Buenos Dias Havana
5 AM. Very early. Everyone on the tour is on time, no snafus in checking luggage, security was a breeze and the Aruba Air charter airplane was boarded and almost on time for departure.
As native born USA tourists, we were in the minority. With relaxed travel restrictions for US citizens who have family in Cuba, most of the people on the plane were of Cuban descent, either with dual citizenship or visiting family. Practically everyone had huge bundles of clothing or other purchased merchandise being taken to families. Big packages tightly wrapped in plastic were all over the check in line. We were to learn later that Cubans call these travelers "mules" (not drug mules), as a way of getting US goods into Cuba. The airplane was packed, the flight was short and with clear skies I could spot Marathon Key as we departed US waters. Being a pilot I rarely heard applause with my landings. Maybe I never deserved it. Applause seems to be standard fare when the airplane touches down coming into Havana.
Arriving in Havana, passport control was uneventful and we got our “stamp of Cuba” permanently affixed to the passport. Luggage retrieval was quick and civil and departing the doors we were in the arriving passenger bullpen with hundreds of Cubans waiting for their families all packed up against the control fences. Lots of happy faces and people.
We met our tour guide for the next week. Yadira Sardinas (Yadi) was to be our guide, an employee of Havanatur, the state run travel agency. We loaded into a relatively new Havanatur bus made in China and we also met Allan Segalbaum, a citizen of both the US and Cuba who is the main man for Grand Circle Foundation in Cuba. Yadi with a degree in languages, speaks fluent English, Spanish and German and is passable in French and some other languages. Smart, energetic, an excellent manager and extremely knowledgeable of Cuba, she would prove to be an exceptional guide. A recent mother with her child being cared for by her grandmother while she travels and being married to a taxi driver, she could speak from many different perspectives of Cuban life. Allan, born, raised and educated in Cuba in economics, but with his mother, a journalist, now a US citizen and working in Cuba as the Cuban chief for CBS news in Cuba, would be a good complement to our tour guide. Two knowledgeable, well trained people will be our shepherds as we explore Cuba.
Before we hop on our bus and start our Cuban journey it is time to refresh our brain on the rich Cuban history so that we can better capture the full perspective of the adventure ahead of us. If you already know all about the history of Cuba, you can fast forward but if you are like me, there is a lot I didn't know and a lot that begins to shed some clarity as you put it all together into the landscape of history. So here is the Rod Wolford shortened version of “The History of Cuba”. Forgive my errors and correct me with your responses.
The first inhabitants of Cuba were Neolithic cultures utilizing ground stone and shell tools to wring out a subsistence lifestyle based on fishing, hunting and collecting wild plants. The oldest archeological site at Levisa dates back to approximately 3100 BC.
In 1492 Christopher Columbus, an Italian, had finally convinced the Spanish government to provide the venture capital and boats to find a quick route to the East Indies. Heading in a direction, he thought might directionally compute but with no GPS, I think he was essentially lost. Bumping into a little island called San Salvador Island in the Bahama chain in early October 1492, Chris was officially in the history books as the discoverer of the Americas. With some Vikings and possibly even some Chinese hitting the shores potentially centuries before, the historical accuracy of Chris being the first to hit America is erroneous. But his discovery and namesake makes for a great American holiday and we are not giving it up. Finding some natives wearing some gold, Chris got really excited, took a few prisoners and started sailing again. In late October 1492 he found Cuba. Most scholars believe Christopher never set foot on USA soil. So much for what you thought you remembered from grade school history.
As usual the native people didn’t fare so well. With medieval Christianity, remembering their Muslim wars, a rather unflattering tradition of non-respect or even hatred of the non-Christian, barbaric, evil ones, the Europeans had a cause, armed with religious right, fervor and strength that pushed the natives to the eastern end of the island. Most of the native population was exterminated or blended over the years and few full blooded (if any) natives now exist.
With the discovery of Cuba and the assumption it might be a good place to settle, Santiago de Cuba was founded and declared the capitol in 1512. In 1519 Havana was founded because of its excellent port capabilities and was designated the capitol in 1607.
The Spanish were the dominant ruling country of Cuba over the years. They lost control for a short period in 1762 until they traded Florida to Britain for Cuba’s return. With severe Spanish trade restrictions placed on Cuba and falling behind in sugar technology, Cuba produced a lot of tobacco. With the introduction of slaves and French landowners escaping the revolution in Haiti, the sugar industry blossomed. The US made a failed attempt to buy Cuba in 1848. Things were not going so well for Cuban residents. The not so good political and living conditions encouraged a failed 10 year fight for independence in 1868, which ultimately led to slavery being abolished in 1886. In 1895 the second fight for independence was waged with Jose Marti being a key Cuban figure to lead the effort and lose his life in battle. His image is frequently seen in Cuba with him being regarded similar to our George Washington. This fight for independence would be the inflection point for Cuba’s future. With the Spanish losing control of half of Cuba and fumbling around for a new form of colonial governance, they were ripe for loss.
