Education Program, East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii
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 Our group visits the home studio of acclaimed Cuban artist José Fuster. I am third from right. |
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LEAVING FROM CANCUN, Mexico, Kiyoko and I boarded a Russian built Cuba Aviacion airliner for the 2-hour flight to Havana. Arriving in the evening, we changed money into the convertible Cuban "CUC," one dollar roughly the equivalent of one CUC, and took a taxi to the three star Saint Johns Hotel, about a 30 minute ride along dimly lit roads. Located in the central Vedado section, the hotel seemed clean and spartan. Our tenth floor room looked out over the Malecón, the 8 kilometer seawall promenade which defines Havana's cityscape.
Reality check: no hot water and erratic plumbing! And no use complaining at the reception desk. We were told that no spare parts were available for the defective heating system. As to the plumbing, we were told to be patient and wait for the water pressure to return periodically. Accept it and look at it as a camping experience, I told Kiyoko and myself.
In the lobby the following morning we met the four other members of the group participating in the educational exploration program: Gail, a professor of educational sociology from California, Donna, a secondary level social studies teacher from Vancouver, Rita, a journalist from Toronto, and Andrew, a middle school teacher from Boston. Our guide, Reynaldo, an enthusiastic and ebullient man in his forties, was to be with us throughout the stay in Cuba.
OUR FIRST VISIT took us to a huge scale model of the city of Havana with color coded tiles, one of the largest such models in the world. Our host and commentator was the architect and urban planner Miguel Coyula, a well informed and articulate professional who furnished an overview of Havana's evolution and development through history. He traced the development of the city against the backdrop of events, including the colonial period, the role of Spain, Great Britain and the United States, the importation of slaves from West Africa, and the impact of the African population and African culture on Cuba.
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 Lively streets of Old Havana near the Plaza San Francisco. |
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Senor Coyula shared with us concerns about the housing shortage in Havana, a critical social issue. Urban shelters with minimal facilities, intended as temporary transition to a dwelling, have become permanent. With overcrowding in homes, causing alienation and a high divorce rate, he stressed the need for establishing sustainable and socially appropriate settlements – not just places to live, but places for living, as he phrased it. Impressed by his presentation and erudition, I resolved to contact him for a follow-up discussion before leaving Havana.
WE SET OFF on a walking tour of Old Havana, exploring its historic squares, palaces, cathedrals and ornate residences dating back to colonial times. With its baroque and neo-classical facades, Old Havana merits its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage site and represents an attractive magnet for tourists. Most tourists come from European countries - we noted only a sprinkling of Asians. With the embargo still in place and continuing obstacles to travel and trade, relatively few Americans choose Cuba as a tourist destination. Those who do usually fly in from Canada or Mexico and risk penalties and confiscation of purchased items, such as the famed cigars, if their luggage is examined on reentry to the United States.
I entered Cuba under the legal category of professional research, backed up by an affidavit, a statement of professional affiliation, and an itinerary covering the Cuba stay. On my return to the United States, the customs officer waved me right through, not interested in checking my documentation.
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 Many buildings in Old Havana are being restored to their former glory. |
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FIDEL CASTRO, emerging as a student leader in his young days, was enrolled at that university and excelled in his studies. His brother Raul, however, now head of state, did not study there. Unfortunately we were not given an opportunity to engage students and other members of the faculty in a discussion and were limited to Professor Carrera's discourse and a stroll through the campus. A planned visit to the medical school was cancelled, nor were visits to secondary schools included on our schedule.
A series of school visits, limited to pre-school and primary grades, including a day care center, showed us cheerful and neatly dressed children, greeting us with choral chants. The classrooms, colorfully decorated, with shelves lined with recycled toys, featured portraits of "heroes of the nation", with Che Guevara and José Marti in prominent positions. In some visits we were treated to dance performances with the participation of both children and teachers. Many of the teachers appeared very young, perhaps in their late teens or early twenties. Were the schools specially prepped for our visit? Perhaps so, but the care and attention paid to the children and to their environment came through. Often we noticed a stark contrast between a run-down neighborhood and the cheerful interior of a school.
A visit to the office of the Association of Cuban Teachers gave us more opportunities for dialogue with leaders of that association. Similar to the role of such bodies in other countries, their mission focuses on professional development to improve pedagogy and to disseminate research on best practices. Their approach, through workshops and lectures with outreach to the provinces beyond Havana, ranges from early childhood to retired seniors. Indeed, at the association's office we observed a seminar with seniors, illustrating Cuba's "cradle to grave" commitment to education.
OF PARTICULAR INTEREST was a briefing at the Museum of Literacy, documenting and exhibiting a Cuban educational success story. In 1961 Castro launched a country-wide literacy campaign using literate adults and children to teach their fellow citizens to read and write. Of a population of seven million, one million were illiterate and unable to participate in the social life of their society .The literacy campaign involved more than a 100,000 volunteers, including housewives, laborers and children, some as young as 11. These volunteers, formed into "brigades" and prepared by an intensive training course, went out into the countryside, working alongside of farmers during the day and teaching them to read and write in the evening. The campaign, lasting 11 months, reduced the national illiteracy rate from 26.3% to 3.9%, boasting a current literacy rate of 97% of the population. This initiative contributed to the country's cohesion, bringing together city and rural residents, teacher volunteers and families.
