4 Americans in Cuba

Larry Stein

Description

For Americans, Cuba has been the forbidden fruit–a skin of Detroit sheet metal covering a center of tasty rum, swirling cigar smoke and sandy beaches.

Pointed prose, and over 200 pictures, tempt you to take a bite out of major cites and nibble on hidden beaches. Unvarnished opinions, with a uniquely American perspective, guide you to warm accommodations, fine food, stirring sights and sizzling salsa.

As in Larry Stein's three other books in the Traveler on a Rope series, 4 Americans in Cuba targets value options for readers with cash flows wider and thicker than a shoestring.

Sujets

• Pictorials
• Travel

Informations

• Publié par: eBookIt.com
• Date de parution: 30 avril 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9781456627928
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 5 Mo

Extrait

4 Americans in Cuba
A Traveler on a Rope Guidebook
 
 
by
Larry Stein

Copyright 2017 Larry Stein,
All rights reserved.
 
 
Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com
http://www.eBookIt.com
 
 
ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-2792-8
 
 
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
FOREWORD
For Americans, Cuba has been the forbidden fruit—a skin of Detroit sheet metal covering a center of tasty rum, swirling cigar smoke and sandy beaches.
Until January of 2016, when the people to people exception opened independent travel to Americans, there was no role for this guidebook. Legal travel to Cuba was through planned tours ranging from 7 to 13 nights. Those tours, at QE II stateroom prices, enveloped travelers in an all-inclusive bubble. Backpackers defying the embargo, were travelers on a shoestring tightly holding Lonely Planet , while scrolling through backpacker social media.
My intended reader is neither unwashed (great or otherwise) nor anointed. Cost is an object, but so is comfort. She recognizes the danger of a luxury cocoon as well as the tedium of a shared bathroom.
Money is only one resource to marshal. Equally important are time and energy. Although I welcome youthful backpackers, I don’t assume my readers have the boundless energy of the young. I don’t. Travel should be a stroll, not a marathon.
Similarly, time should be savored, not wasted in endless lines, that can be part of life in Cuba. I have a few tips that will save you hours. I caught one error in Lonely Planet that may save you days.
This book has nearly two hundred pictures. Is a picture worth a thousand words? I have seen horrible pictures that were worth only a few expletives. But I’m advising you where to eat, sleep and sightsee. Pictures provide you with a tool to make your own decisions, piercing the hyperbole of the intrepid travel writer. I took most of the pictures. Those taken by Jan Sanders will be followed by a “JS”, those by Jacqueline Heskett a ”JH”, and those by my wife an “RS”.
I do have the big picture. Pictures are big. A picture contains more data than a thousand words. Be patient. Downloading will take a little extra time.
To fully enjoy this book, please read it with a computer, tablet, or color e-reader. Otherwise, the pictures will be in fifty shades of grey.
HISTORY FOR TOURISTS
Spanish Period
A dash of history provides context for the Cuban sights and culture. Cuba was discovered by Columbus in 1494, and colonized by Spain in the early 16 th Century. The original seven cities established by Spain were, Baracoa, Bayamo, Trinidad, Sancti Spiritus, Camaguey, Santiago de Cuba and Havana.
The oldest structures in Cuba, primarily forts, date from the 16 th Century, such as the Castillo de la Real Fuerza in Havana built in the 1560s .
 

 
Military structures are based on necessity. During the Anglo-Spanish War (1762-1763), which was part of the Seven Years’ War, Britain took Havana, and laid claim to Cuba. By treaty, in return for Florida and other considerations, Spain regained control of Cuba. Seeking to ward off future incursions, Havana was buttressed by extensive fortifications. The Castillo de los Tres Reyes del Morro built in 1599 below, after being captured by the British was supplemented by Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña.
 

 
Commercial, ecclesiastic and residential structures follow the money. The economy flourished during the 18 th and 19 th centuries because of the sugarcane industry, and unfortunately, the related slave trade. Sugarcane is labor intensive, and as was the case in the United States, was tended and harvested by slave labor. Cuba is an ethnic mix of Spanish, Afro-Cubans, and native Tainos.
Prominent structures in Havana Vieja, Trinidad, Cienfuegos, and Camaguey date from this period.

Late 18 th Century Camaguey Church as seen from rooftop of the Gran Hotel
 
Revolutions
The heavy hand of Spanish colonization, as well as opposition to slavery, fueled two major revolutions. As stated in Wikipedia, “ On 10 October 1868, the landowner Carlos Manuel de Céspedes declared Cuban independence and freedom for his slaves. This began the Ten Years' War , which lasted from 1868 to 1878, and eventually contributed to the abolition of slavery.”
Cubans have a love affair with martyred revolutionaries. Most Cuban cities have a Cespedes square. Even more honored is Jose Marti who helped to ignite the War of Independence, 1895-1898. He captured the Cuban spirit because he was not only a revolutionary, but also a poet. He died at the beginning of the revolution in May of 1895. His statutes are everywhere.
 

