant hush
The terrors of thy voice and cast aside
Those wide involving shadows, that my eyes
May see the fearful beauty of thy face!
I am not all unworthy of thy sight,
For from my very boyhood have I loved,
Shunning the meaner track of common minds,
To look on nature in her loftier moods.

At the fierce rushing of the hurricane,
At the near bursting of the thunderbolt,
I have been touched with joy; and when the sea
Lashed by the wind, hath rocked my bark and showed
Its yawning caves beneath me, I have loved
Its dangers and the wrath of elements.
But never yet the madness of the sea
Hath moved me as thy grandeur moves me now.

Thou flowest on in quiet, till thy waves
Grow broken ‘midst the rocks; thy current then
Shoots onward lke the irresistable course
Of destiny. Ah, terribly they rage–
The hoarse and rapid whirIpools there!
My brain grows wild, my senses wander, as I gaze
Upon the hurrying waters, and my sight
Vainly would follow, as toward the verge
Sweeps the wide torrent–waves innumerable
Meet there and madden–waves innumerable
Urge on and overtake the waves before,
And disappear in thunder and foam

They reach–they leap the barrier–the abyss
Swallows insatiable the sinking waves.
A thousand rainbows arch them, and woods
Are deafened with the roar. The violent shock
Shatters to vapor the descending sheets
A cloudy whirlwind fills the gulf, and heaves
The mighty pyramid of circling mist
To heaven. The solitary hunter near
Pauses with terror in the forest shades.
What seeks thy restiess eye? Why are not bere,
About the jaws of this abys s the palms
Ah, the delicious palms-that on the plains
of my own native Cuba spring and spread
Their thickly foliaged summits to the sun,
And, in the breathings of the ocean air,
Wave soft beaneath the heaven’s unspotted blue?

But no, Niagara,–thy forest pines
Are fitter coronal for thee. The palm,
The effeminate myrtle and frail rose may grow
In gardens, arid give out their fragrance there,
Unmanning him who breathes it. Thine it is
To do a nobler office. Generous minds
Behold thee, and are moved, and learn to rise
Above earth’s frivolous pleasures; they partake
Thy grandeur, at the utterance of thy name.
God of all truth! in other lands I’ve seen
Lying philosophers, blaspheming Men,
Questioners of thy mysteries, that draw
Their fellows deep into impiety;
And therefore doth my spirit seek thy face
In earth’s majestic solitudes. Even here
My beart doth open all itself to thee.
In this immensity of loneliness
I feel thy hand upon me. To my ear
The eternal thunder of the cataract brings
They voice, and I am humbled as I hear.

Dread torrent! that with wonder and with fear
Dost overwhelm the soul of him that looks
Upon thee, and dost bear it from itself,
Whence hast though thy beginning? Who supplies,
Age after age, thy unexhausted springs?
What power hath ordered, that, when all thy weight
Descends into the deep, the swollen waves
Rise not, and roll to overwhelm the earth?
The Lord hath opened his omnipotent hand,
Covered thy face with clouds, and given his voice10.
To thy down-rushing waters; he hath girt
Thy terrible forehead with his radiant bow.
I see thy never-resting waters run
And I bethink me how the tide of time
Sweeps to eternity. So pass of man–
Pass, like a noon-day dream–tbe blossoming days,
And he awakes to sorrow. I, alas!
Feel that my youth is withered, and my brow
Plowed early with the lines of grief and care.

Never have I so deeply felt as now
The hopeless solitude, the abandonment,
The anguish of a loveless life. Alas!
How can the impassioned, the unfrozen heart
Be bappy without love? I would that one
Beautiful,–worthy to be loved and joined
In love with me,–now shared my lonely walk
On this tremendous brink. ‘Twere sweet to see
Her sweet face touched with paleness, and become
More beautiful from fear, and overspread
With a faint smile, while clinging to my side!
Dreams–dreams! I am an exile, and for me
There is no country and there is no love.

Hear, dread Niagara, my latest voice!
Yet a few years, and the cold earth shall close
Over the bones of him who sings thee now
Thus feelingly. Would that this, my humble verse,
Might be like thee, immortal! I, meanwhile,
Cheerfully passing to the appointed rest,
Might raise my radiant forehead in the clouds
To listen to the echocs of my fame.

Jose Marti by Alberto Lescay

Cuba, Santiago de Cuba

Mar 102016

Santiago de Cuba

Jose Marti by Alberto Lescay

José Julián Martí Pérez (January 28, 1853 – May 19, 1895) is a Cuban national hero. Martí is considered one of the great turn-of-the-century Latin American intellectuals. His written works consist of a series of poems, essays, letters, lectures, a novel, and even a children’s magazine. He wrote for numerous Latin American and American newspapers; he also founded a number of newspapers himself. His newspaper Patria was a key instrument in his campaign for Cuban independence. After his death, one of his poems from the book, “Versos Sencillos” (Simple Verses) was adapted to the song “Guantanamera”, which has become the definitive patriotic song of Cuba.

Alberto Lescay is one of Cuba’s most prolific and well known sculptors. He has been on this site many time before.

Alberto Lescay Merencio graduated with a degree in Painting in 1968 from the “José Joaquín Tejada” Fine Arts Workshop; In 1973 he added a degree in Sculpture from the “Cubanacán” National Art School. He became an Art Professor in 1979 at “Repin” Academy of Sculpture, Architecture, Painting and Graphic, in San Petersburg, Russia. Lescay now keeps a studio and his foundation, Caguayo Foundation for Monumental and Applied Arts, in Santiago de Cuba.

Hatuey

Baracoa, Cuba

Nov 302015

Baracoa, Cuba

Hatuey is one of the most important people in Cuban history, originally from Hispaniola, he fled with many other natives to warn the people of Caobana of the treachery of the oncoming onslaught of the Spanish. Sadly the Caobanans did not believe him and few joined him in his fight against the Spanish. He was captured in February of 1512 and burned alive at the stake.

The story that every Cuban child learns is that before Hatuey was burned, a priest asked him if he would accept Jesus and go to heaven. Spanish historian Bartolomé Las Casas wrote of the reaction of the chief:

(Hatuey), thinking a little, asked the religious man if Spaniards went to heaven. The religious man answered yes… The chief then said without further thought that he did not want to go there but to hell so as not to be where they were and where he would not see such cruel people.

This 1953 sculpture is by Havana born Rita Longa (Aróstegui) (1912-2000). Longa is one of Cuba’s most important sculptors, with over 400 sculptures to her name, her work can be found throughout Cuba.

Hatuey is one of her most iconic sculptures and was used as the image for Hatuey Beer.

Among her many awards, was a Gold Medal at the Exhibition of the Architectural League of New York (1951).

Rita Longa is the creator of pieces that have become symbols of the environment to which they belong, such as the deer of the Grupo Familiar (Family Group, 1947), located at the entrance to the Parque Zoológico de La Habana (Havana Zoo); the image of the so-called Virgen del Camino (Virgin of the Road, 1948), which is today the symbol of the Havana municipality of San Miguel del Padrón; the Ballerina (1950), which was placed at the entrance of Cabaret Tropicana; the work Forma, Espacio y Luz (Form, Space and Light) which since 1953 presides over the main facade of the Cuban Art Building of the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, or the Aldea Taína (Taíno Village) of Guamá (1964), located in Ciénaga de Zapata in the south of Matanzas province.

Rosa La Bayamesa

Baracoa, Cuba

Nov 232015

Holquín, Cuba

This statue is of Rosa Maria Castellanos,(1834-1907) created by Santiago de Cuba sculptor Antonio Lescay.

Rosa La Bayamesa was a 36 year old daughter of slaves, a nurse and organizer of field hospitals during the Ten Years’ War, which was the beginning of the attempt for Cuba to escape Spanish rule.

Bayamesa refers to the Cuban town Bayamo, the insurgent stronghold during the 10 Years War.

Studio Lescay
Avenue Manfully No. 453 Entre 17 y 19
Reparto Vista Alegre

Alberto Lescay Merencio

Lescay was the founder and creator of the Caguayo Foundation for Monumental and Applied Arts. The institution represents over 300 Cuban artists.