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 Our group at the entrance to the colonial-era building known as the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales. |
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With our guide Reynaldo's commentary, we visited the Museum of the Revolution, housed in what was previously the presidential palace. It's an impressive building in neo-classical style, with its many galleries telling the story of the revolution through artifacts, photographs, newspaper clippings and posters, featuring the key revolutionary leaders, with Fidel Castro and Che Guevara in prominent roles. Behind the building we saw a glass enclosed memorial housing the Granma, the yacht which took Fidel Castro and his revolutionaries from Mexico to Cuba for the revolution. Portions of the museum are also devoted to pre-revolutionary Cuba, including the war of independence against Spain.
THE VISIT TO THE Museum of Fine Arts, showing the evolution of Cuban visual art over the past centuries, was of great personal interest. Two artists left a strong impression on me: Carlos Enriquez, influenced by Spanish and French impressionism, who painted in the early 20th century, and Wilfredo Lam, inspired by Matisse and Picasso, who transmitted Afro-Cuban culture through his vibrant colors and cubist style.
Following up on the African religious and cultural impact on Cuba, we took a ferry boat ride across the bay of Havana to the municipality of Regla, a town with a rich and still active tradition of Afro-Cuban religion. We visited the church of Regla dedicated to the black "Virgen de Regla", patron saint of sailors and Catholic counter part to Yemaya, the African goddess of the sea in the Yoruba religion. African based religious systems and rites have had a profound impact in Cuba, permeating Cuban culture, linguistics, art and literature. We were told that one cannot understand Cubans without taking into account their African roots and influences. An earlier visit to Callejon de Hamel in Old Havana, a cultural center with sculptures and paintings, highlights the importance of African influences on Cuban life.
A more intimate and personal touch to our exploration was the invitation to the studio and home of Jose Fuster, an important Cuban ceramist and painter, who hosted us to a lunch on his patio. Vivacious and outspoken, Senor Fuster blamed Miami politics and the political influence of Cuban émigrés in the United States for the punitive embargo. He appeared skeptical about a change in policy towards Cuba when a new U.S. administration takes office next year.
A COMMENT ON FOOD. Whether due to austerity, lack of ingredients, or lack of skillful cooks in restaurants, we found restaurant food in Cuba to be bland at best and tasteless at worst. The usual choice is between chicken, pork and fish, served with rice and black beans. One evening Kiyoko and I decided to splurge and dine at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba, a venerable hotel with a historic guest list including Winston Churchill, the Duke of Windsor, film stars and sports figures, and even Mafia bosses who stayed there during the Batista years. A picture gallery off the lobby features all the notable visitors. After drinks at the hotel terrace overlooking Havana harbor and the seawall, we took dinner in the dining room with its ornate ceiling and furnishings, served by elegantly clad waiters. The quality of the food, however, was disappointing, far below expectations raised by the setting. We had similar poor experiences in the restaurants close to our hotel.
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 The main church in the village of Viñales in the western most province of Pinar del Río. Religion in Cuba is often influenced by both Afrocuban and Catholic traits. |
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Looking back on the week in Cuba let me share some general impressions. Cuba is a nation in distress, burdened by a stagnant economy and by a living standard barely reaching subsistence level for the majority of the population. The domestic peso, of minimal worth, just covers the purchase of basic staples. With the embargo in force, the economy depends to a large extent on remittances and contributions from abroad and on income generated by tourism. The dysfunctional system of dual currencies, the domestic peso and the CUC, results in Cubans scrounging by any means for convertible currency to cover living expenses. This system, with salaries paid in domestic pesos, amounting to an average monthly income of $20, undermines the productivity of the population, distorting the value and choice of work.
WHAT IS THE outlook for improvement under Raul Castro? Several Cubans with whom I raised this question, including the architect Miguel Coyula, feel that Raul will be more pragmatic than Fidel, will decentralize agriculture, privatize the production of food, and reduce the bureaucracy in the administration. Looking at the model of socialist countries like Vietnam, he will be less ideological and more open to a market economy. The next generation of Cubans, replacing the revolutionary cadres, will demand change, with greater freedom, choice and discretion in consumption and movement. As to the embargo, Coyula feels that for political reasons it will not end by edict but will gradually wither away through lack of enforcement and increasing exceptions.
Yet, with all the problems and struggles in daily life and the continuing reality of an autocratic regime, a Cuban spirit of friendliness and joy shines through. It is evident on the streets, as Cubans embrace, it is evident in the vibrant music, and it is evident in the welcome to visitors. No doubt the transition will bring change. The hope expressed on the street, a street which may still be inspired by the spirit of the revolution but hates the deprivations in daily life, is that the change will be for the better.