Jose Marti, poet, Revolution Square, Havana
 
The fight continued under the leadership of Maximo Gomez and Antonio Maceo. Streets are named after them in most cities. The struggle continued as a standoff until superseded by the Spanish-American War.
 
The American Period
With a hard shove from the yellow journalism of William Randolph Hearst, America went to war against Spain in April of 1898. Cuba was one of the focal points of the war.
With Cuban help, Americans established a beachhead in Santiago de Cuba and proceeded to rout the Spanish army. Spain sued for peace at the end of 1898.
Cubans were excluded from the peace negotiations in Paris. The Treaty of Paris gave the United States the authority to occupy Cuba. In 1901 America granted Cuba independence, conditioned on the Cuban constitution granting the US the right to militarily intervene in Cuban affairs, as well as the permanent right to maintain a naval base. This is the legal rationale for the US base at Guantanamo.
Trade with America flourished, resulting in prosperity for many. This is reflected in art deco architecture such as the Bacardi Building in Havana.
 

Edificio Bacardi completed in 1930
 
Lost in the 50s

Pristine Buick in Havana
The legions of Detroit beauties from the 1950s, is an unintended consequence of the Communist Revolution. In 1940 with wide spread support, including the backing of the Cuban Communist Party, Fulgencio Batista was elected as a reformer. His presidency lasted until 1944. After time in the US, he again stood for president in 1952, but was defeated. He took power anyway, through a military coup.
His second term of office was characterized by graft and greed, including a deal with the American Mafia. His unpopular government opened the door for the nationalist revolution lead by Fidel Castro, as well as his brother Raul and Che Guevara.
The Castro government was formally recognized by the Eisenhower administration on January 7 th , 1959. But Castro’s violent consolidation of control, as well as his opposition to US influence, quickly lead to plots and plans to depose the regime.
After a series of disputes, primarily relating to oil companies, the US imposed a trade embargo on February 3, 1962. Other nations were pressured to join the embargo, as a price of doing business with the US. Cuba was also effectively cut off from the world banking system.
With limited resources and a struggling economy, Cuba became a client state of the Soviet Union. For those few who could purchase a car, the only available automobile was the Russian Lada. The Lada was a Fiat design built with uninspired Russian labor.
My two favorite Lada jokes are: (1.) What is the difference between a golf ball and a Lada? You can drive a golf ball 200 yards. (2.) Why does a Lada have a heated rear window? So you can keep your hands warm while pushing it.
Cubans had a strong incentive to preserve their American cars, with Ladas as the only alternative.
Taxi drivers in Havana, with well-maintained American beauties, earn more than Cuban doctors. Most cars are now third generation, being passed down from father to son. Drivers are very cautious because of the income generated by their cars.
Also since the 50s were the last period of private wealth, many upscale suburbs have “ranch” homes. Few buildings of note were built after the 1950s.
 
Conflict
President Kennedy green-lighted a plan drawn up by outgoing President Eisenhower, to invade Cuba at the Bay of Pigs near Cienfuegos. The invasion was a disaster, and along with failed assassination attempts, served to further alienate Fidel. Perhaps that played a role in his agreement to have missiles installed on Cuban soil pointed at the US. Maybe his economic dependence on Russia made his concurrence inevitable.
The cliff notes/Camelot version of the Cuban Missile crisis is that in 1962, we discovered the installation of missiles and blockaded Cuba. As the story goes, Khrushchev blinked and the missiles were withdrawn. The full story is more nuanced. The US placed missiles in Turkey within range of most of Russia. Shortly after the missiles were removed from Cuba, America removed the missiles from Turkey. Kennedy won the PR war, but the result was a tit for tat.
For those of us who lived through the crisis, Cuba is further emblazed in our minds. We all feared a nuclear war between the two superpowers.
 
Post Russia
The breakup of the Soviet Union, lead to starvation in Cuba. Cut off from trade and aid with the West by the embargo, and with no further assistance from Russia, the Cuban economy cratered. Between 1991 and 1994 it's estimated that Cubans collectively lost 25% of their weight. This is referred to as the special period. The Cuban government considers it a genocide perpetrated by America. A possible lesson is that no matter how dire the impact of the embargo, it has not resulted in regime change.
If you wonder why posters of Hugo Chavez are common, usually together with Fidel, and, or Raul, it's because Venezuela came to the rescue.
 
Raul Castro

Poster in Havana
 
When I first arrived