I went to Havana and the surrounding areas in Cuba in October 2018.
Here is my perspective of what I saw based on where I lived ( in a little airbnb) and what I reflected on after the visit:
Capitalism is a curse and globalization is too. The blessing was that it brought people out of abject poverty. Hurrah! But it has disintegrated societies, culture, family, fashion and a sense of identity.
McDonald’s, Levi’s , iPhone and Nike is a global look of today’s citizen . Maybe they do hold onto their cultures while being global.
But, here in Cuba , the last bastion of the people trying to preserve culture in a mass scale can be seen .
They love their music, they love their food and they enjoy their life. Yes, it’s hard, yes they are ostracized from the world and from America yet they sustain a wonderful life.
I don’t know if socialism solved a lot of things but this period of seclusion helped keep Cuba where it is. Stuck in it’s own time.
Cubans live a simple life. The elite have a good lifestyle as well but everyone is educated to a decent level. They have healthcare, they have a sense of community and the government controls a lot but they have their basic freedoms. Crime is checked , the societal structure and life is balanced.
A lot of things could be improved. They could have more variety in clothing , food and entertainment but why ? The more we bring in , the more greedy they would get and become just another Caribbean island lost to the vagaries and wastefulness of American cruise ships.
I strongly detest the fact that with such an strong educated population, the Cubans want right now is more American tourists. If the government does not plan and push for a knowledge economy fast, the wealth of knowledge they built through the Fidel years will be lost and will heavily depend on tourism for their livelihoods. That is the curse of Americanism.
Costa Rica alone has balanced it well. So I think. Everyone else has failed in Central America. Cuba is going to go there.
But for now, thanks to trump, I saw Cuba still alive. It has layers of conundrums. Peeling it each day showed me good people, good life, good food, a simpler times and fond memories of my childhood.
The sultry weather, the amazing architecture, the old cars , the happy song and dance feel, the colors in the paintings of artists and the freedom to express nudity and openness to sexuality and religion makes Cuba unique.
Women winked and teased me as I walked the streets. It was strange but it gave me a sense of equality. Yes men did it a lot but if women do it too, then balance made up for it.
Kids wandered the streets of all ages. Night life and night time walking in the cool breeze meant no harm to anyone.
Cuba could do with a twenty billion dollar loan to fix a few things , clean it’s streets , repair some stuff but what they need to do is preserve what they have.
Cubans live a healthy lifestyle too. Soccer, baseball and a lake just built for their rowing team. Supermarkets have the basics but just one or two of each. It’s enough. Why do we need ten flavors of cereal?
It’s not a third world country. It’s a second world country trapped in between..with amazing infrastructure — water, electricity and healthcare for all . Just no Starbucks and Chipotle’s. That’s why they are happy and unhappy at the same time.
