Cuba 2017
Cuba.
A unique country that has literally been frozen in time. It is a perfect example of an anachronism as everything about Cuba originates and belongs to a totally different time period.
With it's funky colored antique cars, architectural design that is reminiscent of colonial Spain, and people who are just as vibrant as their culture, it is certainly a charming and captivating place to visit.
In June 2017, I visited Cuba with my parents, who are both history junkies, so the vacation was certainly an educational one (which I appreciate as I love to learn).
Both my parents have visited Cuba in the past (roughly 15 years ago) and they are both well versed in it's history and political past so they were able to provide me with an abundance of information about the country.
Cuba is steeped with quite a turbulent history.
Prior to the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores, Cuba was inhabited by three different tribes of the Americas; the Taino, the Guanajatabay, and the Ciboney people. When Columbus first arrived in the late 1400's, the Tainos were the dominant peoples of Cuba. In the early 1500's the first Spanish settlement was founded but this of course came with a lot of strife for the Amerindians as massacres and illnesses eradicated most of the population.
Next, came the importation of slaves from Africa in 1523, who were used to grow coffee and sugar on the island.
The establishment of a modern independent Cuba started with José Martí, now a national hero who was an exiled rebel that founded the Cuban Revolutionary Party in New York in 1892. The aim of the party was to achieve Cuban independence from Spain. The fighting against the Spanish army began on the 24th February 1895 and in May 1895 Martí was killed in the battle of Dos Rios but his death immortalized him as the liberator of Cuba.
In February of 1898, the U.S. battleship Maine was sent to protect U.S. interests, but shortly after it's arrival, it exploded in Havana harbor and sank quickly, killing most of the crew. The cause and responsibility for the sinking of the ship remained unclear, however, the U.S. concluded that the Spanish were to blame and demanded action, thus, provoking a war to break out between Spain and the United States in April 1898 which lasted a few months.
After the Spanish–American War, Spain and the United States signed the Treaty of Paris by which Spain relinquished Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam to the United States.
Cuba gained formal independence from the U.S. on 20 May 1902 as the Republic of Cuba. Under Cuba's new constitution, the U.S. retained the right to intervene in Cuban affairs and to supervise its finances and foreign relations. American companies owned or controlled about half of Cuba's cultivated land, utilities and natural resources. The U.S. also leased the Guantánamo Bay naval base from Cuba.
On January 1st 1959, Fidel Castro seized power from Fulgencio Batista, a brutal dictator who had been actively supported by the U.S. Government and thoroughly corrupted by the mafia from the U.S. Castro instituted a Marxist-Leninist (communist) government as he took control of the government, seized property, instituted land reforms, and attempted to solve Cuba's distressed financial and economic problems by implementing a revolutionary program. Thousands of political enemies were arrested and executed before serious opposition to the Castro regime was finally crushed some six years later.
Following the collapse of communist rule in Russia and eastern Europe in 1990, Cuba has remained one of the last communist regimes in the world.
Cuba remains largely stuck in the era of the 1950’s. New modern cars are beginning to pour in to the island but a significant amount of vehicular transport traffic comes from American cars that were imported during the 1950’s. These awesome antique cars are kept in excellent condition as there are no means of buying new parts so everything is restored in Cuba. By contrast, in the countryside, most farmers do not have cars and rely extensively on horse drawn wooden carts. It's anachronistic to see these carts plodding down modern highways.
Havana, like other former Spanish colonial capital cities has a significant old city which is currently being meticulously and lovingly restored. The old city is a beautiful example of Spanish colonial architecture.
Cubans are very warm and friendly, crime is virtually non-existent, and they are healthy as they have extensive and excellent free health facilities. Education is also of a high standard and free allowing many persons to boast advanced technical degrees. However, most people end up taking menial jobs such as taxi driving and waiting on tables since tips from tourists in a day exceeds the monthly state controlled salary of the job.
Havana
Valle de Viñales
Spent a day venturing out of Havana into the beautiful valley of Viñales.
A valley that is so lush with tropical plants, rich rusty-red soil that is very fertile and infamoulsy known for its tobacco plantations, the Cuevas del Indio an the unique limestone Mogote mountains.
Cueva del Indio
The largest system of underground caves in Cuba and the Caribbean. The underground labyrinth provided refuge for the Amerindians who fled when the Spanish colonists arrived in Cuba.
Aside from the history, the cave has insanely beautiful geological formations of stalactites and stalagmites that have created themes unusual natural sculptures.
Tobacco Plantations
Cuba is famous for many things, one of which being their Cigars.
Tobacco is an annual crop which is planted late in the year. Once the soil has been prepared, the plant is grown for 3 months where it is then ready to be picked. The leaves are picked by hand and taken to the drying shed where they are hung out to dry/cure. This curing process also takes another 3 months and after the curing phase, the cigars are ready to be rolled. At the farm we visited, the cigars were hand rolled, as depicted in the photos below.
From seed to finished product, the whole process is rather extensive and is approximately 9 months long!