The USA was getting a little tired of all this revolution and got into the action, following the sinking of the Maine in the Havana harbor. Disregarding that history tells us that Spain might have been innocent and perhaps we blew up our own ship, all to stimulate a little war, the USA enthusiastically went to war with Spain. As a good war accelerant, Teddy Roosevelt was Secretary of the Navy, pounding the drums to move the Spanish rascals out of Cuba and we were provoked enough to start the Spanish American War. Teddy got his war and with his Rough Riders riding into battle in Cuba he built his notoriety, propelling him into the Presidency of the US.
In 1899 the US got control of Cuba, held on with military control for 2 years and pulled out the military in 1902 when Tomas Estrada Palma, coincidentally a USA citizen, was elected Cuba’s first president. In the meantime, the US was reducing tariffs on US goods and maintaining tariffs on Cuba’s exports. The economics of these controls combined with US investments, led to the US owning 80% of Cuba’s ore exports and most of the sugar plantations and cigarette factories by 1902. With US interests firmly rooted in Cuba, the US Congress quickly adjusted the tariff system to encourage trade. With Palma’s election, the Platt Amendment was passed, Cuba was declared independent and Guantanamo was leased to the USA, and still serves as a nice little controversial prison. The Palma government collapsed in 1906, the US invaded again and assumed control for 4 more years.
Troubling political times with a couple of leaders gave Cuba a period of unrest. After World War I, Gerardo Machado was elected, served his constitutional term, wouldn’t relinquish his post, operated as a dictator, did a lot of bad things and was overthrown in 1933. With US assistance, control went to Fulgencio Batista in 1934 who coincidentally was supported by the Communist Party, that was just beginning to evolve in Cuba. With a couple of in between leaders from 1944 to 1952, not doing so great, a vacuum of leadership and a not so legal election process occurred. Again with US support, Batista was back in power.
A large middle class was evolving but economic circumstances started putting a halt to growth before Batista’s reemergence. A small sliver of the population was holding a lot of wealth, government corruption was rampant, American interests in the form of mafia and gambling was holding great influence and having a negative impact. Finally, political suppression and brutality, directed by Batista towards those who opposed the government, led to a fertile ground for a revolution.
In 1952 a young lawyer, Fidel Castro, running for a seat in the Chamber of Representatives circulated a resolution to depose Batista’s government because of the illegitimately suspended electoral process. The courts didn’t act, Castro didn’t like it and led a failed attempt to attack the Moncada Barracks near Santiago de Cuba. Castro was jailed but released in 1955. His prison term apparently didn’t teach him not to do those revolutionary things and he went on in 1956 to lead a small group of fighters including Che Gueverra to commence his efforts to overthrow the Cuban government. Basing out of the Cuban mountains, he pulled together a growing army and in 1959 he takes control of Cuba.
In 1960, with Castro assuming political power, he started implementing radical agrarian land reforms and nationalizing business interests of US companies. As might be expected the USA wasn’t happy and Eisenhower imposed a severe trade embargo. In 1961, the Bay of Pigs invasion composed of CIA agents and Cuban nationalists was handily put down by the Cuban military and served as an embarrassment for the USA and our new president, John F. Kennedy. The Cuban government, emerging out of the Communist Party turned to the Soviet Union for help. Seeing Cuba’s proximity to the USA, the Soviets gleefully came to the economic and military rescue of Cuba and decided it was time to put some nukes in Cuba as another big move in the “Cold War”. We all know the story of the Cuban missile crisis and how close we came to nuclear warfare, but fortunately Robert Kennedy negotiated a deal for the US to give up some Turkish missiles for the withdrawal of the Cuban missiles. Crisis over but not the embargo.
From the USA perspective the trade embargo was tightened as a way to bring Castro around to a different way of thinking. The revolution changes were in full gear. Land and property reforms gave everyone a place to live, social reforms helped everyone eat and get healthcare but the Cuban economics were bad, political prisoners languished in jails and many Cubans who hadn’t fled immediately after the revolution were now hopping into leaky boats to make their way to the USA. In 1973 the Cuban government opened the floodgates of immigrants to the USA with the Mariel boatlift and we got the gift that keeps on giving of many good Cubans but also some of Cuba’s jailed criminals that readily accepted the opportunity to go to the USA.
