SoapBox Week in Cuba - Cultural Aspect Part 1

I probably should have written about this aspect of my trip first, but I was just a bit overwhelmed and kind of needed to let it settle awhile. Cuba really did have a deep impact on me, although, as I have mentioned, I got to see very little of what I had intended. In the end, I was able to see nothing of urban agriculture beyond a glimpse here and there of rooftop gardening, nor did I get the chance to visit any rural farms beyond what I'll mention later. Even so, I feel that I had the chance to ingest a balanced amount of Cuban culture for a week long first visit. There really is a huge amount to see and I feel its best to balance relaxation and cultural/historical exploration on these kinds of journeys, especially shorter ones, or one risks a...lesser...experience.

So,

As I mentioned previously, Tuesday was all about a day trip to Havana. Nearly twenty of us went, taking one mini-bus and one minivan. I think those of us in the minivan had the better and more intimate experience as each vehicle had one tour guide. While driving, the guides gave their own presentations and when walking, one guide would talk and one would play tourist shepherd. This herding was a bit annoying but, as was obvious and came to be more so, necessary.

The drive to Havana seemed to be about 2 hours, not including the 20-30 minute stop along the way at the roadside/hillside pina colada and merchandise stand (as with all Caribbean islands I have been to, there is NO shortage of shitty souvenir-buying opportunities). I should point out here though, that I was incredibly hung over until at least 2 pm so this trip could have been longer or shorter...I'm just not sure. I think we left at 8 am and reached Havana at around 11 am. Luckily our tour guide was very cute and the information interesting so I was able to stay awake and stifle the roiling belly and throbbing head enough to pay attention and take a few pictures. Honestly, as cute as she was, the information was really what kept me alert and attentive. Through the entire day, we were presented with a wealth of historical and cultural information.

This is the view from that pina colada stand.



The gorge itself is jokingly known as something like "mother in law's gorge" because in Cuba, when a couple gets married, the new husband often goes to live with his wife's family (new houses are not easily procured as the sale of property is illegal). The turkey vultures which are plentiful here are said to be searching for the most recent mother in law brought to "see" the gorge by an overly henpecked son in law.


Feeling slightly refreshed after a deliciously fresh virgin pina colada, we were back on the road to Havana. Havana is a city in two parts: Old and New. Old Havana was established by the Spanish in 1519 and consists primarily of Baroque and Neo Classical architecture. New Havana spread beyond the fortifications of Old Havana throughout the 17th century and beyond. Much of Havana is now undergoing a massive restoration and one can see rough scaffolding and workers absolutely everywhere.

This was the definitely the case as we began our day at The Necropolis Cristobal Colon (Havana's Cemetery): Cementario de Colon (longest name for a cemetery or what?).


This cemetary is breathtaking, crammed full of stunning crypts and mausoleums. Over 1 million burials have taken place here since the cemetery's creation in the 1870's. Of particular interest to me was La Mausoleo de los Bomberos (The Monument to the Firemen) which was erected in respect for the dangerous work done by firefighters, especially those many who died battling a massive city fire in 1890. It also happens to be the tallest monument on the grounds. This monument was of particular interest to me because the stagehand union I belong to is affiliated with the firefighter's union and I have worked with several Edmonton firefighters (we owe all firefighters a great thanks).

This place was truly amazing, both in architecture and in the quantity of heroic lives being commemorated there. Each and every monument is a work of art. The one peso that is often demanded of those who intend to take pictures is definitely worth the cost. Personally, just getting to see this site is worth a peso I think. This next picture is of a tomb which has become a local fertility shrine. Women who are wishing to be pregnant (or have a wish for someone else to bear a child) approach the statue uttering a fertility prayer and then walk backwards away, still facing the statue, back down the other side. The full walk completes a full circle and I wondered how many notice the significance as they are walking this circle. My brother's new female in-laws all took part in this ceremony so I may be an uncle very soon.


