Introduction and Day 1, February 12, 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 six years, some things have changed. Most visible is the now obvious wide availability of internet service. Almost everyone under 40 has a cellular phone with access, and many have laptops. Service is still spotty and slow, but the fees are about 10% of the cost six years ago. Most people know of a certain web “pirate,” who has his own broadcasting site and who propagates news and shows from other countries. To date he remains anonymous, and the government, perhaps wisely, is still ignoring him.

Even accounting for differences in culture and manner of living in eastern Cuba, compared to Havana and the west, still the country overall seemed poorer than before. After a decade of stepwise “opening” to the US, a connection negotiated between the Obama administration and Raul Castro, under Trump and his coterie of policy conservatives we’re now seeing a near total reversal of détente. The Trump administration is dealing harshly with Cuba, hardening again the 60 year-old US embargo. The US is severely limiting options for US tourism, and/or Cuban expatriate family visitation, to Cuba. There are severe shortages of basic sundries like OTC medicines, toothpaste and brushes, coffee; of gasoline; and of some food items. Roads are in disrepair. For lack of fuel the sky is empty of airplanes at night. We would drive miles on the autopistas (controlled access, usually divided highway) and see no more than one or two cars. On a long stretch between Baracoa and Guantanamo only a single fishing boat interrupted an otherwise limitless and empty sea. Shortly after we returned home, the US barred all charter flights to Cuba. Now there are only commercial flights, and those few go only to Havana. More will be said of these things in the day-to-day sections of this blog.

Eastern Cuba is the Caribbean end of the island. It is more mountainous, wetter and greener. Much of the terrain is quite precipitous. Though there are some cities, the region is mostly rural. Southern parts are in the rain shadow of the Sierra de Oriente and are drier. Still other areas lie along river estuaries or on the coastal plain and are ideal for sugar cane. Eastern Cuba is the home of most of the descendants of the aboriginal Taino Indians. More people are of clearly African descent than is apparent further west, reflecting the historical migration pattern of African slavery onto, and across, the island from Dominica and Haiti and points east. There are differences in cuisine, although seafood and pork remain the protein staples here as everywhere else in Cuba. African and French influences on music are stronger.

Thanks once again to our intrepid leaders Peggy Gaustad and her husband Stuart Ashman; to our fellow travelers, some of whom will appear in the photos to follow; to our incredible driver, Juan Ramón; to Yudi Dominguez, native and capable facilitator; and to Viviana Rives, native and professional guide extraordinaire and dear friend, with whom we reconnected after six years.

Day 1: Holguin and Gibara

We boarded a Swift Air charter from Miami, Florida, to Holguín, some 450 miles east of Havana. Flying time from Miami is about an hour and a half. Approaching Cuba we skirted the so-called Cuban Keys, a string of islands oriented northwest to southeast, visible sequentially from our side (the right). They resemble the Florida Keys (at least from the air). We could see little on descent; the atmosphere was very opaque with much glare, attributable probably to the burning of sugar cane fields. The Frank Pais International Airport has a single runway, a single terminal, and tarmac parking. It’s a 400-yard walk to the terminal. A warm, breezy, humid walk. Like six years ago, the airline crew stay outside customs, and the plane reloads and returns to the US.

By the terminal entry, an unavoidable sign warned of Coronavirus prevention measures. A professional-looking fellow in a white coat, probably a doctor, scanned each individual passenger as we passed single-file between the ropes. Having negotiated passport check and luggage retrieval, we proceeded past two nurses. These matronly folks, also in white, checked our signed health affidavits, and briefly noted skin, eyeballs, and general facial demeanor. Bathroom attendants (women, all) provide a few sheets of TP to dry hands, expecting a small tip. Outside, a Chinese bus, piloted by Juan Ramón, and ours for the duration, waited in front for the 25 minute ride into Holguín. Quite a crowd had gathered, not for us but for the imminent appearance of family and friends on the plane.

Holguín is an active, crowded city of 300,000+. In its center the buildings, whether residences or businesses, abut the streets along narrow sidewalks. Generally they are one-story structures of stucco and concrete, in various phases of preservation, rehabilitation, or deterioration. The streets are filled with autos, horse-drawn carriages and carts, motorcycles, bicycles, and bici-taxis.