El Pelu

Baracoa, Cuba

Nov 112015

Baracoa, Cuba

This is El Pelú sculpted by Ramon Dominque Gainza.

El Pelú was a native of Coruña, Spain named Francisco Rodríguez. There is very little known about him other than at some point in his life he ended up in Baracoa, Cuba. He apparently wandered the streets preaching until sometime around 1896 when his sermons became offensive and the town council expelled him.

Legend has it that while standing on the wharf, waiting for the boat that would send him into exile, he said “In Baracoa many good plans will be made, many good ideas will be generated, but all of them will wear away, nothing will be achieved”, this became the famous Curse of the Pelú.

The sculpture was done by Ramon Dominquez Gainza, a Baracoa native, born in 1943. Gainza is considered the grandfather of Baracoan sculpture. His work normally focuses on the native Taíno peoples.

He has exhibited throughout Cuba and Europe.

Baracoa, Cuba and the road to Maias

Baracoa, Cuba, Eastern Cuba

Nov 092015

October 2015

The white sandy beaches of Baracoa, Cuba with El Yunque in the background

Baracoa is the oldest city in Cuba and sits as the far east end of the island. Baracoa means “the presence of the sea” in the Aruaca language, which was spoken by the original inhabitants of this area, the Taino. The town of Baracoa was founded in 1511 and immediately became the political and religious capital, this changed however, twenty years later when the capital was moved to Santiago de Cuba.

We traveled to Baracoa from Guantanamo along the Costa Sur. This area is the most barren part of Cuba, it is almost desert-like, which becomes obvious when all of the fences are cacti and the beaches are rocky.

The Costa Sur south of Guantanamo

At the town of Cajobabo one turns inland to the drive through the Cuchillas de Baracoa mountains. You wander through these mountains via the Farola, which begins just as one crosses the Rio Jojo. Here the luxurious foliage begins to simply overwhelm ones senses. There are banana plantations, pines, royal palm trees and waterfalls everywhere. The Farola is a road. It is touted to be one of the engineering feats of recent Cuban history, however, it was actually started during the Batista regime, and was halted because he refused to pay a fair wage. Construction did not resume until the 1960s. The name came about because farola means beacon, and in some stretches, due to the lush vegetation of the area, it looks like a beam suspended in the air.

Driving on the Farola looking back to the Costa Sur

This lush forest continues down to the small bay where the city of Baracoa rests.

Baracoa is centered around its main square Parque Independecia.

Parque Independencia

Here sits the Catedral de Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion. Built in 1512 and restored in both 1833 and 2012 it is the home of Crus de la Parra. This is said to be the cross brought to Cuba by Columbus, while the wood has been dated, and proves it is around 500 years old, the wood is also indigenous to Cuba, throwing the theory to the wind.

The pedestrian area around the Parque de Independencia

Statue of Christopher Columbus along the Malacon

Baracoa is famous for cucurucho’s and chocolate. There is a small café marked Casa de Chocolate, in the center square, that is more convenient for its good prices on liquor at the bar in the back than its actual distribution of chocolate bars. The chocolate factory is owned by the government, and while you can look in and see hundreds of chocolate bars and “bon-bons” it is, after all, a socialist country. So buying chocolate at the store and the concept of service are hit and miss at best

A woman selling pralines from her home.

The best way to enjoy the sweets of the area such as home made cucuruchos, chocolate layered with local coconut and these delicious praline like confections, are to find them in roadside stands sold by the locals.

The road from Baracoa to Boca de Yumuri

While the town of Baracoa is lovely, the reason to visit this region is the wildlife and the beaches. Heading east from Baracoa towards Maias you find the Boca de Yumuri. Here people are anxious to take you out to a small island up the Yumuri River and provide a roast pig feast. This area is well known for its stunning ecology of tall canyon walls, lush beaches and a rich birdlife.

Boca de Yumari

The cliffs around Rio Yumuri are dotted with caves and covered in tree roots and whatever else can cling to their sides.

Along this drive you will find traditional Bohios. These represent the original construction of the area, wood homes with palm leaf roofs.

The drive on to Maias is a roller coaster ride through beautiful countryside with nary a person in sight.

We even tripped upon an old cemetery. This was the first time I had seen a country cemetery in Cuba and was thrilled to explore for a while.

A symbol of the Baracoa area, and especially the Rio Yumuri, is the Polymita snail, or “Cuban land snail” or “painted snail”. They are illegal to sell since poaching has depleted them drastically, however, this does not stop local fellows, just outside of town, from doing so such as where I snapped this picture.

Their colors are many and have a legend attached. It is said that an Indian with no pearls to give to his love captured the colors of the universe. The green is for the mountains, the red is of the earth, the pink is for the flowers and the white is the foam of the sea, the yellow is the sun and the black is the night sky. The love sick Indian put these into the shells and presented them to his love. Apparently the Duchess of Windsor, in the 1950s had a pair made into earnings.

There are many Casa Particulars in Baracoa, but we stayed at the government hotel simply because it was right on the water. In fact it is across the street from the Hotel Russa, which is presently undergoing restoration.

Hotel Russa was established by Russian émigré, princess and former dancer, Mima Rubenskaya or “La Rusa de Baracoa”. The princess settled in Baracoa after fleeing the 1917 revolution, she was six at the time. She converted her home into a hotel in 1953.

We were in Baracoa on October 28th. On the waterfront all of the school children were brought to pay tribute to Camilo Cienfuegos, a compadre of Castro whose plane went down in the early parts of the revolution. This is an annual event that takes place across Cuba.

The children listen to a long set of propaganda speeches and then throw red flowers into the sea as a tribute.

The children gather to listen to speeches

They then wait in long lines to throw their flowers into the sea

The White Sand Beaches of Eastern Cuba

Beaches, Cuba, Eastern Cuba

Nov 092015

October 2015

If one heads North of Baracoa you get to Playa Maguana. This absolutely stunning white sand beach has a small government run hotel (Villa Maguana) with its own small private beach and fairly decent restaurant and bar. I have stayed in many government hotels in Cuba, do not let this photo fool you, this gem is very, very unique.

The government hotel in Managuan.

It is twelve miles from Baracoa to Manguana and the entire road is like this. It makes for a very long slog.

If you travel this way you will go along the foot of El Yunque. El Yunque is a 1,885 foot limestone formation covered with vegetation and was a sacred site for the Taino Indians. Named by the Spanish, (the anvil) its shape is recognizable for miles.

We continue on this rather bad road towards the town of Holquin. Along the way one passes the Parque Nacional de Humboldt. This UNESCO World Heritage site was discovered by German explorer, Alexander von Humboldt.

Many miles after leaving Managuan we spotted a family building this structure along the completely desolate, and still horrible, road. We hopped out to ask what they were doing and were told it is going to be a cafeteria. To me this is one of the exciting signs that capitalism is coming to Cuba and the Cubans are looking forward to a better life. We asked about the road, and they hoped, as much as we did that it would be improved one day.

You leave the State of Guantanamo and enter the State of Holquin. The bad road stops somewhere along the road, but of the 45 miles from Baracoa to Moa, not much is paved.

The Moa area is known for its nickel, cobalt and chromium mining. In fact this area has the largest deposit of nickel in the world, estimated at 800 million tons. Sadly, the mining activities have devastated the area. There has been deforestation of well over 3000 acres, there is ground, water and air pollution, slope instability and severe changes in the water table. The bay and the aquifers are polluted with both the presence of heavy metals and sulphate.

Just the destruction you can see from the road is difficult to bear

There are very few roads in the area after leaving Moa. The most accessible, i.e. paved, is the road directly through the capital city of Holquin, and then out to the coast.

A train/bus on the road to Gibara. The transportation in Cuba is so bad that necessity is the mother of invention. Here a bus is outfitted to run on the train tracks.

Our first stop on the coast was the very small town of Gibara on the border of the State of Holquin with the State of Las Tunas. Gibara is centered around its main square with the Iglesia de San Fulgencia, built in 1854, at its heart. There is a sweet little Natural History Museum preported to have the best butterfly collection in Cuba. The town, also called “Villa Blanca” (white village) or “Village of the Crabs” is rich in colonial architecture. Isadora Duncan danced at the local theater, said to be the best in the country at the time, sadly the date of her performance is not known.

