While I was sitting in my “Latin America Problems and Promise" lecture, we discussed our spring break plans. Several students mentioned they will be traveling to Cuba for the break and stay in Havana.
As the daughter of a Cuban, who has traveled to the island three times for non-touristic reasons, this called my attention and inspired me to share some thoughts.
The easing of traveling restrictions to Cuba for U.S. citizens has caused a huge increase on American visits to the island. Even Carnival and Royal Caribbean included Havana on their vacationing options. Cuba’s beaches and history easily attract the attention of people all around the world; specially U.S. citizens given their country's history with the island.
The Cuba-U.S relationship has been very controversial throughout the years and there is a lot of debate over whether the re-establishment of relationships between USA and Cuba mean the beginning of the end of hostilities between the two nations.
My thoughts on Cuba come from personal experiences and biased opinions. I am by no means an expert on Cuban society and/or history and this article is not written with the purpose of discussing historical or political issues. Therefore, I will refrain from discussing the controversial and stick to sharing some personal advices to people traveling to Cuba as well as pictures from my last trip to the island.
La Havana Vieja
Cuban children playing with a kite at Guardalavaca Beach
Movie theatre at La Havana - A 2011 Cuban drama film written and directed by Gerardo Chijona.
Holguin, Cuba
Guardalavaca Beach
La Havana, Cuba
The purpose of my trip to Cuba was to visit family But where I truly learned the most and opened my eyes to the realities of the island was at the suburban non-touristic provinces of Cuba. I visited schools, hospitals, stayed at Cuban's houses and lived like them. Spending your travel time in the island as a native is a truly eye-opening and enriching experience.
The famous "moto-taxi": common public transportation method used by Cubans to move around the city.
A Cuban girl wearing her school uniform. This uniform is issued by the Government and used in all schools, since there are no private schools.
La Havana Vieja
Domino night.
My advice to tourists who are looking for a more educational trip rather than a beach vacation is to avoid five-star hotels or even hotels in general. Hotels and tourist places are designed exactly for that, to attract tourists, they deviate people from the realities Cubans have faced and continue to face. If you spend a week in a hotel and walk around Havana's most emblematic places, you won’t truly understand how most Cubans live and how the country's political history has affected it.
Policia Especializada (Special Police)
If you want to get the most out of your trip and have an eye-opening experience, I would recommend you to stay away from hotels and rather stay at Cuban's "casas." Visit the least famous provinces and live like the Cubans for some days. What you will get in return will be much more valuable than what you will get if you decide to stay at your five-star hotel and tourist beaches with all the foreigners during your entire trip.
P.S, Some people call Cuba's ideal characteristic of the perfect getaway the fact that you will need to forget about internet. Wifi connection, if you find any, will be very expensive and limited. Therefore, you will be able to easily disconnect from social media and everyday life. However, I believe it is important to keep in mind to never refer to the limited access to internet in Cuba as a good thing. Think about the thousands of people who live unaware of world news and have limited access to information before claiming Cuba is great because you can’t use your phone during your stay.
Finally,
I leave you with one of my favorite quotes: "The world is a book and those who do not travel, read only one page"