Holguín is NOISE..Vehicular noise reverberates between the buildings. No need to
watch the stoplight at the top of the picture. The sudden roar lets one
know that the light has changed.

This 3D mural is titled "Origins." It extols the human history of Holguín, from indigenous
prehistoric tribes to the apogee of the Cuban Revolution. The monument fronts
Parque de Las Flores (Parque Peralta), the historic center of the original "villa" which 
became Holguín. Locals hanging out here asked if we were from "Canadá.

These are youngsters in school uniform, which are required. The color pattern identifies a student's level in school.

Once in Holguín we went directly to Papiros Cuadernos. The old building houses a studio of artists who create books and other print works from scratch, from the manufacture of paper from an array of plant fibers to the finished works of art. The director described the process in Spanish, interpreted by Viviana, and demonstrated the functions of some of their vintage printing machinery. We were free to explore, ask questions, purchase works, wander into the street.

A traditional Hollander beater for paper pulp on the right, and an ingenious pulp beater from
a repurposed Soviet era washing machine on the left. Apparently it was hell on
clothes but is perfect for paper making.

Antique, from the 1800's, guillotine cutter

Antique letterpress

Samples of papers made from different plant fibers

The bookmaker Jose Emilio Leyva Azze signing a handmade artist's book for MJ

A short walk from the workshop is Restaurante 1910, once an aristocratic home. They served the typical meal of seafood soup, fish and pork, and flan, and either Coca-Cola, wine or mojitos. The restaurant is a private business of the type now permitted by the Cuban government.

About 3/4 of us, at Restaurante 1910

The outer suburbs of Holguín are hilly and leafy, with homes, parks, tiny roadside paladars selling food, ball fields displaying revolutionary slogans on the goals and fences, and Soviet-style apartment buildings. These give way to rural areas where both occupied and abandoned small farms dot the landscape. There is a striking resemblance to some parts of Hawaii.

Gibara is a coastal town of 70,000 an hour north of Holguín. A curvy steep descent into Gibara crosses creeks and rivers containing very clear water. Approaching town there is the sudden apparition of the ocean.

Today, Gibara is better-known for an annual international film festival. Historically, it has competed with Baracoa (coming later) for recognition as the first landing spot of Christopher Columbus in Cuba (see Day 2). The bus pulled in at Hotel Ordoño, our lodgings for the next two nights.

Late in the afternoon, Gibara is quiet. The street leads from Hotel Ordoño to the bay. Along the way, folks greeted us, and some asked if we'd like to come into their "restaurant."

An elegant home, many decades ago.

The local checks out the rare sight of the (probably) Englishman, German, or Canadian.

The Bay of Gibara in two directions:

A nymph? Significance? Nice piece, though. We witnessed some entranced little boys. In a country without Sears catalogues, little boys take ideas from what's available.

Camilo Cienfuegos, hero of the Revolution, confidante of Fidel and Raul, commanded revolutionary forces in this area and is beloved. He disappeared, shortly after the Revolution, on a flight from Camaguey to Havana. Conspiracies and legends abound, in part because Camilo was not as sympathetic to Communism as were the Castros.

Signs front the statue of Camilo in a reverse semicircle. Attribution is clear. "In his continuous and immortal offspring, Camilo is the image of the people."

"Those who fight, it doesn't matter where, are our brothers."

"We won the war and we are going to carry out the Revolution."

"The only thing we can ask of our people in a difficult situation, remember Camilo...remember how he never, confronting those difficult moments, lost the faith."

"How always throughout our history, the hesitant and the fearful will lose heart, but our people will rise against adversities and will reach once again the stature of Camilo."

"With the invading columns is our reputation, our history and our people. I repeat that neither nothing nor nobody will be able to hold them back."

"It will be easier for me to cease breathing than to be unfaithful to your trust. Always as you command..."

"Fidel is the hope of freedom for the Cuban people."

Two delightful new friends. They asked many questions about the US, not seeing many Americans in Gibara. We asked them many questions. Our friend in the red coat told us, "Cuba is the richest place on earth in which to live, but it is horrible here."

We returned a while later with gifts of hand lotion and lipstick. The pleasure is readable in their faces.

Trio Galace, Gibara. They sang us into the hotel, and then serenaded us at supper.

This is a chocolate mousse. Really, it is.

The quiet, calm softly-lit nights of Gibara.