Moving on...

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Love

AnechyNotes

Pictures of my trip to Cuba in December 2017

One of the new attractions in Havana is this old cooking oil factory that a remarkable Cuban artis; X Alfonso; turned into a factory to produce art. Every art manifestation is represented in this place, gallery after gallery of very clever stuff, concerts, fashion shows that might seem a little tacky to the tourist, but definitely entertaining. 

Keys esculpture

What if they were the slavers

Photography expo

Sumo

Fabrica de Arte

After a weekend in the City I retrieved myself to the country where my uncle and his family live. The best thing of going to Cuba is seeing them.

Uncle Elvis is the best dancer ever

New addition to the family

 A new place for me was Guanajay, my aunt new home town. I was very taken by the history and architecture of this place.

Old theater waiting for restauration founds

Glorieta in the central park. Wifi hotspot now

Colonial building

Last, but not least we visited Las Terrazas a national biosphere and  Soroah botanical garden and National Park.

AnechyNotes

The New St. Thomas

For over a month now we have been living in a hurricane devastated island, which, how I predicted is going to get better sooner than we expected. It could be named island pride, FEMA money, or all this things combine expressed on bumper stickers: “Stand strong VI”. That is what island people do, we rebuild and repair and keep our Little Rock going, even if we are told we can’t, or it’s too hard. When we got here in December; most of the debris had been cleared off the roads. During Christmas week a rescue power company from the States worked non stop to electrify more homes, accomplishing 75%  by the end of the year; now that percentage is higher. Some federal funds were used to pay a crew to cut grass and clean trash on the main roads; pick up bulky trash put out by home owners. The DPNR (Department of Planning and Natural Resources) and the Coast Guard have a contractor picking up sunken boats, about 450-500.

The restaurants are open, the charter boats that survived the storm are taking tourist out. The grocery stores are well stocked, all the services are good. The telephone companies are back to ripping off people. Slowly the new St Thomas is taking shape. Although, this islands depend on tourism, since the big hotels wont be open for at least 2 years, this season is very slow; creating concerns about safety among many residents. FEMA is employing hundreds of people, as well as the other groups doing savage. What is going to happen when all that is gone. I say, things will be more stabilized, maybe more people will leave the island, new businesses will be created. Like our icon said: “Don’t worry about a thing”. Our friends from Santo Domingo selling coconut water on the road, are having a tough time. They used to get a shipment from Puerto Rico twice a week. They opened 1000 coconuts a day, 6 days a week. Now they are getting the merchandise from Miami and it’s just enough to keep them busy for 2 days. But they are not giving up. Ericka and Luis said to us: “He had to adjust our lifestyles to the new reality, until things get better”. Everybody is rebuilding, cleaning, shopping, and keeping hundreds of people employed. There are food trucks selling delicious food, machine shops, car mechanics, wood shops. It is going to be fine. The cruise ships are bringing thousands of tourist, who at least buy a souvenir in downtown.

When we first got here we were chucked. From the island we left last May to the one we found was a big change. The people looked very stressed out. Our friends were a shell of themselves, tired of dealing with generators, fuel cans, oil and the lost of boats, roofs and business lost. But as soon as they were plugged in again we started seeing improvements in their moods.

Salty Shores was standing as strong as the pride of this people. She had no water inside, no mold or smells. Within a week we got her ready to live on board, but it took us over a month to finish all the repairs. It wasn’t much, luckily. The top from another boat flew across and hit the bow, bending the pulpit, the anchor rollers, damaging about a foot of the toe rail and stripping off 2 bronze rub rail. The head sail halyard was shaved severely, just by friction. We were lucky getting the rollers fixed within a week by Lance’s machine shop. But we could not find the replacing bolts in the island which we order from boltdepot.com out of Atlanta. The wood shop in the boat yard put us in a waiting list, there were other boats ahead of us with even bigger problems. 

In the meantime we put a coat of rubber paint on the dinghy, installed a holding tank; a very nasty 3 day job; change toilet pomp. Our GMC Jimmy had a timing belt problem that took several trips to Bryan and Siblins garage to figure it out. We had to get sails and awnings repaired by the Quantum sail loft in town. Jim got new spreaders boots, changed the fuel vent from the port side to the stern, the gear shift cables and starter got fixed. He greased the autopilot, re-wire it and then deal with a computer problem that got fixed by switching the polarity, thanks to Perry, in Tropicom, advice. It is just the beginning of the year and I have taken Jim 15 times to the top of the mast. Inspecting rigging, changing halyards, taking old topping lift, putting new one up; tiding lazy jacks, installing wind instrument. Gosh! The bottom of the boat, we got a diver to clean it, apparently the micron 66 that was just put on last February, got deactivated by all the fresh water runoffs and the bottom was covered in barnacles. Gerald waxed the haul, after Jim went around washed it, applied and buffed a fiberglass cleaner. Talking about hard work. I could not help him because right around those 2 days the wind died down and the no seems were unbearable.