Upon leaving the cemetery we made our way around New Havana, having plenty of opportunity to ponder the irony in calling this place New. Watching the other vehicle, a mini-bus, maneuver through these narrow Spanish-style streets at least provided distraction from how close oncoming traffic was to our own smaller minivan.


Not all of the roadways are narrow tho, many are several lanes wide, especially as we got closer to the Plaza de la Revolucion. Just yesterday, May 1, this place (also known as Revolution Square) was filled with hundreds of thousands of Cubans celebrating May day and 50 years since the most recent Cuban revolution. It was a powerful place to stand, knowing both the spirit of camaraderie AND of violent repression that have been represented there.


Standing in the middle of this square, looking around, one sees the various government Ministry buildings. These buildings are of the most recent architectural influence, the drab and uncreative style of the Soviet Union, altho one bears the likeness which is so prevalent in Cuba, Che Guevara. As he was Minister of the Interior, it makes sense that the Ministry of the Interior bears this mural of his likeness.


From here we were back down narrow streets and off to lunch in a beautiful restaurant in some stunning old hotel in New Havana, the name of which escapes me now. After lunch we were led to the Ambos Mundos Hotel, favorite of Hemingway, and its Roof Garden restaurant.




After being greeted by an odd mosaic (?) at the top of the old elevator (complete with crotchety operator), one discovers immediately that the view from up here is breathtaking. Birdsong is even present up here, competing with the restaurant band.





At this point we were back on foot mostly, making our way down narrow streets and walkways, being shown place after place, all fascinating and beautiful. I could write a week's worth of posts on just this one day, had I been taking notes. A few more highlights:


What appears to be a painted image on the right side of this picture is actually a mirror image of the left hand side of the street, created by using sand of various color. Brilliant.

Most of the Cubanos hanging about in tourist areas in Havana, are selling something. This lady didn't seem to be selling much other than the chance to take a picture that includes her face. Anyone she caught taking unpaid-for pictures got the mask face. I both understood, and couldn't help but keep her holding the fan in place for a couple of minutes. I don't think she was too pleased.


Cubanos are no longer a very "religious" people. Many suggest that this is the Marxist influence yet I think it has more to do with the amount of "Christians" who have ruled over this land, often as slavers. However, due to the long Spanish influence of the past, Cuba is full of many beautiful cathedrals such as this one. I cannot remember the name of this cathedral but it sat on one end of a fairly large square. This was one of our last stops in Havana and it was the site of a nervous 10 minutes or so for me.


I had noticed these young fellows enjoying a game of wiffle ball pitch and bat off in one corner of the above mentioned square so I slipped off for a moment to get a few pictures. Upon returning, perhaps a minute later, I noticed that my entire group had vanished. I found this a bit surprising since one of our tour guides had been shepherding all day. I suppose even the best shepherds lose the odd dumb or overly curious sheep sometimes, and I was that sheep just now. Thinking that the group had just moved on, I followed first one and then the other of the only two possible routes that would not have involved backtracking. Not surprisingly, this was when I started to get all sorts of offers to buy "drogas" (drugs), along with even more offers to buy black market cigars (most of which are cheap knock-offs obviously). After walking down each route about a half block, I realized that it was unlikely that my group had gone either way. Adrenaline started to flow and my mouth dried somewhat. I'm used to wandering strange places by myself but having been part of a group, I had not been paying as close attention to our route as I should have been...so I found myself a tad disoriented. Luckily, a brief bit of backtracking led to the vast local Flea Market in the area, to which we had all been headed next. Here I found my group...the lost sheep safely back with the herd, without any of the herd having noticed his absence...

I don't have much to relate about the flea market, other than finding it full of beggars and quite a few aggressive merchants (whose goods included very few unique seeming items). There was a good deal of artwork on sale, surprisingly, but most of it was obviously highly Salvador Dali influenced. This is fine, except that it was pretty much ALL so influenced.

