CUBA: Visiting Havana is a step back in time

I have traveled far and wide, but never back in time. This past April, I had the opportunity to visit Cuba as a guest of a religious organization. The best way to describe my initial experience was that I was back in the 1950s. Cars, buildings, the environment - nothing seems to have changed since the late 1950s, when Fidel Castro took charge and the Cuban Revolution reached its peak.

Depending upon your age, your background and your interest in world politics, the very mention of Cuba brings up a wide spectrum of emotions. As a child, I remember my cousins from Florida going to the island for a weekend of fun, gambling and seeing the famous floorshow at the Tropicana. If you're one of the many families that chose to escape the repressions instituted when Fidel took charge, your feelings take on an entirely different range of emotions.

Cuba dates to pre-Christopher Columbus. The island of Cuba, which lies only 100 miles off the coast of Florida, was populated by native Amerindians before the discovery by Christopher Columbus in 1492, when he claimed it for Spain. Cuba was a Spanish possession for 388 years, ruled by a governor in Havana with an economy based on plantation agriculture and the export of sugar, coffee and tobacco. Large numbers of African slaves were imported to work on the coffee and sugar plantations. Spanish rule, marked initially by neglect, became increasing repressive, provoking an independent movement and occasional rebellions that were harshly repressed.

It was the United States' intervention during the Spanish-American War in 1898, after the sinking of the battleship Maine in Havana Harbor, that finally overthrew Spanish rule. The subsequent Treaty of Paris established Cuban independence, which was granted May 20, 1902, after a three-year transition period in which the United States retained the right to intervene in Cuban affairs and to supervise its finances and foreign relations. It was at this time, under the Platt Amendment, that Cuba also agreed to lease the naval base at Guantanamo Bay to the United States.

Unfortunately, independent Cuba ran into difficulties as a result of factional disputes and corruption among the small educated elite and the failure of the government to deal with the deep social problems left behind by the Spanish. Between 1902 and 1934, there were a series of elections and revolts, with the United States exercising its right to intervene on several occasions. Finally, in 1934, under the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the United States agreed to end its role in Cuban affairs as part of its Good Neighbor Policy towards Latin America. Between 1934 and 1959, there were a number of "presidents" elected, most notably Ramon Grau and Carlos Prio Socarras, both liberals and pro- U.S., and Fulgencio Batista, who turned to the Communist Party for support.

The Batista regime was marked by severe corruption, poverty and violence. Several attempts to overthrow the government failed and most of the rebels were killed. Throughout 1957 and 1958, opposition to Batista grew. By late 1958, the rebels had again gained strength in numbers and launched an insurrection that ended with the capture of Havana on Jan. 1, 1959. Batista fled the country and Castro's rebels took control of the government. Fidel Castro became prime minister of Cuba in February 1959. With the help and influence of his brother Raul and close friend Ernesto "Che" Guevara, an Argentinian, Fidel Castro nationalized public utilities and private corporations and aligned himself with the Soviet Union.

As of 2006, Fidel Castro is the world's longest-ruling head of government in the world. He's also probably one of the longest-winded rulers. We were in Havana on May Day (May 1) and I turned on the TV in my hotel room at 8 a.m. to watch Fidel give a speech in the Plaza de la Revolucion. We came back to the hotel at 6 p.m,, turned on the TV and he was still talking. According to our guide, Manuel, it is common for Fidel to go on speaking for hours and hours. Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez was on the podium, but I'm not sure he ever had a chance to speak!

Today, the economy of Cuba is based on state ownership, with some small-scale private enterprises, i.e. "paladars" (family-run restaurants) existing at the fringes. Tourism from Canada, Europe, South America and Central America has become one of the largest sources of income for Cuba. It is interesting that between 1993 and 2004, the U.S. dollar was legal tender in Cuba. Today, there are two currencies in Cuba: the convertible Cuban Peso (CCP: one CCP equals $1) and the Domestic Cuban Peso (CUP: 25 CUPs equal $1). In actuality, 1 CCP is only worth 80 cents, 20 percent comes off the top immediately and goes to the Cuban government. Tourists almost exclusively use convertible pesos. The Domestic Peso (CUP) is used by the general population to buy food and government services. For other than basic necessities, Cubans must convert their Domestic Pesos into Convertible Pesos, which is difficult given the wages in Cuba. It's hard to translate wages into dollars since so many goods and services are free or heavily subsidized: i.e. goods on ration cards, public transportation, health care, electricity, water, etc. According to our guide, workers in a cigar factory earn an average of $12 a month. The biggest problem for Cubans is that more and more goods have to be purchased with CCPs, making the prices outrageously high.

Contact Redlands Travel Service to book your next trip to Cuba.