The blue building at the end holds the Natural History Musem

This replica of the Statue of Liberty was erected in 1915 with contributions by locals. It was the idea of Enriqueta de la Torre y Delgado. A veteran of the War of Independence against the Spanish Mercedes Sirvén Pérez-Puelles unveiled the monument and Aurora Pérez Desdín, a local Gibara woman was the model for the face of the statue.

Iglesia de San Fulgencia

The Hotel Encanto Arsenita is just of the square and dates to the beginning of the 20th century. It is named for the original owner, Maria Arsenia Martinez, a teacher, better known as Arsenita.

Continuing along the road towards Guardalavaca, one only catches glimpses of the coast.

The most beautiful beaches along this coast are owned by the government. They stretch from Bahia de Naranjo to Guardalavaca. The ridiculous amount of hotels form a wall between the road and the beach, making the area inaccessible to anyone not paying to stay in a hotel.

The price of these hotels (from $120 – 300/night) include your meals, watered down drinks and entertainment that leaves a lot to be desired. The rooms are adequate and the food barely palatable, however, this is not Cuba, it is a resort with not a hint of the country you are in.

At one time Cubans were not allowed to stay in these hotels, however, it is now permissible, but the largest amount of visitors are Canadians and Germans who have been coming for years.

The Hotel Brisas Guardalavaca

There is a delightful little hotel in Don Lino ($60/night) for those on a budget and who want the Cuban beach without the Spring Break wrist band, experience. Playa Blanco also has a wonderful beach and a funky restaurant, however, it has no lodgings.

Three miles south of Guardalavaca is Chorro de Maíta. This is the largest native Indian necropolis in Cuba. The state of Holquin has yielded one-third of all of Cuba’s archeological finds.

The bones have been tested and show that they belong to people that lived somewhere between 1490 and 1540. The area covers about one-half an acre with 56 of the discovered 108 graves visible.

The site is now recognized as a village of indios encomendados (indigenous individuals serving the Spanish colonizers under a regime of forced labor).

Cuban Road to Freedom from the Spanish

Cuba, Eastern Cuba

Nov 092015

October 2015

This trip goes from La Demajagua to Bayamo, the trail marks the beginning of the Cuban struggle for freedom from the Spanish. What is most striking to me is that it is farmland for mile after mile. After hours of driving through countryside without seeing anything but a few farm houses, crops and tractors, you get a true sense of how unpopulated Cuba is.

6 miles south of Manzanillo is La Demajagua, where the 1868 Cuban revolution from the Spaniards began.

La Demajagua was the home of Carlos Manuel Céspedes a landowner and lawyer. Céspedes purchased this sugar plantation in 1844. La Demajagua is the site of the Grito de Yara (Cry of Yara), (October 10, 1868) declaring Cuban independence, which began the Ten Years’ War. On that morning, having sounded the slave bell indicating that it was time for work, Céspedes announced to his slaves that they were all free men, and were invited to join him and his fellow conspirators in war against the Spanish government of Cuba. Céspedes is called Padre de la Patria (Father of the Country). In April 1869 he was chosen President of the Republic of Cuba in Arms.

The Spanish burned his sugar mill to the ground upon hearing of this revolt.

As you move east from La Demajagua you come to the the sleepy fishing town of Manzanillo, founded in 1784, it was the site of four battles during the Ten Year’s War. The town centers around Parque Céspedes, its central square.

In the center of the square sits “Glorieta Morisca” with its Arab-influenced brickwork. The bandstand was designed in the 1920s by Jose Martin del Castillo, an architect from Granada, Spain.

Iglesia de la Purisma Concepcion, built in the 1920s

Some of the typical architecture of Manzanillo. It is important to understand that while the government keeps the buildings in the center of town in good shape, everything else in Cuba is falling down.

The town hall (the building to the right) once held Colonia Española, a social club for the Spanish, built in the early 1930s. Inside is the most glorious array of Andalusian tiles with a mural showing Christopher Columbus’ landing in Cuba.

Colonia Española, is absolutely worth seeking out, but very difficult to photograph

My two crazy Cuban brothers with Piolo, on the right, the Chef.

We stayed in a wonderful Casa Particular in Manzanillo run by Luis de la Paz Acosta. It is at Mártires de Viet – Nam #169. It was clean and comfortable and 25 CUC’s a night, breakfast extra, which is usually about 5 CUCs. It was the owner of our Casa Particular that recommended our restaurant and we were NOT disappointed, it was fabulous, and very inexpensive.

After dinner I wondered the Malacon and found where our dinner had come from.

Shrimpers in Manzanillo.

Our journey continued with a drive to Yara. Yara was actually part of Manzanillo until 1912, thus the Grito de Yara.

Yara is also the site of the burning of Hatuey. Hatuey is known as “Cuba’s First National Hero”.

Hatuey was originally from Hispaniola, he fled with many other natives to warn the people of Caobana of the treachery of the oncoming onslaught of the Spanish. Sadly the Caobanans did not believe him and few joined him in his fight against the Spanish. He was captured in February of 1512 and burned alive at the stake.

A statue of Hatuey in Independencia Plaza in Baracoa

Rice Fields of Yara

The last town on this revolution journey is Bayamo. On the 20^th of October 1868 a group of intellectuals, including Céspedes declared this the capital of the Republic in Arms. In January, realizing that Bayamo was about to be recaptured by the Spanish, the people of the town burned their city down. This is why the song Bayamesa was later chosen as the national anthem of Cuba.

The main square of Bayamo

Bayamo is the second oldest town in Cuba (after Baracoa). The center square, Parque Céspedes, contains most every important building in town, including the Hotel Royalton.

Plaza del Himno

Just to the side of Parque Céspedes is Plaza del Himno (Square of the Hymn). This name came about because La Bayamesa was first played in the church on this square. The song was written by Perucho Figuredo during the 1868 Battle of Bayamo. Figueredo took part in the battle. He put the words to a melody he had written the year before.

Fun things to watch in the center of Bayamo

Transportion in Cuba comes in all types

When the Cuban’s burned Bayamo to the ground they thought that they had placed the most valuable items in the church outside of town, alas, most everything was lost except this last remnant of the church.

The lyrics to Bayamesa in English: (translation via wikipedia)
Run to battle, men of Bayamo
The motherland looks proudly to you
Do not fear a glorious death.
Because to die for the motherland is to live.

To live in chains it’s to live
Mired in shame and disgrace
From the bugle hear the sound
Run, brave ones, to battle!

Fear not: the fierce Iberian
Are cowards as every tyrant
Do not resist the angry Cuban
Forever their empire fell

Free Cuba! Spain already died
Their power and pride, where did it go?
From the bugle hear the sound
Run, brave ones, to battle!

Behold our triumphant troops
Behold them that have fallen
As cowards they flee defeated
As braves, we knew how to triumph!

Free Cuba! We can shout
At the cannon’s terrible boom
From the bugle hear the sound
Run, brave ones, to battle!

Typical street in Bayamo, Cuba

The Hotel Royalton in Bayamo was full but they were kind enough to make a few phone calls and we ended up in two Casa Particulars just off the square for 25CUCs a night with breakfast for an additional 5CUCs.

Rosa Bayamesa by Lescay

On the outskirts of Holquín you will come across a park with this stunning statue. The artist is Santiagueron Alberto Lescay. Rosa La Bayamesa was a 36 year old daughter of slaves, a nurse and organizer of field hospitals during the Ten Years’ War.

A personal note about Manzanillo. There are so many places throughout Cuba that make me so terribly sad. Castro’s socialism has failed miserably and the country has suffered in so many ways, but I felt it to my bones in Manzanillo. Manzanillo is a sweet, charming, exquisite small seaside town, that should be bustling with commerce and tourists, but it is loosing its population and the buildings outside of the public square are crumbling as bad as those of Havana. If things do open up I can honestly see Manzanillo turning into a small tourist coastal town that the world knows and understands. While many may find that horrifying, the town needs an infusion of cash to keep it going, and the people of the area need to make a living.