After our time at the flea market we were led to the Capital building site, adjacent to Havana's Central Park. Next door to the Capital building was another beautiful structure, this one also drawing my eye as it was the National Theatre of Havana. I must return so I can have the chance to see inside this facility and maybe catch a performance of the National Ballet of Cuba or the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba, both of which perform here (among other reasons, I must also return to spend a few hours perusing the Museo de la Revolucion as there was not time to get more than an exterior glance at it).




We made one last stop on our way out of Havana. Somehow, my brother had learned of a boxing club and had arranged for us to visit. We watched the proceedings for about a half hour and it was lovely to see so many youth having an opportunity to get off the streets and learn some discipline. I do hope some less brain damaging alternatives exist as well.


Just outside of this facility I noticed a bit of propaganda I thought I would share. Cuba does indeed have a good amount of this but, personally, I find our subtle propaganda and advertising to be far more advanced, and intrusive. Cuba's propaganda does not seem heavy or Big Brother-esque, it seems...friendly.


Personally, I find this last image to be the most indicative of the Cuba I got to see. Door open, resident sitting on the stoop, aware of neighbors and other citizens, often active with them, sometimes solitary, often in groups.


Seeing how long this post is already, I am going to divide it into two parts. The last two cultural experiences are somewhat related so this is a natural stopping point. Back soon with Part 2.

Peace and comfort to all...remember to wash your hands and cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze.

SoapBox Week in Cuba - Vacation Aspect

Arriving in Cuba wasn't much different than what other traveling (the amount is not large tho I've had the chance to do more than many I suppose) I have done. The airport in Varadero was similar in size to the airport I left from here in Alberta. The customs officials were typical in surliness and lack of communication (other than barked directives which I always make the mistake of trying to ask clarification about...) and then I got my standard selection for "random" questioning/inspection. Oh well, it might happen every time I travel but at least I've never had to bend over in a dimly lit room (knock on wood).

Anyway, it really wasn't that big a deal but I did find it interesting that these people always seem to think that if I WAS a drug dealer or smuggler I'd give up that fact if only the question were repeated 3 times with increasing strenuousness.

So once the questions were done and the momentary nervousness/frustrated anger passed, out I went into the glorious heat of Cuban spring, joining my family once more...not to be hassled again throughout the entire stay. About 20 minutes later we reached our resort (Sol Palmeras All Inclusive - I recommend this place for sure) and younger brother, who had arranged the whole thing, greets us with Rum Punches at the check in desk.

That night consisted of meeting the non-relatives who were attending the ceremony and catching up with some old friends of my brother, as well as some relatives who had already made it there. It had been a few years since I had been near the equator ( I did 2 cruise ship contracts in the South Caribbean in 2002 and 2003) and it was delightful to be back in the heat, the warm ocean and hot sand just a few feet away, and the undescribably rejuvenating quality of the fresh ocean breeze. Even my father was fairly immediately relaxed and he was the furthest from his farm that he has ever been, and for the longest time ever.

The next morning, Monday morning, I woke up (at around 5 am of all the ridiculous times) to the sound of song birds just outside my window. The time might have been ridiculous, but the music made it impossible to be frustrated and I spent the next few hours just laying there alternating between reading and light snoozing. Most people want to be up making the most of their time as immediately as possible but I like to let the air of a new place kind of settle into my lungs if I can. Luckily time moves at about 1/2 pace in Cuba and my week really did feel like 2, or maybe even 3.


So, guessing at the time since I didn't take a watch along and didn't feel like dealing with cell phone or laptop or mp3 player, I snapped a few pictures of the suite and the view from the balcony (including the above picture) and then wandered downstairs to learn that it was just after 9 am and I had just missed the breakfast buffet. Oh well, I don't often eat breakfast anyway, and my appetite goes way down in the heat anyway, so off I go, out into the morning heat of a gloriously clear Cuban morning.

This first full day was spent catching up with family and making new friends with my brother's and his fiance's entourage. Lolled around all day, couple trips down to the beach but mostly just hanging out and drinking orange juice in the pool/sunbathing area.