When the bolts came in, they had sent the wrong size, so even having the wood work done we had to wait another week for the new bolts. Waiting for parts was part of the problem this time. Although the mail service is working, packages seem to take a little longer than they uses to. And we had to order, bolts, bronze toe rail, halyards, dinghy rubber paint, spreader boots, and companionway slides. Weeks waiting for parts, weeks waiting for work and finally we are ready to let loose of the dock lines and sail on the deep blue and flush the water maker and clean the bottom of the haul. It just never ends!

One last comment on the weather: December was a very buggy and hot month I ever had in the lagoon. But now is windy, cloudy and we get rain squalls sometimes 3 times a day. Bright side, no bugs, the other; lets go sailing.

AnechyNotes 

The Controversial Pearl

Flight D 650  from Havana to Miami, the red and off white airport terminal is trying to show signs of successful communism, but it’s really just capitalism run by stressed out Cubans. I bought a couple of last minute presents, a pound of coffee and H. Upmann Cuban cigarettes. Only one of the 2 cafeterias was open. And they did not have change for a 20 cuc bill at the kiosk where I bought the coffee. There were no bags for the presents. Checking in was as smooth as any airport. Even thought there was a sign in Spanish and English, some stressed out American tourist protested because my mom was using her right of getting to the front of the line at the handicapped immigration booth. My mother was starting to get upset. I tried to talk to them nicely but I could tell they were very anxious to get out of the island and never come back to Cuba.

We got through the whole check in process and sat down to wait for the boarding time. We shared some peanuts and transfer pictures on our phones using air drop. Our friend Gerry, who came along for the trip was touched by the Cuban spirit of perseverance and (lucha) fight to subsist. “If the government would just let the people do things, they would bring the economy back and everybody wins”. Gerry commented. “It sounds simple” I said, “but they are so afraid to loose control over the people”. The private sector is the answer to the economical situation in Cuba. “I agree with social plans like education and heath care” Gerry added; “but it’s not sustainable  under the circumstances the country has now”. And It has never been, we see it in the crumbling infrastructure.

We were at a book store in Viñales, wondering through dusty old books. Cooking books next to political literature, children’s books among history ones. I was looking for any new title by any Cuban author, I found none. I pulled a book by José Marti, our national poet and it was 250 pesos (10 cuc). It seemed to me like an exorbitant price for Cuban’s monthly salary of 15 cucs. Another woman asked if the prices were in convertible pesos or pesos, and the cashier replied “it’s in pesos, we are still part of the proletariado”. She smiled noting that Viñales had a very capitalistic economy. The whole main street is full of paladares.

Have things improved in Cuba since the opening of the relationship with the US?

“Whatever the US government says is going to be good for the Cuban people is exactly opposite of what the Cuban government then supports”. One of my friends said. When former president Barack Obama visited the island he emphasized in the fact that the private sector  was the way to make things better, “The middle class creates jobs” he said, pays taxes, and improves the living standards. The answer to that beautiful speech; of hope and reunification; by the Cuban government was to increase inspections, taxes and hardening of regulations. “Things are hard enough in Cuba”, some people commented “and now the mulato comes and makes it worse”, referring to Obama. My good family friend and mentor always says: “there is no way to end this” while he draws a spiral on the air with his index finger. Then he sighs and adds, “We have to keep fighting”.

What are fighting for? In the 1868 war we fought for independence and abolition of slavery. In 1895, the same. Beginning of 20th century we fought to get rid of the neocolonialism that the American interventions in the Cuban-Spanish war brought. Mid 20th, the revolutionary war “accomplished” what our mambises had fought for. And now? What are Cubans fighting for? “The rice and beans and the little bit of protein on the table”. My mentor said.

In some ways we could tell the economy is doing better. When the Americans were told they could travel to Cuba and the airlines started flying in; Cubans started fixing their houses to rent rooms to tourist, opening “Paladares” (restaurants), fixing the old American cars, cleaning up their towns, improving their English and hosting skills. The most popular tourist spots were renovated by the government to accommodate the increase in the demand. My friends with BnB said to me over a nice lobster lunch. “We invested everything and the day by day struggle to find the fresh fruits and eggs for our guest breakfast, it paid off, last year was a booming year”. And we could see it reflected in some people’s life style.

But the so called “proletariado” sees no salary improvement and the market prices don’t reflect their reality. The farmers market increased their prices making it mostly accessible to those receiving “hard currency” like the private sector of the people who have family abroad. When you ask a Cuban “How are you doing?” Typically they will answer: “Aquí, en la luchita”. here... in the fight. Nothing is easy, but they manage to survive. That’s why it can be said we are “luchadores”.

