Cuba Chronicles About This Blog: Cuba 2006: General: Parenting: Pop Culture: Recipes: Videos:

Impressions of Cuba

It would be irresponsible of me to describe my experiences in Cuba without putting down my thoughts about conditions there ? outside of the resort! I?m not going to get into a political discussion, that would be a book in itself. In the history of Cuba, the country has been screwed over by nearly every imperialist force on the globe, and regardless of one?s views on the efficiency of Communist governments, Cuba is at least in charge of it?s own destiny under the present regime. Though it still puzzles me why a country that appears to be so rich in natural resources appears to have such poverty.

I had an opportunity to chat at length with a young lady who works in the tourism industry and who acted as our private guide on a day excursion. I asked her some questions about life in Cuba which she seemed quite willing to answer. I got the impression she was a good party member, her opinions on America and capitalism in general were quite strongly opposed. But she spoke quite frankly and, typical of a Cuban, humorously about some of the trials of daily life.

No one is starving in Cuba. Everyone gets a monthly food ration of beans, rice, sugar and a few other necessities, but food rations are skimpy. One might purchase extra supplies through a government store, but if supplies are out, one might have to go through the black or ?grey? market, and pay 5 to 10 times as much. Since the average wage in Cuba is equivalent to about $12 U.S. a month, there?s not a lot of extra money to spend. Folks in the tourism industry are lucky for the opportunity to receive tips.

There is free enterprise in Cuba, to a point. One may rent out accommodations in your home like a B&B ? ?Casa Particular? they are called. One might have a private restaurant in your home. If you are a subsistence farmer you are allowed to sell part of your produce over and above what you need to your family, providing that you give your quota to the government. Artisans and craftsmen are allowed to sell their wares in the public market.

I had an opportunity to visit a Cuban store selling everything from shoes to building supplies, food items, toiletries, liquor, cigarettes, some clothing, furniture. I did not look at the prices but a bottle of Havana Club was the same price as at the hotel and a wooden coffee table was 50 pesos, and I?d have to assume that was in Convertible Pesos. Considering the average wage that?s a hefty investment.

In the recent past there was a large black market involving American Currency, because the tourist trade relied on American Dollars: rather a paradox seeing as Americans make up a very low percentage of visitors to Cuba. A couple of years ago Castro banned purchasing goods in U.S. Dollars in order to discourage the black market, so now visitors must purchase Convertible Pesos. Theses are on a par with the U.S. dollar and are worth 26 regular Cuban pesos. Black market trading continues, but with Convertible Pesos instead of dollars.
 

Housing is another interesting issue. Housing is rented at a very low rate from the government. Electricity and clean water is available in every home ? no matter how isolated ? and paid for through taxes, which are nominal. The more power one uses the higher your rate is. Homes are not privately owned, even if you build it yourself. In larger cities like Santiago the government built many apartment blocks for housing. To our eyes these look like instant slums. They are built from concrete slabs or blocks, often with construction methods similar to those used on highway sound baffles. But these methods are cheap and effective. Remember in Cuba there?s no winter so one does not bother with such niceties as glass windows, insulation and heating. Shutters and curtains are used for privacy. The paint available is not of good quality so painted surfaces wear quickly due to windy weather and rainy seasons. Cooking often still takes place on wood or charcoal stoves, even in these apartment blocks. The government is not building so many of these homes now and therefore many people are building new homes at their own expense, usually as additions to existing structures.

There is a lot of ?new? construction going on in Trinidad, but since it is an historic city with a distinctive architectural style, new homes, like old, are of brick construction with stucco and paint. Paint is in the typical pastel colours of the area: pink, blue, turquoise, green, buff. Trim is usually painted white. Wrought iron or wooden bars protect window openings. Roofs are typically clay tile. Clay is plentiful in the area and there is a large brickworks in Trinidad, as well as a famous pottery maker. In Trinidad the homes (and roads) are generally in better repair that they are in Santiago, which is a larger and poorer city by comparison.