I must make special mention of one new friend I made that Monday. My aunt had traveled with her good friend and roommate, who introduced me to a book that was published in the 70's yet remained unknown to me but which fit well with much of my thinking and with one of the main themes of this blog, that being a conscious blending of sociological development with ecological concerns. "Ecotopia: The Notebooks and Reports of William Weston" by Ernest Callenbach may be familiar to some readers here, but it was delightfully new to me and I actually found that it mirrored parts of what I can only call the spirit of Cuba. I finished it over the next 3 days, a very quick and enjoyable read that I suggest to everyone. Thanks to Maria for introducing me.

That evening, more socialising morphed into the one night of the trip where your friendly neighbourhood SoapBoxTech got into a little too much Cerveza and Rum. This made for a fun night but a painful next morning as there was an 8am departure time for the group tour my brother had arranged for Havana. This tour was the first of what I am calling the cultural exploration aspect of this trip. I am going to cover this aspect of my trip in the next post so I'm not going to get into Havana right now anymore than to say the first few hours was incredibly painful but thank goodness I didn't make any messes or pass out anywhere.

Back to the vacation/wedding aspect...

By Wednesday it was clear that I was only going to have that Wednesday and the Saturday to do much personal exploring of the island, but it was also clear that I probably could not afford this exploring so I settled into relaxing and enjoying the resort as much as possible. After the long and somewhat painful Tuesday, I spent a good part of Wednesday reading and snoozing in a lightly shaded hammock down toward the beach. I cannot easily describe just how relaxing I found this environment, with few screaming children and many singing birds.

Thursday was wedding day and while I will write about one portion of this day in the next post about the cultural aspect of my trip, there isn't much else for me to share here. It was a beautiful day, however.

Friday was my mom's birthday and her brother and his wife's anniversary so all of mom's side of the family who made the trip, spent the day on a nice Catamaran tour. This was a nice day, but definitely full-on "vacation mode". The first part of the day was a jaunt to a facility where guests could swim with dolphins. I took part in this, and it was pretty cool, but I would have much preferred to be sharing the water with wild dolphins as opposed to trained.





After this stop, the catamaran tour made its way to a scuba diving location, but I sat that one out thanks to wearing glasses. More stunning scenery on the way though, including being accompanied by wild dolphins for a portion of the trip.



Then it was back en route to our lunch spot, a stunning and quiet stretch of white sand beach which also contained the obligatory restaurant/bar. Obviously this is an increasingly popular location as a 2nd pier was being put in as the picture shows. One of my little cousins found a starfish in the surf here and I got to show them I could tell it was alive by ever so slightly prying it open to reveal the moving hydraulic suckers that starfish use to move. I did find it a bit disconcerting that out of at least 10 adults in the vicinity I was the only one able to tell if the thing was alive.


After a couple hours here, it was time to head back to the main pier, then our bus back to the resort. Even with lots of sunscreen, this was a sunburn day for most everyone. Great day though, and I think a good birthday/anniversary. One last moment to share...at one point, I felt a little scritching at my elbow. Looking back, I discovered this little cutie grinning at me. I hope it wasn't me that turned the grin so quickly into the grimace.

And that, dear readers, about sums up the vacation aspect of my week in Cuba. Next up, the cultural exploration aspect of the trip, and it has been my intention to leave the best for last...at least in terms of what I found to be the best part of the trip (other than the wedding of course).

Until later. Peace and comfort folks...please be careful and good to each other in this recently even more scary, crazy, old world.

A SoapBox Brief History of Cuba

When North Americans think of Cuba, over the past 30 years or so, the first thought is often of a nation oppressed by fascist communism. The reality is, Cuba is a country which has been oppressed by exterior forces since "Discovery" by Columbus. Spanish plantation owners were the first to enslave the local "indian" population native to Cuba at the time, basically wiping it out through over-work. The diminutive natives were hardly suited to the difficult labor of manual sugarcane harvesting and processing. Once these initial human energy reserves were exhausted, black slaves were imported from the West Indies, their forms being larger and hardier and thereby more "suitable" for such labor.



