Cuba in December

Karren Alenier

The Steiny Road Poet went to Cuba in December and anything else she did in 2024 pales by comparison.

Just as her 2009 trip to communist China, the People to People experience in Cuba was eye-opening, given the way American politicians have pitted their citizenry against communism and socialism, systems of governance that emphasize wealth equality. Our new president's threat to deport millions of immigrants and his lopsided distribution of money to the wealthiest promise to accentuate this bias even more. Steiny was surprised to learn, despite the former support of the Soviet Union, that Cuba, despite its one-party system of government called the Communist Party of Cuba, is not a communist country and never was. While Cuba followed Marxist-Leninist principles, it never attained the final stage of communism. However, Cuba's
socialism, as conceived and enacted by Fidel Castro, is now giving way to an entrepreneurial effort to counter the government's failure to provide for basic needs.

While Steiny and her traveling companions—some previously known and some new—stayed in luxury hotels (on a par with Las Vegas), ate meat imported from Costco, and rode comfortable touring coaches, she met people who had to scavenge every day for their next meal—or for soap. She heard a woman asking sabón sabón as her touring group walked through an old square. They frequently saw people picking through trash cans. And, oh, if you don't have a car or worse, if you need gas and don't have 24 hours to wait in line to get a limit of ten gallons, you'd better hope you have a dollar to wave as you attempt to hitchhike because the public bus rarely comes. Yes, in this socialist country where citizens are entitled to free lodging, medical care, education, and a monthly ration of food (5 eggs, 1 liter cooking oil, 1 lb. spaghetti, 3 lbs. sugar, 6 lbs. white rice, 20 oz. black beans, 2 packets of coffee, and dinner rolls) obstacles to survival prevail. Do ordinary Cubans resent foreign visitors? No evidence of that. They bring in much needed cash to a country where credit cards are not used.

Currently, the Cuban government is allowing people to leave. Most who do are young people. Typically, they first go to Nicaragua which requires no visa. From there, many of them hire a coyote to help them enter the United States, where they may have friends and family. After a performance by a highly trained and impressive dance troupe of teenagers, Steiny learned that most of the experienced dancers in this company had been sent abroad to perform. Out of 22 members who went, only 2 returned. Her group of travelers spoke individually with the dancers. One young dancer said that if she is sent abroad, she will return from the first trip but not the second.

So much in Cuba is crumbling (e.g. the majestic buildings of the Colonial period) with no hope of repair. Walking on the sidewalks of Cienfuegos presented a potential hazard—the balconies are liable to fall and kill the pedestrians underneath.  Cubans have no material or financial resources to fix this. When the Soviet Union disbanded, Cuba lost its largest patron. Why is Cuba without financial aid? Two large reasons are the U.S. embargo that prevents trade with Cuba and the threats that the U.S. government exacts on foreign companies (e.g. Sandals resorts, PEMEX oil company) that would otherwise invest there. Another important factor is the Cubans living in South Florida who still seek revenge for their property and businesses that Castro seized in the 1960s.These expats and their descendants (e.g. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz) continue to pressure the U.S. government to uphold the embargo. However, the Cuban government has made bad decisions as well that keep foreign investors out.

Steiny's seven-night trip focused on the arts. She attended world -class performances in the genres of dance, a cappella singing, classical music, and traditional Cuban music, and visited a wood sculpture workshop.

One music group was Concerto Sur of Cienfuegos, a well -practiced, technically excellent string ensemble who filed onto the staging area and danced while playing their instruments. She also saw and heard lots of amateur artistry everything from street and children's theater to breakdancing and hip hop to a whole shop where newcomers could sit and paint as well as exhibit their works. She saw one of her favorite troupes of street entertainers on the first full day of her visit, while she was eating lunch at an entrepreneurial family restaurant.

Musicians played horns and drums while fellow performers on stilts and in colorful costumes paraded through the alley where she and her group were seated.

Steiny encountered the most astounding piece of art, a brass sculpture by world renown Cuban artist Roberto Fabelo installed in 2013 in Havana's Plaza Vieja.

Shouldering a gigantic fork, a voluptuous, life-sized naked woman wearing stiletto heels straddles a huge, one-legged rooster. While the artist named the work Viaje Fantástico (old fantastic), he offered no details concerning what inspired him to create this work. Given the fork and fowl, many guess that the woman is a working prostitute and that is how she can afford to eat.

According to Cuban historian Dr. Maritza Corrales, author of The Chosen Island, who led an interactive session with Steiny's tour group, Cubans are resilient and resourceful. In their  spirituality, they are more superstitious than religious which reflects African heritage and traditions. Surprisingly, the largest spiritual group is not those who practice Catholicism, but those who practice Santeria or Regla de Ocha. This was initially a secret worship practice by West African slaves who used Catholic saints to hide the Yoruban religion and its gods. Steiny's Cuban guide pointed out two Santeria women in a public square who were reading fortunes through cards.

Dr. Corrales has written books on Jews in Cuba and told us that historically Cuban Jews enjoyed a special respected status. Later, Steiny's guides took her group to a Sephardic synagogue which provides services led by a lay leader; no rabbis practice in Cuba. On the rare occasion when a Jewish couple wants to marry, they hire a rabbi from Venezuela. According to Jewish practice in
Cuba, this is the only time a rabbi must officiate.

Did Steiny have any fun during this educational tour of Cuba? Absolutely!

One afternoon, her tour company rented eight classic cars for her group of 22. Steiny's driver, with his radio blaring per her permission and his a-ooga horn punctuating his maneuvers, drove her and her companions to see, among other places, Bosque de La Habana (the Havana Forest) with its tall trees and curtains of greenery.

She and her friends enjoyed a gorgeous sunset on the Caribbean beach at their Trinidad hotel but came away with copious bug bites from noseeums. Steiny also was invited to dance with Atila " El Bendicido" (a Cuban television singer) at the farewell dinner. Nothing like dancing mumbo with a flamboyant singer to put a splendid cap on an exciting learning adventure.

Steiny says after visiting Cuba, obstacles and hard times are just instances of wonder. Stay tuned, Steiny might revise her equanimity after January 20, 2025.