Tourism didn’t stop in Cuba with the trade embargo. Most countries around the world didn’t recognize the embargo, so it was only Americans not travelling to Cuba. In 1990, tourism begins to surpass sugar as Cuba’s major export. The Soviet Union was pumping money and oil into the Cuban government as fast as it could to support the Cuban economy. A lot of ugly Russian buildings were built and Russian cars and trucks can still be seen rolling on the roads. Unfortunately for the Cubans, the Soviet Union collapsed and in 1991 their support was pulled out of Cuba. Oil imports were cut 50% overnight. The Cuban economy went into a rapid, deep spiral that has not recovered fully to this day. The time of economic collapse is now called “The Special Period”. Famine was widespread and a whole lot of animals disappeared from the Cuban streets. Cutbacks on transport, electricity and food rationing went into effect. Obesity was not a problem. A system of rationing food for all, encouraging small plots of agriculture for growing food, providing healthcare for all and free education became the rallying calls as Cuba exited “The Special Period”. The US dollar was legalized in 1994 to promote growth in tourism and the Cuban government started entering into joint ventures with European, Canadian and Asian investors to invest in and encourage the tourist industry. It worked. While the dollar has now been banned in favor of using a second form of pesos as currency, a two currency system (tourists and non-tourists) still exists and acts as a confusing economic factor in their economy.
Surviving the “Special Period”, the economy, while not prospering, does manage to provide basic food needs and provide an infrastructure for health care and education. But the remainder of the infrastructure suffers. More on that later. The magnitude and impact of “The Special Period” on the physic and attitudes of current day Cuba cannot be overstated. As a non-scholar of Cuba, this was a period of which I knew little, but now want to learn more. It was big.
In 2004 President Bush eliminated the cultural exchange visas and in 2011, President Obama eases the travel restrictions. With Raul Castro (Fidel’s brother) now in power and travel restrictions allowing cultural exchanges plus an USA embassy in place, the Wolford history books are getting a new entry. Here we are in Cuba.
As we emerge from the airport, the weather is comfortable but warm, the parking lot is filled with old classic American cars and there is a beehive of activity around the airport. We get on the road heading to our first stop, an organic farm combined with a “paladar”.
In recent years to encourage the infrastructure build out for the tourist trade, individuals were permitted to use their home as a commercial restaurant called a paladar. With approval though a state issued license and the payment of a 10% tax on revenues (sales tax), these little businesses have been growing in number and size.
Since a paladar can supposed only be out of your home, there are no chain restaurants in Cuba. Everything is an original. However, the paladares have outgrown the living rooms and you can now see some fairly large restaurants, all supposedly built around an original home.
Our destination was Il Divino with its attached organic farm. A quick tour through an excellent example of an organic farm plus a good lunch serving some of the homegrown vegetable we were on our way to an old fort, our next stop.
La Cabana is an 18th century fortress complex located on the eastern side of the harbor entrance to Havana. With an elevated view of the city it perhaps has the best vantage point of seeing all of old Havana.
Built as a defensive measure after the capture of Havana by British forces in 1762, the fort has seen no warfare except for the no-conflict walk-in by Castro in 1959. Che Guevara used the fortress as a headquarters and military prison for several months. Now it is a great place for citizens of Havana to throw a picnic and look at their city. As a tidbit of unneeded history, it now houses a cigar maker and shop that has assembled the world’s longest cigar. It is long.
We drive the busy streets to get into Old Havana for our first hotel stop, the Hotel Saratoga. The streets are full of classic cars. Sorry, I can’t quite get past the fun of seeing these old cars. It is like strolling down memory lane and revisiting our teenage years with old Fords, Chevys, Buicks, Studebakers, magnificent Cadillacs and a host of other cars, all casually driving by you. As my kids would have said, “this is cool”.
First impressions. There are some beautiful examples of old architecture. Some with the face of good repair and many with years of neglect. Large housing units periodically appear with laundry and all types of stuff hanging out of their balconies. People are walking everywhere. Occasionally you will see a horse drawn wagon. Pedi cabs are zipping around. The city looks, perhaps not prosperous, but definitely alive.
The Hotel Saratoga, renovated on a frame that dates back to 1896 is an elegant boutique hotel. I give it rave reviews. With nice rooms and a fantastic rooftop garden with swimming pool, it is top of line for Havana. Across the street from Havana’s Fraternity Park and within eyesight Cuba’s capitol building that looks remarkably like a capitol building you would be familiar with in Washington, the hotel has an excellent location.
With sunset coming a little before I could bound up to the top floor to catch the photographic light of the setting sun, I was unable to get the pictures I wanted. Instead I got a good view of the city lights and a glowing capitol building with scaffolding surrounding it for its current renovations.
Dinner is at the Paladar La Maraleja. An excellent meal with a great musical ensemble was a good start of many Cuban dinners to come. The bed at the Saratoga was oh so much better than the Airport Sheraton in Miami and a good night’s sleep was had. Good start for our first day in Cuba.
Buenos Dias Havana
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Havana, Cuba
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Comments

2025-02-16
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Judy Danley
2015-12-31
Great thumbnail history lesson, Rod! I definitely needed a refresher! Looks like fun so far!