At this point, certain "Cuban heroes" began to emerge. Rare wealthy landowners began to have conscience problems and, as in parts of colonial America, they began to turn their holdings over to their workers while trying to instill in them a sense of ownership and patriotism to Cuba. These workers were taught the importance of freedom along with the skills and determination to defend this freedom. This quickly led to Cuba's first "revolucion", which started Cuba toward eventually earning their independence from Spain.



Cubans seem to be intensely proud of this revolutionary history, yet there is little knowledge of or at least attention to the fact that the US was a strong supporter of this first revolution (thanks to the Spanish-American War). This support led to the Platt Amendment, basically placing Cuba under American protection/scrutiny and turning over control of certain Cuban lands to US control (including Guantanamo Bay which remains US soil). Following Independence, Cuba spent around 30 years in political turmoil, finally coming under control of its first Dictator, Gerardo Machado. Machado was fairly quickly unseated and a provisional government established under the leadership of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes (whose father had proclaimed Cuban independence in 1868, as one of those afore-mentioned "heroes"). Closely involved in this uprising was military man Fulgencio Batista who eventually overthrew this provisional government and established his own ongoing dictatorial and corrupt regime which lasted into the 1950's and led to violent opposition from many sources, including a young lawyer named Fidel Castro.

Given the ongoing socialist movement in Cuba, originated by those few conscientious Spanish cum Cuban plantation owners, it should be no surprise that Cuba became one of the prime regions for Communist involvement in Latin America in the 1950s and 60's. Cuba's proximity to the US made it a very inviting location to the Soviet Union, as did the sugar processing infrastructure which had been set up by American capitalists. If Castro and Guevara had NOT been pro-communist movement, it may well have been that the Soviet Union would have expended much energy in trying to take Cuba by force. As it was, Castro's Cuba joined forces with the Soviets and Cuban agriculture and architecture quickly showed Soviet control and/or influence. Cuba still shows signs of this switch from US to Soviet "oversight", as thousands of vintage US vehicles still fill the roads of Cuba, left behind after the expulsion of capitalists from Cuba.



To Cubans, the last battle for their independence was against the US in what is known as the Bay of Pigs invasion. The Museum of the Revolution (Museo de la Revolución) in Old Havana is filled with remnants of this battle, including the engine of a Lockheed U-2 spyplane which was shot down. Cubans are fiercely proud of the outcome of this battle, seeing themselves as the first country able to resist the might of the post WW2 US. Actually, Cuba is fiercely proud of its independence in general. Street decorations in all the towns and cities that I saw contained relics of Cuba's many battles for independence, mostly old Spanish cannons and cannonballs.



I am ashamed to say that I was aware of very little of this information, beyond the general "history class" stuff, prior to my trip this fascinating island. Having been, I am now very eager to learn more of this history and I am desperate to return and talk to more people. I will write of my too-short experience there, but I wanted to get some of this historical stuff down first, as a bit of a foundation. Cuba also contains a very interesting history of the ongoing relationships between capitalism and socialism over the past hundred years or so. More to come on this later as the discussion/presentation could be lengthy.

Until later. Peace and comfort to all.

Back to BS

I promise there is more coming about Cuba and the trip but something came up today, locally, that I need to share.



Doesn't this look for all the world like an erupting garbage volcano?

We have a nasty wind blowing here today. It began last evening with a vicious dust storm and then backed off slightly to the gale we have now. So I thought I would trudge down to the marsh-side, which is directly downwind of the landfill that I've mentioned a few times before, to see what sort of mess things were. It was even worse than I expected.





I took a bunch of video as well, which I will try to edit together into something. However, I only have a digital still camera so the video quality is not great, nor is the sound. And careful of the volume!! It seems to be very loud and its VERY windy.

Home Again, Home Again

Wow, what a week.

I got home from Cuba yesterday and there's so much to write about, I don't even know where to start. I suspect I have a few different posts in me, after such an inspirational time, but I best start with the whole reason for the trip...my brother's wedding.