Cuban Families in the Countryside

Cuba, Eastern Cuba, Life in the Country

Nov 092015

October 2015

There is nothing like being a member of a Cuban family, there is love, fierce loyalty, and drama, drama, drama. It was time to spend a day and night with the family in the countryside, and that meant drinks, food, drinks, food, love, hugs, kisses, and family politics.

Let me begin in Contramaestre. There is no real reason for the town, other than towns have to spring up someplace. There is a mercado and grocery store, and the services necessary for people to function, but not much else. It is a town of around 45,000 although 100,000 plus if you count the people living in the countryside.

The horse and cart are the number one source of transportation in the countryside of Cuba, it has been immortalized in bronze paint here in Contramaestre.

Before leaving Contramaestre we stopped in on the parents of my dear, dear friend Juan Jose. We stopped in just to say hi and drop off a few groceries, they are some of the most lovely people one can have the pleasure to meet.

Loaded with vegetables for our meals, and a tank of gas we were off to see the family. It is a difficult concept to grasp for most people, but Cubans don’t eat vegetables, even in the countryside where they could grow them, it is not part of the Cuban diet. This is why we buy before we go.

The outdoor stove

The indoor kitchen in House one

Our first stop was the family we were to have lunch with – this would be an Aunt, Uncle, and cousins on one side of the family. For those that do not come from an extremely extended family, or do not understand Cuban families, it is difficult. However, since marriage is not part of the Cuban culture, it is almost impossible for an outsider to keep track of who belongs to whom, and which clan and which branch. I try and try and try, as a non-Cuban to remember, but it is futile.

Lunch was in house one. The food will always consist of beans and rice and then some sort of protein. The protein is most often chicken or pork, but in the countryside can also be lamb or goat. Rum, beer, and soda are your drink options. Water is unsafe to drink, even for the Cubans, and in the countryside, bottled water is expensive.

Lamb being prepared for lunch

My Cuban brother and his husband are building a house in the countryside so we had to take a trip after lunch to see how it is progressing.

Coffee Beans

Goat for milk and eventually a meal.

Our hosts were two brothers, they inherited their father’s coffee land and this is how they make a living. There is also cocoa beans, coconut and crops to feed the animals such as corn.

Guillermo getting coconuts for a refresher of coconut milk on this horribly hot and muggy day.

Digging in

The boys were not sure I would be comfortable staying in a Cuban country home so they had the family make a reservation for me at the local government hotel. This is El Salton. I was completely comfortable with my family accommodations, but we not only had to come and cancel the reservation, but we had to buy beer, as there was none to be had in the three towns we tried.

Beer is the same price no matter where you purchase it in Cuba, so it is not uncommon to walk into a bar and get a six-pack to go, the bars are prepared for this and keep a large stock cold.

El Salton sits amongst a lush rain forest with, what is normally, a rushing waterfall. The rains have been poor this year and the waterfall is not what it should be. However, I can not imagine how anyone gets to the hotel. It is at most, a 1/4 mile off of the main road, but one needs incredible patience, and preferably a four-wheel drive to get there. The road is not only ridiculously bad but think, boulders, and I mean boulders. It is a classic government-owned tourist hotel.

Stocked with the beer we headed for house two for conversation, dinner and the night.

The men play cards while the women prepare dinner

Roasted Coffee

As I mentioned, the brothers grow coffee. All the coffee that Cubans grow must, by law, be sold to the government. However, they are allowed to hold back enough for personal consumption. When we arrived the air was filled with the delicious smell of coffee being roasted in the backyard.

A neighbor came by to roast coffee

The round concrete thing was once the outhouse, this home just recently got plumbing and a concrete floor. There are still no doors, however.

Bananas are everywhere

The breakfast table the next morning consisted of eggs, avocados, fried plantains, and bread. The juices in the bottles are guava and papaya.

Peeling oranges for fresh squeezed orange juice. Due to the soil in Cuba oranges are tart.

These are the men of the family that run the two farms.

Pigs are kept in the backyard of almost every home in Cuba with the exception of those in large cities where it is prohibited.

Cuban electricity at its finest.

This is the Cuba that tourists do not see. This is where the decisions made in Washington and Havana will have some of the biggest impacts, especially regarding coffee and cocoa growing, production and exportation, and yet it is a Cuba completely unknown.

These are the people of a past era, living completely off of the land, yes they have electricity and newly installed flooring, but it is a way of life that died in the 1930s in most first world countries.

Families around the world bring baggage, but when you sleep with walls that do not go to the roof, one bathroom, and mud floors, that baggage is exposed and means for a fiercely close-knit organization, and something I am so privileged to be a part of.

Museo Zoologico de Piedra

Cuba, Eastern Cuba, Guantanamo City

Nov 092015

October 2015

The Museo Zoologico de Piedra

This fun little diversion about 12 miles east of Guantanamo is the brainchild of Ángel ĺñigo Brito. Ángel was a farmer and self-taught sculptor. He began carving these animals in stone around his property in 1978. The sculptures graphically depict life in the wilds, and yet can be whimsical at the same time.

There is a little over a mile of pathways and 400 sculptures. The work was completed by Ángel’s son Ángel Íñigo Pérez. The “zoo” is part of the Cuchillas del Toa Biosphere Reserve.

The cost to enter is $1CUC and an additional $1CUC for a camera permit.

My two crazy Cuban brothers

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My “Brother” and partner in crime in Cuba

My favorite of all the sculptures

Jardin de los Helechos

Cuba, Eastern Cuba, Santiago de Cuba

Nov 092015

October 2015

One day, out for a hot and steamy drive from Santiago de Cuba, we tripped over the Jardin de los Helechos. It was after closing time for the park, but as we poked our noses around, the delightful director stepped out, beckoned us in, and gave us a full private tour.

Director Manuel Caluff

The Jardin is a one acre tropical wonder, situated just outside Santiago de Cuba, it is a fern and orchid garden and a research and study center. The center was once a family home, and is still lived in by the original family

* Begun 30 years ago, the garden is purported to have the most complete collection of tropical ferns in the Americas, and has a growing collection of orchids.

*The Institute’s collection consists of 3000 tropical ferns requiring constant attention. There are five employees, in addition to Sr. Caluff, watering, pruning, tending the beds, and keeping plants free from disease.

This chameleon changed his color several times as we watched.

It is a research center valued by students from universities around the world. The center hosts visiting botanists and other fern cultivators.

The garden is open 9-4 Monday thru Saturday and 9-12 on Sundays. The cost is 1CUC for tourists and 1MN for Cubans.

The address is #129 Carretera Del Caney

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Cuban Education

Basic Information, Cuba, Eastern Cuba, Personal Commentary

Aug 092015

2015

I often hear people say that one of the advantages of Cuba’s socialist system is the free education. My answer is, you get what you pay for.

My “Cuban family” has two smaller children, seven and nine, and I am appalled at their education. It is fair in math and science, but history is the Castro Revolution, Geography consists of communist and socialist countries, and social education is the party line.

Teachers in Cuba are fleeing the country and their profession. Several years ago, as a response, the government placed television sets and videos into classrooms to function as teachers. This is obviously not ideal as there was no ability for interaction, but parents indignant over a poor education was not what did the program in.

It was simple technology. The ability of the government to make videos and show them was thwarted by their incompatibility with today’s plasma TVs. It was also difficult to teach this way in the mountains where there is not even electricity to run the televisions.

The result of this was a drift towards larger class rooms, the Cuban schools are now only allowed 15 students per classroom.

photo courtesy of Translating Cuba

The present solution is to give interested adults a crash course in teaching, (most teachers in Cuba only possess a High School education) and then send them into the schools as “auxiliary teachers.” To fill the teacher void there is also now an incentive to get freshly graduated High School students to be a teacher for two years before pursuing higher education or another career.

Even with all of this effort to continue to attempt to teach the children of Cuba it is difficult. There is a complete lack of paper and pencils, new technology is completely unheard of, and there is not a book in Cuba to be read that isn’t either the life of Che or the history of the Revolution.

