Lost Canadian
Expedition Leader
On my first Saturday morning in Havana, I woke early before my wife and decided to go for a walk along the Malecon alone. As I walked past a group of youths just hanging out at the wall, with ages of maybe between 16-20, one of the young males broke from his pack and approached me with his hand extended. My natural instincts told me to recoil and to be mindful of a scam, but as I cautiously extended my hand in kind, the young man simply took hold of it, shook it, and said in broken English, “thank you for embracing my culture.” He then let go of my hand and went back to his group of peers. A bit taken back by this simple kind gesture, I couldn't help but wonder if youths from Canada or the US would offer up such unprovoked niceties to travellers of our countries. It was a touching moment for me, and was just the first of many warm embracing encounters I came across.
Another thing I was not prepared for was the level of intelligence I would encounter. Cubans are an extremely well read people, and are highly intelligent. If there is one bright spot to come from Fidel's revolution it was his insistence on improving education and literacy rates. His literacy brigades have obviously worked and it's hard to argue with the success. One local told me Cubans have one of the highest literacy rates in the world. Now, I haven't verified this but I can certainly believe it. Cuba also interestingly enough exports an exceptionally large number of doctors to aid other countries of the Caribbean and south/central America. Ingenuity is another strength of the Cuban people, although with very little to begin with I guess it has to be. My wife bought a beautiful bracelet from a local woman and when I took a good look at it I noticed the band was actually made of recycled copper electrical wire. It's not only the adults, children learn quick and make toys out of everything and anything. Nothing goes to waste and everything seems capable of serving multiple purposes through its life cycle. A stark contrast to our throw away society.
It's certainly not all peaches and cream though. Cubans have a passion for food but it's not because they are culinary aficionados, it's more that they long for that which they don't have. If you go to Cuba expect to eat simply. Beans and rice are safe and pretty tasty bets, although you can get Cubano's, basically a fancy ham and cheese sandwich, pretty much everywhere. Quality varies though. We were looking for something more typical of North American flavour one day, so we stopped at a pizzeria. Big mistake. We ordered the Hawaiian, which sounded good on the menu, but what we ate was a mushy crusted ‘za with processed sliced cheese, some spam like ham substitute and tiny chunks of pineapple. Not exactly my idea of a good pizza but it was what it was and we managed to choke it down. The couple behind us ordered the spaghetti and the looks on their faces when they were served plain white pasta with some butter and ketchup was priceless. That's not to say you can't find a good meal, you just have to look really hard to find one. We got a tip to try out a restaurant in central Havana called La Guarida's, and it did not disappoint. Pulling up in the taxi, in a dark unlit, dingy part of the city, we really wondered what kind of meal were we in for. The cab driver pointed to the door, and we were met by a man wearing shorts and a t-shirt. He said, La Guarida's? To which we replied, Si. He pointed to a set of stairs inside, and after walking up a few flights through what was clearly a residential building, we came to a door with a tiny sign and a door bell. We rang the bell, and a doorman opened the door from within. What we saw inside was a complete contrast to what we saw coming in. It was elegant, and clean, with a menu that listed ingredients like saffron, which honestly left my wife and I scratching our heads. I mean, after our processed cheese pizza, we were certainly not expecting to find a restaurant that could rival the best of what we have back home. Needless to say I had the best lobster dinner I've ever had there. La Guarida was an exception though, and the further away from the city we got the more simple the food was. Pork, beans, and rice are pretty much it for options. Closer to the ocean you'll also be able to find some fish, mainly red snapper. On the up side, you could try and sustain yourself living off coffee, rum, and cigars, all of which are really good, although I don't know if your doctor would recommend it.
When it comes to culture and the arts, Cuba in my opinion is unrivaled. Operating in a virtual vacuum for more than 40 years the Cuban people have explored and learned to express themselves in ways unimaginable to most people, and surprisingly without influence from the rest of the world. The streets at all times of the day are literally alive with music, art, and dance, all authentic and some simply exceptional. For instance, musicians, and people from all corners of Havana meet on the Malecon nightly and what transpires is an unimaginable display of song and dance that stretches for miles along the oceans edge. In another example, if you take a walk along the Prado in old Havana you will honestly be left slack jawed. Here local artists gather to create and sell their work. I was naturally drawn to some of the photographers work and what I saw was nothing short of breathtaking. I look at a lot of images almost daily, and what I saw in one afternoon on the Prado was some of the finest photographic work I've seen anywhere. If the doors ever open for Cuban artists, the world is in for a treat.
Of course when in comes to landscape, Cuba has it. While tourists are typically drawn to the beaches like those in Varadero, for me the far west and Vinales is where it's at, and is simply gorgeous. The limestone mogotes and caves are amazing and I would love to return to photograph the landscape here. As it was this time for me, my time in the area was somewhat limited and I didn't know the area well enough to do it justice, so I just stayed focused on photographing people this time around. Havana also offers tons to see. Old Havana is replete with history and architectural gems, and while interesting and beautiful in a dilapidated way, I would encourage visitors of the city to also take a few days and get to know central Havana. Central Havana is where the the majority of people live, and if you are looking for an authentic look at the life of a Cuban living in the city, you have to stay and spend some time here. You will not be disappointed. One tip; I don't speak Spanish fluently, but before I left I took the time to learn enough to get by. This helped a lot and I was able to stumble through conversations with the locals, which really opened up a lot of doors for me and allowed me to build a rapport with people before I asked them if they'd mind if I photograph them. Again, just a tip for anyone thinking of going, and looking to get a few intimate shots of people.
Sitting in the airport waiting to leave the country I was a bit torn. Cuba is an amazing place, rich, with a deeply rooted, vibrant culture that truely has to be seen to be believed. The revolution and Che Guevara are points of extreme pride for all the Cuban people, and many elders, especially those in rural communities speak highly of the resulting state. While talking politics with Cubans is a touchy venture, many people old enough to remember, will freely tell stories of the hardships and brutality the people faced under the hugely corrupt Batista dictatorship, for which they say Che, not so much Fidel, freed them from. For many though, especially those in the cities, Fidel's lofty socialist goals come at too great of an expense, and there is a desire amongst many for more personal prosperity and freedom. Being hamstringed with long standing US trade embargoes has only compounded the problems and frustration. So while I sincerely hope more prosperity finds the Cuban people, the selfish side of me fears for the trade off, and what could be lost. Will the people still gather along the Malecon to share in song and dance when they have big screen TV's and computers at home to entertain them. And if I return in 10-15 years, will the youth still welcome me with warmth, or will I be met by something more sinister. In any case, I'm glad I was able to experience Cuba as it is now, and I will forever carry the fond memories of this eccentric and lively nation with me.
An expanding gallery of images from my trip can be found here and in the photography section of this site here.
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