Cuba Redux February 2020

Introduction In December 2013, MJ and Dave traveled to Cuba with a cultural exchange group through the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market and Foundation. That trip was centered on Havana and surroundings, except for one overnight excursion, west to Pinar del Rio and Viñales. We shared that experience at http://henleycuba.blogspot.com (“Cuba 2013”). To date, our blog has had nearly 2,100 unique visitors. In February 2020, six years later, again with IFAM, we went to eastern Cuba, a quasi-circular route starting on the northeastern coast and ending in Santiago de Cuba. In this “updated” blog, we’ll say little about the people and the politics (did that last time), unless such comments seem essential. Our photos and videos with captions hopefully say much about the Cuban people. The timing of the trip was exquisite. We arrived in Cuba at about the same time as the first case Covid-19, and, as far as we know, got out before it spread widely. While much has not changed in s

Hotel Ordoño (photo credit cubaism.com) Hotel Ordoño is a historic structure. It was a colonial mansion, home to a merchant family in this mercantile port town. Gibara was economically vibrant until it was eclipsed by towns better situated along the new-fangled railroad. Refurbishing happened within the last decade, to create a Spanish-owned fine hotel. It is said to be the tallest building in Gibara. Air conditioning makes for a very comfortable night, even if, like in Spain, a double bed is often two singles pushed together. (photo credit hotels.com) There was no need for an alarm or wake-up call. Street activity began around 5 am, two stories down. Bright morning fills the expansive, mostly open-air lobby. Even early, there was a crowd in the street in front. When we arrived the afternoon before, folks were there as well, but the cluster evaporated about dusk. These were people grouped in the doorway of a grocery store, and strung back down the street. They had lined up