Music and humor shows help us to disconnect from the hard reality. A good friend in Havana quit taking her antidepressants by watching Turkish soap operas she records on a flash drive from a new business set up by the private sector, you can see little stands with a tech guy recording music, tv shows, series. That’s the way Cubans avoid the TV boredom.

For many years Cubans created their own entertainment. You could see them playing dominoes or chest on the streets; or discussing all kinds of subjects, from politics, baseball to Mozart’s private’s life. The new phenomena is the cell phone and hot spots around the city. Every mayor park now has wifi, so the places where people socialized are now to get connected with social media instead of family and friends around them. The internet access in the island is still very limited: Facebook and imo for chatting, YouTube with very slow streaming. But they patiently wait to get some communication with the outside world. Like the corporations, the Cuban government has figured a way to keep the young people pacified and out of their hair. 

Every body has a cellphone now, it’s the new trend. With the very expensive SIM card comes the right to get an email, for which you need to be a Cuban citizen living in the island. One person can have up to 3 cellphone lines, what has brought another business to the Cubans, renting cellphones to tourist, way cheaper than what the telephone company would sell you a temporary line for. Despite the high customs taxes on vehicles (bicycles and electric scooters) I saw businesses in Viñales where they rent them to tourist. Horse back riding is a very popular thing in that area that has become very “profitable”. 

Money from the tourism is definitely trickling down, especially if we support the private sector. The new US government regulations are going to hurt the upcoming season. Although Cuba is ready to receive a lot of tourism, people in the States are afraid to go there now. The mysterious attacks to US citizens working there are creating fear, not for the Europeans or Canadians visiting the island, just for the Americans. When I told people in my new home town that I was going to Cuba on a family trip, the first thing they asked about was: “Be careful with the sonic attacks there”. I have to admit I was totally ignorant of the news. So I went back home and did some research. I even called friends in Cuba to ask what was the input there on the facts. To which I got an answer of “it is all made up to get the US embassy out of Cuba”. The different sources I read online said that the FBI had gone to Cuba to research the incidents and had found out that Cuba does not have such a weapon that can cause brain damage, although the US government believes that Cuban government knows more about it than we think. http://edition.cnn.com/2017/10/13/politics/cuba-us-diplomats-acoustic-weapons/index.html 

I would ask myself this question. Why would the Cuban government want to affect the relationship with the US and as a consequence hurt the economy of the island? Cuba goes totally out of its ways to have an impeccable international image. We, Cubans in the island get treated poorly, but foreigners get treated like royalty. I am not defending the Cuban government, if they are really involved in this incidents I just hope that the truth comes out soon. It hasn’t been the first time that a terrorist has used Cuba as a stage to create conflict and affect the tourist industry. Like the bombings of the hotels Nacional, Capri, and Melia Cohiba in Havana in 1997, organized by the Venezuelan terrorist Posada Carriles. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Cuba_hotel_bombings 

The other side of the coin is that there are Cubans still waiting to be interviewed by US diplomats to acquire a visa to rejoin family members. Since the embassy has been moved to Colombia, it makes it more expensive and dangerous for Cubans to go through that process. The wet foot dried foot policy is over, stopping people from trying to raft the 100 miles to florida or trying to cross the Mexican-American border. So, the only way for Cubans to seek for save haven is to go through legal applications like direct family, fiancé and political refugees visas. But how are they going to apply for such visas if they don’t have an embassy to go to? I have a cousin whose mother has been in Tampa since 2011, waiting for her to come to the US. Her interview appointment was scheduled for 2020, after many phone calls asking about cancellations she got it rescheduled for 2018. Now they are wondering how they are going to do it. Her mom works at a nursing home making minimum wages; she makes minimum wages in Cuba. To go to Colombia she needs at least 1000 dollars for travel expenses, lodging, food and transportation, to go to an interview that might or not approve her entrance to the US.

And that is, my friends, the situation in the controversial Caribbean island, also called the Pearl of the Caribbean. So beautiful and so condemned. My time traveling there could not be better and felt safer. I visited with my family, reunited with friends that I haven’t seen in over 7 years and visited some of the most beautiful national parks. We enjoyed the unique Cuban music and the art. The Cuban people are truly beautiful in many ways and they give all they have rather than their leftovers. Our friend Gerry enjoyed very much spending time listening to my enthusiastic, crazy family sharing sharing their stories of their life. He left Cuba with a hand full of titles to read. He got a history lesson and a greater appreciation for our abundant life in the States. “We got it good in America”, I said to him, “It’s too bad a lot of people don’t appreciate it”.

AnechyNotes