Cuban mojitos, salsa dancing, Cohiba cigars, black coffee, and Havana Rum – all things we’ve long admired about Cuba but from afar. With the country restricted from U.S. tourism for the last 50 years, we couldn’t really explore our fascination with it. So when President Obama expanded the categories of Americans who could travel to Cuba legally, the floodgates opened up and Americans are talking about Cuba now more than ever. So before the Cuban takeover of American tourists and companies, I decided to gather a group of 14 black professionals (mostly FAMU alumni) who were just as curious about Cuba as I was, and bold enough to make the journey with me to see what’s been hidden from us all this time.
[RELATED: Airbnb Allows American Travelers to Book Rental Homes in Cuba]
Imagine a scene set back in the 1950s with old classic cars and colonial style architecture. Imagine a society cut off from the world where you can’t get a cell phone signal and slow Internet access is available only at some hotels. That’s what we encountered in Cuba. It was as if time had stood still and it was still 1961, when the U.S. severed diplomatic relations with Cuba. There was vintage beauty in the Cuban culture, way of life, and proud Afro-Cuban heritage. There’s something about visiting a destination that isn’t so Westernized, where you can delight in authentic cuisine and not American food chains, where you get to experience a culture their way.
It’s hard to know what to expect from a country that’s been restricted from us for so long, but we knew that, at the very least, we wanted an experience that would immerse us in Afro-Cuban heritage and give us a more balanced perspective on U.S./Cuba relations. This journey ended up being the most enlightening, educational, and cultural experience ever, and it gave us an authentic glimpse into the Cuban way of life.
Forget about lounging on the beach and soaking up the sun. Per licensing requirements, our tourism experience required that we put in a full day’s work and adhere to an approved
itinerary created by our tour operator. As Americans, we aren’t considered tourists and aren’t permitted to do typical tourist-type of activities (e.g., sightseeing, beach combing) since it is still technically illegal to visit Cuba without a people-to-people license. So we were required to do activities and visit attractions that would allow us to culturally exchange with the Cuban people. This was by far the best way to experience the country and learn its history over the last 50 years.(Continued on next page)
Our unforgettable journey included a private performance by Vocal Leo, a 14-member choral group that sang traditional Cuban music as well as negro spirituals. We had an engaging and uncensored discussion with a Cuban professor of economics about U.S./Cuban relations and what the restored diplomatic relations could mean for both countries. We even visited Ernest Hemingway’s Cuban retreat where he wrote two of his most famous novels. We toured a community garden called Organoponicos and learned that community gardens were literal lifesavers during Cuba’s Special Period in the 1990s, when Cuba experienced economic
crisis and famine following the collapse of the Soviet Union. We visited a community art project and met with artists, explored the Used Booksellers Market, bought beautiful artwork at a local marketplace, had salsa dancing lessons, enjoyed an Afro-Cuban dance performance by the Havana Compas Dance company, and even experienced a Perfect Cuban Marriage–Cuban rum, black coffee, and a cigar.Besides the refreshing culture and beauty of Cuba, being driven around Little Havana in 1950s-era Fords, Buicks, and Plymouths was a reminder of the impact of political and economic isolation, and it provided a reality check about how much control the Cuban government has. We relished taking photos in these automotive beauties but, for the Cuban people, it was all a result of a Cuban law that prohibited any cars from being imported from the U.S. after Castro took over. The Cuban spirit of entrepreneurship and ingenuity was evident in how the people have been able to keep these classic cars running and in pristine condition by using household items and self-manufactured parts, and then using the cars as taxis to make a living.
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We saw government-owned restaurants and Paladars–privately owned restaurants, often in the large stately homes of locals–and observed a Cuban woman at a state-run food market hand-picking her monthly food rations of rice, beans, coffee, cooking oil, and other essential food items to log in her Libreta de Abastecimiento (food ration log/book).
Nothing could have prepared me for this journey and, as an avid traveler, I would put Cuba amongst my top three destinations to experience. I learned a lot, saw a lot, got a better perspective, and would definitely encourage Americans and Afro-culture enthusiasts to visit Cuba while it’s still in its pure, vintage, authentic form.
–written by Fabiola Fleuranvil, Travel Curator and CEO of Blueprint Creative Group
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