Other than my inability to square up the ring box in the little photo display I set up, this was a pretty cool wedding. It's funny, the wedding happened mostly because my brother is somewhat traditionalist yet this was not really what most would consider a traditional wedding. For one thing, I stood up for his fiance and our sister stood up for my brother. For another, the ceremony was performed by a Justice and in Spanish...when all the attendees spoke English or German. The wedding planner did provide translation but the whole thing took place on the beach so no one but the bride and groom could hear much of what was being said anyway. I loved it, quirky yet beautiful.

I always knew I had a great little brother, but to see that around 45 people traveled that far to be there for his wedding really showed the kind of effect he has on people. One friend of the bride and groom had to travel 40 hours from Malaysia to be part of it. Sweet vacation being part of the deal or not, that is friendship! (Granted, it helps that many of his friends work in nice gigs in the oil and gas industry)

I don't really know exactly how to say this next part, other than to say that I think he has found himself a fine wife and he has brought some fine people into our extended family. I've now had the chance to speak to his wife a fair deal and I think she's a pretty clever woman, and she obviously loves my brother immensely (which is really all that matters). Her family and friends all ganged up and made me promise to visit Berlin as soon as possible, but it was not a difficult promise to make, as lovely as they all are. I have to start learning German now I guess. Not really fair to expect them to do all the adjusting.

I woke up yesterday morning with a growing chest and head cold, so I'm going to keep this post short. Much more to come tho. Let me just say now however...I only got to see so much in one week, but I am developing a fond respect for Cuba and its people. It became very easy to see why Ernest Hemingway loved the island so much, and found so much inspiration there. It was the same for me.

More to come. Peace and comfort to all.

Spring! And Cuba!

Spring seems to be settling in here finally. With no frost at night, odd for so early, much of the snow is melted other than where it has been piled. In the country side, a winter's worth of road clearing results in miles of lengths of ice which can take into May to completely melt. Melt water runs along these ice channels in the ditches, often flooding across the road completely.



Since our farm lies along the edge of a large marsh-lake, much local runoff makes its way to the lake via our property. If the County does its job and opens a channel to the road allowance, much of this water could run straight down the road allowance ditch and into the lake. As this picture shows, the County rarely does its job, so Dad has been out with his tractor, trying to open it from the other end.




So for as long as I can remember, spring has meant a yard full of water. And since the new(er) house went in 15 or so years ago, this flooding often comes dangerously close to flooding the septic tank.




This year, nature selected a slightly different path to reach the partial creek that runs through our yard.






Years of this spring flooding has carved a partial ditch through our yard, but the ends of the ditch are both flat and the run off water floods as the above picture shows. So for some time now I have been trying to convince my folks to rent a backhoe for a couple of days so that I could extend this runoff ditch at both ends. This would give us a lovely creek that runs through the yard in spring and after heavy rains, adding value to the property and doing much to remove the threat of spring flooding and having to rely on the county to clear the road allowance ditch. Mom and I have also been talking about trying to design a pool in the low part of the yard, where spring run off first enters our property from the roadside ditch.



Maybe I can convince them this year after the plumbing excavation is done. Just one more thing I'd like to do this year...and the list is long. Good thing its a 3 year list.

This does mean that I will likely be posting less often. Or maybe not. After all, its not like the world looks to be calming down any.

For the next week, however, posts will be very few as I am heading to Cuba tomorrow. My younger brother is getting married, and thanks to his lovely fossil fuel exploitation salary, the immediate family gets a lovely vacation out of the deal. As I have mentioned before, there is a bit of guilt in this for me...with so many who have lost everything, its just a little hard to reconcile a trip like this. But on the positive side, Cuba is a country that I very much want to see. I am hoping to get a chance to do some exploring and really get a first-hand look at how agrarian communities are set up there. Obviously I am also keen to have a look at all the urban agriculture for which Cuba is becoming famous. I'm quite excited to have this opportunity, and thankful to my brother for it. I will post upload pictures from the trip and post a link upon my return.

Peace and comfort to all.