Then there is food and water. The children are given a snack, which I am told is basically a piece of bread. So if you are one of the luckier families and have the ability to buy food so your child has lunch at school things are okay, but if you are living off of Cuban Pesos, this is a difficult task. Regarding water, every child takes their own water to school. Water in Cuba is not drinkable before being treated, and the water in the schools are not treated, this means a backpack full of food and water is lugged to school by every child. That can be difficult enough in the heat if you walk to school several blocks, but imagine if your commute consists of standing in the back of a truck, or on a donkey for miles and miles.

School uniforms, while not terribly expensive, are now only given once every two years. My god daughter and her brother can at least swap out shirts and ties, but she wears a skirt and he pants, so they are bought big in the hopes they grow with the kids.

If a teacher is ill, or is not able to get to school due to the complete lack of transportation in Cuba, class is canceled. At least they don’t have to sit through the indignity of a 1950s health movie.

If you are interested in reading more about Education in Cuba I suggest this article in the Atlantic.

Monumento al Cimmarón

Cuba, Santiago de Cuba

Jul 312015

Monumento al Cimarron by Alberto Lescay

The Monumento al Cimarrón, by Alberto Lescay, or Monument to the Runaway Slave is in the Cuban town of El Cobre. El Cobre is home to the cathedral that houses Cuba’s patron Saint the Virgin on Caridad.

Lescay has said “I feel the spirit of that work in others and I think I’ve found a road, because it is a very open proposal, not at all schematic or dogmatic and those are very universal codes that are expressed in it.”

Lescay goes on to say that being a cimmarón is an attitude toward life, and will continue to exist as long as any trace or expression of slavery exist in the world, because “being free, never being fettered, is the most humane attitude there is.”

Cimmaróns were enslaved Africans who had escaped from their Spanish masters and lived together as outlaws. The term Cimarrón comes from the Taino word ‘si’maran’ meaning “the flight of an arrow”.

The sculpture requires an approximately 400 step climb after traveling for approximately 1/2 mile on a dirt road, but is well worth the visit.

Lescay has been in this site before with a piece in Santiago de Cuba.

Carnaval in Santiago de Cuba

Carnaval, Cuba, Santiago de Cuba

Jul 312015

The most famous of all Cuba festivals is the Carnaval of Santiago de Cuba. The festival is held annually from July 18 to 27.

While there is quite a lot of history, I asked the Cubans themselves what Carnaval is to them, and the most common answer, after the obvious, one week off a year, was the tradition. This tradition is similar to what one would expect of long holidays around the world; family, togetherness, dancing, music and great food.

The Totem of the Carnaval of Santiago de Cuba

Like many other Cuban festivals, the Santiago carnival began as a religious event: the saint day of Santiago (St. James) is July 25. The festivities became a time for celebration by Santiago’s slaves, who introduced some of the dance, music, and costumes still typical of the Santiago carnival. Over the years, the carnival incorporated elements of African, Spanish, French, and communist Cuban traditions and culture.

What is today called the Carnaval of Santiago de Cuba is not a manifestation of pre-Lenten carnival, which would be celebrated in February or March, but evolved out of the summer festivals formerly referred to as the Fiestas de Mamarrachos. Mamarrachos were held on June 24 (St. John’s Day), June 29 (St. Peter’s Day), July 24 (St. Christine’s Day), July 25 (St. James the Apostle’s Day) and July 26 (St. Anne’s Day).

A beer seller at Carnaval Santiago de Cuba

This is where the beer comes from, it is home-made and you drink at your own risk

The main activities were music, dancing, and consumption of large quantities of alcoholic beverages, and nothing has changed.

Mamarrachos were held after the end of the sugar cane harvest, or zafra, which runs from January to May. This meant that unemployed sugar cane workers, most of whom were African and mulatto slaves and freedmen, were able to participate. Summer Carnival originally was intended as a period of rest and fun for the laborers (the Blacks) and was eventually nicknamed ‘Carnaval de las classes bajas’ (or Carnival of the lower classes)…” It is said that the Spanish colonial authorities (in response to pressure from plantation owners) permitted the growth of the mamarrachos in order to distract the slaves (and freedmen, who were typically in sympathy with the slaves) from more subversive activities.

The festival underwent its biggest change in 1902 with the introduction of floats sponsored by big-name companies like Cristal Beer and Tropicola. At that time the celebration was transformed from a marginal black community event to a citywide popular extravaganza. This concept of sponsorship still exists, and while I asked many Santiagueros how that could occur during a communist regime, most said they had never even noticed and had no idea.

2015 is the 500th anniversary of the city of Santiago, Raul was the guest speaker

Today in Santiago de Cuba, Carnaval is celebrated on July 18–27, in honor of the Revolution, with the final complete Carnaval parade held on the 26th. This date commemorates Castro’s assault on the Moncada barracks in Santiago de Cuba on July 26, 1953, which had been planned to coincide with traditional Carnaval in that city.

Perhaps the most distinctive element of modern-day Carnaval in Santiago is the conga parade that takes place in each neighborhood on the first day of the celebrations. Led by the comparsas, almost everyone in the neighborhood leaves their houses as the performers lead them around the streets in a vigorous parade. Sadly, this occurred the week before I arrived, but here are some photos from outside the front of our house where it passed by.

Further shots of the Parade of Carnaval

While I can’t say enough about how noisy, colorful, crowded and fun, fun, fun, this entire experience is, one must also remember that the temperatures during the day were in the 90s Fahrenheit, and didn’t change but a tad during the evenings.

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When your eyes think you just can not take anymore in, fireworks go off

A very typical sight around Cuba are peanut sellers, but in Cuba they are called Mani

El Manisero (ThePeanut Vendor)-Havana Casino Orch-1930

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While not the greatest, as it was very, very crowded, here is a little more with sound.

Carnaval Santiago de Cuba for the Kids

Carnaval, Cuba, Santiago de Cuba

Jul 312015

The second night of Carnaval I headed out to the kid’s area to see the rides. This is worth every moment, it is a true step back in time.

Of course, there is entertainment along the way.

Carnaval has moved this year, it is in a variety of places around town as usual but the parade moved to the Port area. It is my belief that Santiago de Cuba is getting ready for Cruise ships to dock during Carnaval when things finally open up. We shall see.

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I caught Grandma’s eye, but the little one was too enamored with the lights

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Iris Jazz Club

Cuba, Santiago de Cuba

Apr 222015

Music: breathing of statues.
Perhaps
Silence of paintings.
You language where all language ends.
You time standing vertically
On the motion of mortal hearts.

by poet Rainer Maria Rilke

IRIS Jazz Club is a cultural complex located in front of in the city of Santiago de Cuba. The space, originally a cafeteria, was turned into a jazz club with the specific purpose of promoting jazz in the area.

Santiago de Cuba is celebrating their 500th year in 2015. These bronze panels were the work of Santiago born artist Alberto Lescay’s Caguayo foundation to mark this celebration. The program costs 125,400 Cuba Pesos or approximately $5000US.
A group of about 20 Cuban and German visual artists work with Lescay on the project.
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Germinal*

Cuba, Santiago de Cuba

Apr 222015

Eulises Niebla born in 1963 in Matanzas Cuba, studied at the Escuela Provincial de arte in Matanzas, Cuba from 1975-1979, He then went on to the Escuela Nacional de Arte (ENA) Havana from 1980-1984 and then to the Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA). in Havana from 1984-1989

A contemporary Cuban artist Niebla works with industrial materials to create geometric three-dimensional objects, which are then painted in bright colours. These objects have been likened to the forms in children’s playgrounds and belong to an established constructivist tradition in Latin America that pushes the boundaries of the art object and encourages the spectator to participate in the work.

The Caguayo Foundation, created in 1995 is responsible for much of the public art in Santiago de Cuba through an annual symposium. This piece was part of the 2010 symposium.

The piece was titled Germinal, however, that has no meaning. It is possible that it was a typo, as often happens in these situations, it could be titled Germinar, which means to germinate.