My friend tells me she and her brother ?inherited? the house that her parents had lived in; her parents have split up and have since married other people. Her brother and his family live downstairs and she and her husband live upstairs in a second floor that they built on top of the existing structure. They are struggling to get the money together to add a kitchen to their dwelling as currently the only kitchen is in her brother?s home, and meals are a communal affair, often with relatives arriving from other households to partake. Another fact she confided (laughing) is that the reason she and her husband got married when they did was because he had no place to live when he finished university.

Since no one supposedly owns their own home in Cuba, what happens when one wants to move to another city? Well, one just doesn?t pick up and move. One would have to have a reason for doing so, like a job or marriage, and it probably requires a permit, but in any case, one must advertise a house swap. In order to move you have to exchange homes with another family who wants to move to your city. I gather these swaps could get quite elaborate, sometimes involving more than two houses.

She also told me her in-laws presented them with a live pig a few weeks ago which they are supposed to keep and fatten up and serve as a family dinner on Mother?s Day. She said they have to keep this thing in a small yard, it stinks and it is a nuisance. I asked her, when it comes time to slaughter this thing, what happens? Do they take it to the local butcher? She shook her head and smiles ruefully. ?Every Cuban man is supposed to know how to do these things. My husband has no idea.? I said it sounded like the movie ? A Private Function? with Michael Palin and Maggie Smith, where they struggle in their kitchen with an illegal pig, which has diarrhea. Anyway we had a good laugh over it.

I asked my friend if there is a class system in Cuba, for certainly one sees folks who appear better off than others. She smiled slyly and said, ?You know the man who wrote Animal Farm, what he said? ?All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.?? Well, it was ever thus.

I asked her another tough question. ?What does a typical Cuban think of the tourists? We come here and suck up your resources, eat your food, use your electricity??

?Well,? she sighed, ?It is true a lot of resources go into supporting the tourist industry, but it means jobs to so many people.? Plus I have to imagine a lot of goods like clothing, school supplies ? even medical supplies, get into the country through that channel. The tourist trade has brought problems also: prostitution, particularly. So there?s always a trade-off.

But at since the revolution, least the Mafia and the CIA (AKA United Fruit) aren?t running the country anymore and I guess you could argue that for the most part Fidel runs a (mostly) benevolent dictatorship.

Still I can?t help the feeling that there?s desperate poverty here. I suppose it?s only in comparison to the North American lifestyle. Many of us have too much to eat: obesity is rampant ESPECIALLY among the poor, we have homeless people, Cuba does not, (at least they claim not to) We have illiteracy, Cuba has a 98 percent literacy rate. Cuba has a lower infant mortality rate than even the United States. Higher education is free in Cuba, that is to say a university education can be paid for by two years of government or military service. Here, it?s only for those who can afford it or are prepared to go into debt to pay for it. We have good medical care, in Canada at least. (Don?t get me started on the US healthcare system) In Cuba, they also have good FREE medical care.

Their homes might not be up to our standards, but they are proud of what they have. If you are ever invited into a Cuban home you will see they are for the most part quite happy with what they?ve got. Every home has electricity and clean water. Every home has a television, no matter how isolated. We in North America, for the most part, have too much stuff. We have a bloated consumer driven lifestyle, and were deep in debt on account of it.

So, who?s to say who has the better standard of living?

Filed under Cuba 2006, Feb 28, 2006
 

bar

No comments yet

bar

Leave a comment

Comments will not be published until reviewed by the site owner. Some HTML is allowed - no more that TWO weblinks or the comment will be blocked.
Obvious link spamming comments will not be approved. So, to all you people who keep leaving comments with multiple links to casino websites, travel sites, ringtones and so forth, posting them here is a complete and utter waste of your time. Like, can you read English, even? Why do you keep leaving your stupid coments here?

Name
Email (will not be published)
Website (optional)

What I'm Reading
Middlemarch
by George Elliott

Where I Go wilwheaton dot net Big Pink Cookie cobolhacker.com Dooce flagrantdisregard flickr.com International Metropolis Internet Movie Database Marie Wise, Artist Marie's Art Journey PHP.net Presstube rotten dot com Scout's Swag The Sneeze Wil Wheaton In Exile Yarn Harlot

What I've Been Shooting

     
     

Blog Manager

NEXT ENTRY: Visits to Trinidad - Added on Mar 02/2006