Growing up in South Florida I have always had Cuban-American friends. I consider Cuban food my comfort food because truthfully, there’s nothing more comforting than being greeted by a box full of croquetas and pastelitos from the bakery down the street. Relations between Cuba and the United States have been extremely limited since the Cold War and has not shifted until recently under the Obama administration. With the opening of relations and the sharing of pictures of celebrities posing with a backdrop of La Havana, I’ve questioned how this change in diplomatic relations sets with Cuban-Americans from my generation and Cubans from previous generations who have lived through all these changes and have seen their Cuba deteriorate and ultimately become an unrecognizable place.
Now that Cuba is “open for business,” many tourists are jumping at the opportunity to see Cuba before it goes corporate. Pictures of the Kardashians vacationing in Cuba and Rihanna posing in front of a 1959 Chevy Impala in the streets of La Havana has led people to believe there is nothing problematic about romanticizing a Cuba stuck in the past, a Cuba that suffered the sad realities of Fidel’s regime. When I heard that flying to Cuba was something feasible, the first person I talked to was my best friend, who happens to be Cuban. Her tone immediately changed to one of sorrow as she proceeded to explain to me why she felt conflicted about traveling to Cuba. Cuba isn’t the vibrant country it used to be before Castro and to have people roaming the streets taking pictures and glorifying the remnants of the revolution is downright disrespectful to those that lived through it.
Very recently two of my Cuban friends and I were talking about traveling to Cuba sometime soon. The topic came up and I found myself wanting to tag along. I remembered the conversation I had with my best friend regarding this and I took a step back. At first I was conflicted because how could I, a Hispanic who isn’t of Cuban descent, travel to Cuba as if it was any other destination? I began to consider the differences between myself and say, Kim Kardashian in regards to my intentions in visiting Cuba. The Kardashians’ vacation in Cuba was one for publicity. I, on the other hand, am interested in going to Cuba because I am interested in learning about the culture and learning from the locals about all they have gone through in hopes to spread awareness. I don’t seek to go to Cuba to simply take pictures and buy a couple souvenirs. I seek to go to Cuba to learn. There is a strong difference between appreciation and appropriation. While some seek to appropriate, whether it be unintentional or not, some like myself seek to appreciate.
As the young person I am, I feel a moral obligation to learn about the atrocities that have happened in the past and carry on the memory in efforts to prevent said atrocities from occurring again. Though I still feel a bit conflicted about traveling to Cuba, I hope that one day I will find myself walking along El Malecón imagining the lively and strong Cuba that once was without forgetting the struggle that too many have suffered to survive. My main aim is for people not to get lost in romanticizing and idealizing Cuba and not to continue to fail to acknowledge how tough it has been for those living in Cuba to live day to day. The opening of diplomatic relations leaves us with many hopes and aspirations for Cuba and its people, and I hope we don’t lose sight of that amongst the cigars, the rum, and the dancing.