Outer Harmony

Cuba, Santiago de Cuba

Apr 222015

Armonia Exterior by Ramon Casas – 2013

In December of 2010, the city of Santiago de Cuba held its first Rene Valdes Cedeño Public Sculpture Symposium. Sponsored by the Caguayo Foundation and the Advisory Council for the Development of Public Sculptures and Monuments, the symposium seeks to promote sculpting in marble and metals. Armonía Exterior was a result of the 2013 Symposium, the pieces that came out of the project were put around Santiago de Cuba.

Ramon Casas graduated from the National School of Arts (ENA) in Havana in 1976, he then went on to study at the Higher Arts Institute (ISA) in Havana, Cuba and graduated in 1982.

Arco

Cuba, Santiago de Cuba

Apr 222015

Arco by Jose Villa Soberon

In December of 2010, the city of Santiago de Cuba held its first Rene Valdes Cedeño Public Sculpture Symposium. Sponsored by the Caguayo Foundation and the Advisory Council for the Development of Public Sculptures and Monuments, the symposium seeks to promote sculpting in marble and metals. Arco was a result of the 2013 Symposium, the pieces that came out of the project are put around Santiago de Cuba.

Jose Villa has two pieces in Havana that have been in this website before and that you can read about here.

Santiago de Cuba native José Ramón Villa Soberón ( September 2, 1950) is particularly known for his public sculptures around Havana. He studied at the Escuela Nacional de Arte (The National School of Art) in Havana, Cuba and the Academy of Plastic Arts in Prague. He is a professor at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana.

Nature

Cuba, Santiago de Cuba

Apr 222015

This piece, titled Nature, is by Juan Quintanilla.

In December of 2010, the city of Santiago de Cuba held its first Rene Valdes Cedeño Public Sculpture Symposium. Sponsored by the Caguayo Foundation and the Advisory Council for the Development of Public Sculptures and Monuments, the symposium seeks to promote sculpting in marble and metals. Nature was a result of the Symposium, the pieces that came out of the project were put around Santiago de Cuba.

Juan Quintanilla studied at the School of Visual Arts in Pinar del Rio in 1965. He went on to get a graduate degree in Sculpture from the National Art School in 1967. In 1973 he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Praque and spent the year of 1989 studying at Pietro Tacca Institute in Carrara, Italy.

When asked about the marble of Cuba he answered (this is a rough translation)

“In our country we have different qualities of marble. I have only worked with the Siboney Grey Isla de la Juventud, but I have also made inroads into the green and black of Pinar del Río, and the cream and pink orchid of Bayamo, both high quality marbles. There are many others, but these are the ones that I most identify with. I think it is also a way to promote Cuban marble. Many people do not know you could do these sculptures in marble and have been surprised to some to see how a piece can bring out the different qualities.”

Antonio Maceo

Cuba, Santiago de Cuba

Apr 212015

This piece, titled Antonio Maceo sits in Revolution Square in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. Created by Alberto Lescay, a Santiago born artist, it was installed in 1991. This monument is dedicated to the 19th century war hero, General Antonio Maceo. Saw-toothed “machetes” rise from the grass and surround a large sculpture of the General on horseback.

Studio Lescay
Avenue Manfully No. 453 Entre 17 y 19
Reparto Vista Alegre

Lescay was the founder and creator of the Caguayo Foundation for Monumental and Applied Arts. The institution represents over 300 Cuban artists.

There are 23 “machetes” representing the date March 23 1878, when Maceo issued his “Protest of Baraguá” showing his disagreement with the Pact of Zanjón

The group that helped to get this off of the ground included the Structural Engineer Esteben Ferrer Esotiu. The project took over nine years.

There is a river running underneath the project site forcing some serious engineering to be accomplished. There is over 600 tons of steel underground to keep the entire thing stable.

Lt. General José Antonio de la Caridad Maceo y Grajales (June 14, 1845 – December 7, 1896) was second-in-command of the Cuban Army of Independence.

Santiago de Cuba

Architecture, Cuba, Santiago de Cuba

Apr 202015

It is April 2015 and I have returned to Cuba. This time I am traveling with a Cuban national, one of the approved ways of entering the country.

Catedral de Nuestra Señora de las Asuncion

Santiago de Cuba, or Santiago, is the second largest and second most important city of Cuba. However, the hospitality of the “Santiagueros” is second to none!

I began my tour with a walk around town at dusk, the temperatures in April hover in the 80s fahrenheit.

The Old San Carlos Social Club

This is the area around Parque Céspedes, Santiago’s most important plaza. It, like the town, was once filled with large shade trees, sadly, the 2012 hurricane, Sandy, took over 30% of those trees down.

The church is the Catedral de Nuestra Señora de las Asuncion (Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption). The majority of this neo-classical building dates back to 1922, although some parts are more than 400 years old, earthquakes have not been kind to this grand lady. It is said that the remains of colonial governor and Spanish painter Diego Velázquéz are interred here, but no one is positive.

On the east side of the parque is the Casa de la Cultura Miguel Matamoros. This was the former site of the San Carlos Social Club where wealthy Santiagueros enjoyed themselves. The building was the spot of the first radio transmission in Santiago.

The Hotel Casa Grande

The Hotel Casa Grande is one of Santiago’s grandest hotels. Novelist Graham Green was a periodic resident of the hotel. Opened in 1914, the hotel has an admirer with a lovely website about the architecture and history of the structure.

Casa del Gobierno

This white, Moorish influenced, building houses government offices and is not open to the public.

The Diego Velazquez Home

The Velázquéz home was built in the early 1500s and thought to be the oldest residence in all of Cuba. Governor/conquistador/painter, Diego Velázquéz, lived upstairs and the lower level was a gold foundry where the furnace can still be seen today. The house underwent restoration work in 1965 and now houses the Museo de Ambiente Historic Cuban, with a collection of furniture, porcelain, glass and other household items.

Some of the magnificent ornamentation on the Velazquez Home

The home incorporates some of the traditional building techniques used in Santiago de Cuba. Santiago sits in an active seismic zone. Woven sticks of different sizes are packed with hay, rocks, clay, and other materials, these are then plastered over. This creates strong walls flexible enough to give during seismic activity.

Pico Padre

Further in our wanderings we came upon Santiago’s most famous stairway, Pico Padre. Mayor Emilio Bacardi ordered the construction of these stairs in 1899, to honor Santiago’s Catholic priest Bernardo del Pico Redin, well known for his charity work at Beléns Convent. The street has 52 steps.

View from Pico Padre

Children looking down on Pico Padre

Museo de la Lucha Clandestina

At the top of the steps and little to the right you will find the Museo de la Lucha Clandestina (the Museum of the Clandestine Struggle). The house, which sits in the Tivoli neighborhood, focuses on the activities of the resistance movement under local martyr Frank País. The residents of Santiago, along with the peasants in the Sierra Maestra, were instrumental in supporting the Revolution.

A house across the street from the museum

As the sun started to set we wandered homeward, here are some glimpses into that walk.

The view from Balcon de Valázquéz

Balcon de Valázquéz – Felix Pena 612

Santiago’s architecture is as varied as one can see in any city.

Art Deco in Santiago

The lack of cars in Cuba make for an easy pickup game of football

Santiago de Cuba

Apr 202015

This is a Phrygian cap. It is a soft conical cap with the top pulled forward and in the past was associated with the people of the Phrygia region of Anatolia. In early modern Europe it came to signify freedom and the pursuit of liberty through a confusion with the pileus, the felt cap of manumitted (emancipated) slaves of ancient Rome. Therefore, the Phrygian cap is sometimes called a liberty cap.

The cap sits atop the Cuban coat-of-arms and here it sits atop a column in Plaza Marte.

Plaza Marte was constructed in 1799 and is one of Santiago’s central plazas in the “old” part of town. Named Liberty Square on June 12, 1899, to honor the independence of Cuba, everyone still calls it Plaza Marte. Marte is Spanish for Mars, the plaza is named after the Greek God of War.

This is Miquel Matamoros Matamoros. The most prolific composer of the Matamoros Three, he sits on the edges of the more touristy part of town and the entry to Avenida José A. Saco (more commonly known as Enramada) Santiago’s main shopping thoroughfare.

The Trío Matamoros was one of the most popular Cuban trova groups. It was formed in 1925 by Miguel Matamoros (8 May 1894 in Santiago de Cuba – 15 April 1971; guitar), Rafael Cueto (14 March 1900 in Santiago de Cuba – 7 August 1991; guitar) and Siro Rodriguez (9 December 1899 in Santiago de Cuba – Regla, 29 March 1981; maracas and claves).

The Enramada

The Enramada is part of the area that surrounds Plaza Dolores, a small tree lined park that is surrounded by colonial homes, most of which have been turned into tourist restaurants.

Plaza Dolores

Musicians play to the tourists in Plaza Dolores

Across the street you will find another small area with a sculpture of Juan B. Gomez, Rafael H. De Labra and Miquel Figueroa fighting for the liberation of slaves, this statue sits in Serrano Park, a gathering spot for chess, checkers and domino players.

Across town on Trinidad street is the Abel Santamaría Historic Monument. The fountain, standing in front of a complex of buildings, honors the armed action of revolutionaries led by Abel Sanataría Cuadrado on July 26, 1953.

Abel Santamaría along with his sister Haydée participated in the Moncada barracks assault in July 1953 that was supposed to start the revolution to overthrow Batista. After its failure they were both thrown in prison. Abel died in prison after being tortured by police trying to get him to reveal the location of where the other revolutionaries were hiding. It is said that the police removed Abel’s eyes and showed them to his sister Haydée but she never revealed where the revolutionaries were.

This is also the spot where Castro stood trial for his actions in the Moncada barracks attack, this is the famous trial where he represented himself and gave the closing argument that “History will absolve me”.

The Moncada Barracks

While now a school, the Moncada Barracks also holds a museum covering the period leading up to the July 26th attack.

On July 26th, 1953 during Carnival, rebel forces led by Fidel Castro, Raul Castro, and Che Guevara attacked these concrete barracks to seize weapons. The attempt failed, but the revolutionaries gained recognition from their efforts, and many people consider this incident to mark the beginning of the Revolution.

The museum proudly shows the bullet marks made during the July 26th attack.

Another hat tip to the revolution is this 1990s sculpture by Albert Lezcay sitting on the edge of Plaza de la Revolution. The Plaza is typical of those around Cuba in that Fidel delivered speeches from here but more importantly this is where the Pope celebrated mass during his visit to Cuba in 1998.

This monument is dedicated to the 19th century war hero, General Antonio Maceo. Saw-toothed “machetes” rise from the grass and surround a large sculpture of the General on horseback. If you are interested in learning more about this sculpture check out ArtandArchitecture-SF.

Heredia Theater

On Revolution Plaza is the Heredia Theater. It was opened on August 13, 1991 and cost 41 million Cuban Pesos to build.

Born in 1803, romantic poet, Jose Maria Heredia is Cuba’s most famous poet, although he died in Mexico while in exile. Heredia, because of his pro-independence writings, is considered Cuba’s first national poet.

In the older part of town, at Calle Heredia 260, Casa Natal de Jose Maria Heredia is now a museum paying tribute to his life. The building also functions as a cultural center and occasionally features poetry readings.

Santiago de Cuba – El Morro

Cuba, Santiago de Cuba

Apr 202015

Strategically located on a cliff top, the structure, Castillo de San Pedro del Morro, took 62 years to build and was completed at the end of the 17th century.

It was designed in 1637 by Italian engineer, Giovanni Battista Antonelli, as a defense against raiding pirates, although an earlier, smaller, fortification had been built on the spot between 1590 and 1610.

The fort, built on the steep sides of the promontory (morro) has four main levels and three large bulwarks for housing artillery. Supplies would be delivered by sea and then stored in a large warehouse, which was cut directly into the rock.

Cannon Mounts

During the 20th century the El Morro fell into decay, but it was restored during the 1960s by Francisco Prat Puig. The fortress was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, and was cited as the best preserved and most complete example of Spanish-American military architecture.

The fort’s true name is Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca

Although originally intended to protect against pirate attacks, El Morro served as a prison in the late 1700s, with a gruesome history of torture.

A view of the bay.

A tour bus leaving El Morro and heading to La Estrella, the beach just around the bend

Farms located across the channel

Our group enjoying the view.

* *Roberto making sure Otis has pictures to take back home with him to remind him of how hot and tired we all were that day.
*Even though they show this as a chapel, I do not believe the Spaniards would have given up such a strategic window for that purpose.

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El Morro is about 6 miles out of town and very near the airport, so planes approach directly overhead.

When visiting, keep in mind, there is a cannon firing ceremony at sundown, which sadly we did not get to witness.

The lighthouse was added in 1840.

Saint Ifigenia Cemetery – Santiago de Cuba

Santiago de Cuba

Apr 202015

Created in 1868 to accommodate the victims of the War of Independence and a simultaneous yellow-fever outbreak, the Santa Ifigenia includes many great historical figures among its 8000-plus tombs, notably the mausoleum of José Martí.

When the cemetery was inaugurated in February 1868, it was in the form of a Roman cross, divided into courtyards. The main ones were used to bury those high up on the social ladder, and they move outward until arriving at the areas where those perishing from yellow fever and cholera epidemics were laid to rest.

Emilio Bacardí y Moreau (1844–1922) of the famous rum dynasty

Memorial to Marine Stevedores and Workers

The Altarpiece of the Heroes, the resting place of Generals Jose Maceo, Guillermon Moncada and Flor Crombet, who headed a legion of officers and soldiers in the two 19th-century independence wars in Cuba.

The highlight of the cemetery, for many, is the tomb of Cuba’s national hero, José Martí (1853–95). Erected in 1951 during the Batista era, the hexagonal structure is positioned so that Martí’s wooden casket receives daily shafts of sunlight. This is in response to a comment Martí made in one of his poems that he would like to die not as a traitor in darkness, but with his visage facing the sun.

Jose Marti’s Tomb

Marti’s coffin which holds his ashes

José Julián Martí Pérez (1853 – 1895) is a Cuban national hero and an important figure in Latin American literature. He was a poet, an essayist, a journalist, a revolutionary philosopher, a translator, a professor, a publisher, and a political theorist.

Born in Havana, Martí would travel extensively in Spain, Latin America, and the United States, raising awareness and support for the cause of Cuban independence. His unification of the Cuban émigré community, particularly in Florida, was crucial to the success of the Cuban War of Independence against Spain. He was a key figure in the planning and execution of this war, as well as the designer of the Cuban Revolutionary Party and its ideology. He died during the Battle of Dos Ríos on May 19, 1895.

Martí is considered one of the great turn-of-the-century Latin American intellectuals. His written works consist of a series of poems, essays, letters, lectures, a novel, and even a children’s magazine. He wrote for numerous Latin American and American newspapers; he also founded a number of newspapers himself. His newspaper Patria was a key instrument in his campaign for Cuban independence. After his death, one of his poems from the book, “Versos Sencillos” (Simple Verses) was adapted to the song “Guantanamera”, which has become the definitive patriotic song of Cuba.

An eternal flame at Jose Marti’s grave

A round-the-clock guard of the mausoleum is changed, amid much pomp and ceremony, every 30 minutes.

A round-the-clock guard of the tomb is changed, with much pomp and circumstance, every 30 minutes.

This is a very short video I shot, make sure your volume is on, the music is half the entertainment.

El Cobre – Santiago de Cuba

Cuba, El Cobre, Santiago de Cuba

Apr 202015

This is El Cobre, a church with a colorful history and a stunning interior. Built in 1926, El Cobre lies about 12 miles outside of Santiago de Cuba.

A focus of intese popular devotion—not just for Catholics but also for followers of Santería and even those who aren’t otherwise religious—the beloved Virgin of Charity was declared the patron saint of Cuba by the pope in 1916.

On the road to the town of El Cobre, before visiting the shrine, you are given the opportunity to purchase flowers, candles and personal shrines. We purchased both flowers and candles.

As you can see, the church is well adorned with flowers from visitors.

The side aisles serve as a place to offer candles and there are framed prayers above the tables if you need prompting.

The history of the shrine is linked to a legend that has changed with the passage of time.

One day in 1608, two Indians and a slave boy (often told as a white, a mulatto and a black) were gathering salt on the coast near El Cobre when they saw something floating in the water. It was a small statue of the Virgin Mary, carrying the Christ child and a gold cross. She floated on a board bearing the inscription, Yo soy la Virgen de la Caridad, “I am the Virgin of Charity.”

Offerings are kept in the Chapel of Miracles, including Ernest Hemingway’s medal for his 1954 literature Nobel Prize, which he donated to the Virgin. Common objects left in more recent times include replicas of rafts, representing safe journeys to America.

There are beautiful stained glass windows everywhere.

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This stunning wood mechanism is used to transport the Virgin through town on important holidays.

There is a dispenser for you to fill your container with Holy water to take home.

The Copper Mines of the area

Jennifer and I at El Cobre

The town of El Cobre was founded in 1550 as a Spanish copper mine, worked by slaves and Indians. It was at its peak in the first half of the 19th century, when it produced 67,000 tons of copper. In 2001, scant production and low prices for copper on the world market led to the mine’s closure.

We stopped for coconut water and cucurucho on our return trip. Cucurucho is a delicacy of the city of Baracoa east of Santiago. Wrapped in a cone-shaped palm leaf (cucurucho is Spanish for cone), it is a mix of coconut, sugar and often other ingredients such as orange, guava and pineapple.

Cucurucho – it is DELICIOUS

El Cobre for the View

Cuba, El Cobre

Apr 202015

Once you leave the Cathedral in El Cobre, and if you are willing to walk 400 steps, be certain to visit the Monumento al Cimmarón.

You very well may be met at the bottom of the stairs by a “guide”. He will take you off the beaten path to see this “holy” tree. It is a site of Santeria gathering in July, the Fiesta del Caribe.

Further up the “off path” trail you will find many caves. The guide will tell you the Cimmaróns built them, but I have a bigger suspicion they were dug while this area was being mined for copper.

Just before you get to the top, if you remain on the “off the track” direction you will come upon this mural. I know nothing about it, and neither did my “guide”.

Your reason for the climb is several fold, but most important it is to visit “El Monumento al Cimarron” (the Monument to Runaway Slaves), a towering sculpture created in bronze and iron, built to honor one of the earliest slave revolts that took place in the country.

This region, was the scene of many acts of insubordination and mass slave escapes in the years 1673, 1691, 1731, 1737 and 1781 and an uprising on July 24, 1731.

You can read all about the sculpture and the sculptor here.

The other reason to make this trek is the view.

The town of El Cobre was founded in 1550 as a Spanish copper mine, worked by slaves and Indians, and mining continued until 2001. Once the mine was closed the quarry turned into an enormous pit, that is the lake you see. The water is very high in minerals, especially sulfurs.

The environmental damage is evident, but can be mistaken for the poverty that sits above it.

You are rewarded for your efforts with stunning views of the Sierra Maestra Mountains, the cathedral and the town of El Cobre.

If you do go, take water, and if you use the guide, tip him at least 1CUC, it is a long hot walk especially in the summer.

Guantanamo

Guantanamo City

Apr 202015

April 2015

I have come to Guantánamo to visit my friends family. This post is really just a walking tour of the downtown.

General Pedro A. Perez

The town of Guantánamo was founded in 1796 to handle the French fleeing the slave revolution of Haiti. Along with being famous for the naval base, the song Guantanamera (girl from Guantánamo) is probably the only reason American’s know of the town.

The song Guantanamera is aligned with changuí, a variation of son music that developed in the coffee plantations. The song was composed by Joséito Fernández in the 1940s. It was apparently inspired by a proud local girl who did not react to a compliment that he paid her. Later some verses from José Martí’s Versos Sencillos, were added.

The center of Guantánamo City is Jose Marti Central Park.

Jose Marti Park in Guantanamo City

This is the Iglesia Parroquial de Santa Catalina that sits on the central square.

Construction on the building started in April of 1837, but it was not finished until July 15, 1842. The first oratory was built in 1842. In 1953 a floor for the bell tower was added as well as the concrete cupola. Between 1959-60 other changes were made by Architect Jioaquín Sebares, under the tutelage of Dr. Francisco Prat Puig.

Note the beautiful carving on the ceiling

This building, about to undergo a restoration, is called Centro La Luz. It was the distribution center for José Martí’s children books.

This was the home of engineer José Letyicio Salcines Morlotte, built in 1919 in the Beaux Arts style. The house was one of the first to integrate bathrooms into the bedrooms, breaking with the traditional colonial house design. In 1994 the Post Office moved into the first floor and the Municipal Syndicate of Education moved into the third, the second remained residential. The building underwent a restoration in 1999 and now the Salcines Art Gallery is on the first floor, the Decorative Art Museum on the second and the Provincial Center of Cultural Patrimony is on the third.

The main street of Guantánamo

The Royal Coat of Arms sits over the front door of this Cuban bank

The Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom sits over the front door of this Cuban bank

Another classically designed bank, now a Cuban bank

The neighborhoods of Guantánamo City.

Due to the absolute level land of Guantánamo, bicycles of every shape, size, color and design are everywhere in Guantánamo City.

There are many forms of transportation in Cuba, and due to the compact nature of Guantánamo, I saw most of them.

This isn’t as odd as it looks. Since the buses in Cuba are worthless many enterprising people have adapted large trucks into human transport devices. This truck had benches inside to take on passengers and get them where they need to go.

This is the bus station. Since the buses are so bad, the building serves more as a meeting place than an actual bus station. People arrive here in search of transportation, often in those jeeps that you see.

We drove from Santiago de Cuba to Guantánamo in this. These older cars are called Almendrónes (Almonds). Almendrones are pre-1959 US automobiles and are called that due to their particularly round and elongated shape. They are the cheapest “for hire” cars. Our ride that day, which was a 6 hour day for the driver, cost approximately 900 Cuban pesos, or about $33 US. Keep in mind that the average monthly salary of a Cuban is $24 US.

We had a lot of fun in this car. Children in Cuba are not allowed to ride near a door or in the front seat

It is 55 miles from Santiago to Guantánamo, and for some unknown reason it took two hours to get there but only one to return. The roads were typical of Cuba, good parts and bad parts. We traveled part of the way on a new road called the Autopista National. Even though it is fairly new it still had potholes. The odd thing was, I could never quite reconcile in my mind what the new road was for. The traffic was absolutely nil, with the exception of leaving Santiago, you could land a plane on the road and no one would be the wiser, there were very long stretches where we saw no one.

There are two checkpoints between the two towns, one you can be flagged over going either direction the other is just for entry to the area around Guantanamo, we were not stopped at any. This, the driver said, is because they knew his car as he makes the run regularly. I have to assume that is also why he veered around the potholes at 50 mph, he knows the road well.

Our driver raised his hand in greeting to every car, hard to do in the U.S. if you travel 55 miles. There was one tunnel, not long, but, as an aside, there were no lights inside. When we returned I noticed our driver go through the tunnel much much slower than the first time, I then saw a motorcycle cop on the other end. After that I noticed our drivers wave to the other cars was different, obviously they all have hand signals, that was truly a fun bit of insight, glad to see they have a bit of rebellion in them.

A funny note. I had a window seat, and of course the window was down. The next morning I got up to put on the same white shirt I had worn to Guantanamo and it had a fine covering of black, not so noticeable as to be alarming, but noticeable enough that I couldn’t wear it again without washing and it makes you wonder what is in my lungs from that trip. This car, like many others in Cuba are converted to diesel due to the cheaper cost, I guess that explains my dirty shirt.

One of the stops that we made along the way was this yogurt and sandwich kiosk. Set in front of a private home, the yogurt was some of the best I have ever had. The woman showed me around the new additions to her home she is able to make due to the extra income this little enterprise is bringing in.

And finally, a drive through Cuba is never complete without being bombarded with communist propaganda. There is no revolution without boldness.