Begging Dogs and Happy Pigs
by Jason Clark
Published by Blenheim Press Ltd at Smashwords
ISBN 978-1-906302-68-9
Copyright Jason Clark 2009
Jason Clark has asserted his right
to be identified as the Author of this work.
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DEDICATION
To the people of Cuba who have persevered for so long to uphold what they believe in.
CHÉ’S FAREWELL LETTER TO FIDEL
Poet, artist, actor, adventurer, linguist, pedagogue; I’ve always found a means to express myself, though nowhere has inspired me as much as Cuba. Since my teens I have longed to go there. This fictional-biography is deeply personal, and moving. I intend to make you laugh at my own, too human follies and smile at my adventures. Funny, yes, but tragical mirth, as I slowly reveal what life is like in Cuba today. Political tension weighs on everyone and stomach bugs are rife.
My love for the Cuban people is always at the forefront of this factual story; where you will discover beautiful women, exotic locations and fat pigs. The relationships I developed there I will never forget and will always cherish. I wrote this book at the turning point of my life, a time of crisis and self-revelation, a time of intimacy and a discovery of inner beauty. This inner journey is as important and revealing as the outer journey.
I hope you will get as much enjoyment from my experiences in this fascinating country as I did and that this story will help you develop a greater awareness of another world.
Cuba is probably the most beautiful prison in the world. It is a prison for its inhabitants and to some extent for people who stay there, and also because of its geographical situation and because of its politics. Cubans have everything that could be needed for a healthy community except freedom of movement – it’s very difficult to leave Cuba – economic freedom (this is the main reason Cubans don’t leave) and freedom of speech; people seemed genuinely frightened to speak out against their government.
Geographically, although the island has changed since Columbus arrived there in 1492, there are still some remnants of the tropical paradise he describes in his log book. Rare and tropical birds can still be found in what is left of the tropical forests. Parrots, humming birds, frigates, pelicans, harmless snakes and boa constrictors, spiders, crocodiles (Cuba sports the biggest species of crocs in the world) are all to be found there. The beautiful beaches outline the warm Caribbean and Atlantic seas that hold host to many reefs, the fourth largest in the world, black and red coral can be seen as well as many coloured fish, sharks, rays, dolphins etc . . .
The geographical and animal features do not alone make up the beauty of the country. The lack of industry and the relatively small number of cars means that it is a country with little pollution and very pure, fresh air, kept cleaner by the nearly constant breeze. The food is, as far as I know, all organic, as the use of pesticides ended when the imports from Russia stopped. Semi-wild mangoes, guavas, bananas, oranges and fresh sea food all add up to this purity little known to the industrialised countries.
Although the Arawaks may have died out the present inhabitants of the isle, often mixed Black African and Latino, are quite beautiful. And all the Cubans make an effort with their appearance, however poor. Music and dance abound throughout the country, there’s little else to do, and the universal education means that most Cubans can engage in conversation to a reasonable level.
Not only has Castro’s Communist government imposed equality on the population but it has also made it is a very safe country. There is little gun crime simply because there are few guns. Havana is reputed to have a policeman on every corner, it certainly seems that way in many areas. The strict penalties prevent drug trafficking and the fact that the people have so little disposable income means they can’t afford to get drunk. Though alcohol abuse is one of the greatest social problems in Cuba.
This book was not intended to be a manifesto for Cuban tourism, nor was it intended to be a travel guide, there are plenty of those on the market, though many of them are quite dated now. No, originally this book wasn’t intended as a book at all, it was quite simply a letter to my mother describing my stay in Cuba.
I don’t particularly like travel writing, nor do I like travelling and tourism. My favourite travel writers are Laurence Sterne and Jack Kerouac and a small out of print book called Une Excursion dans le Morvan 1892. For me it is important to meet people, to live with people, to get to know and understand their culture and customs and even take part in them. There are a few facts in this book, but most of what I write is hearsay and rumour based on reports of friends of mine. Even what they had to say is often uncertain and contradictory, confused by the climate of paranoia typical of any communist society. From the views of these few choice friends I established my own opinion, opinions made to raise questions rather than to give answers. I encourage you to check any facts and figures and add them to the information given in this book.
Above all, this writing is about me, my time in a country I’ve wanted to visit most of my life and never got around to. I felt it was time to see Cuba now, as did many tourists I met while I was out there. I went to see a country in a state of crisis and on the brink of change and found that I was the one in the state of crisis.
The reasons I wanted to go to Cuba when I was sixteen are summed up in Ché’s Farewell Letter to Fidel. I was impressed with the idealistic fervour of these people who, for so long, have got away with sticking the middle finger up to the USA. What kept these eleven million people going so long in spite of the international trade embargo forced upon them by the various presidents of the USA? I could identify with a people fighting for an ideal as I had fought for my own beliefs (as a Steiner/Waldorf teacher) for ten long years. I consider myself as an anti-materialist in a similar way that I imagined the Cuban people to be anti-capitalist. I needed to see for myself if the myths, rumours and reports that stretched to Europe were true of this country led by a man who has survived two CIA assassination attempts. Rumours of ongoing revolution, of hardship and suffering in the name of an ideal seemed never ending.
I was fascinated, though not to the point of obsession (politics bores me), about this little country that has been at the centre of world history since 1492. I also wanted to go somewhere warm and swim in the warm sea.
The only reliable facts in this book are the events that I felt and witnessed myself, the only truths are those of my own emotions and thoughts. To a great extent this book is about me. It is necessary to explain a few facts about myself. My ethos is to leave the planet a better place than I found it. Most of my working life has been spent educating children in a way that I believe will help change the world for the better. I now live on a boat; a sailing boat, that I have restored myself using as much as possible recycled materials. The whole boat is recycled, that is to say it was going to rack and ruin and needed repairing. I’m trying to generate my own electricity and have cut my energy emissions by 80% by living on the boat. I am, of course, a vegetarian and have been for nearly twenty years. I believe in Freedom and I believe in Ecology and both these I find in my boat. I enjoy sailing. My sailing heroes are Tristan Jones and Bernard Moitessier whom I respect for their anti-corporate stance to sailing, who showed that heroes can still be heroes without sponsorship.
My main mission was to find a boat and sail back to Europe as crew, maybe via Jamaica or another Island in the Caribbean. I really wanted to get some transatlantic sailing experience before I attempted it, one day, in my own boat. It still remains a dream for me to sail across the Atlantic and Cuba still remains a destination I’d aim for, but then this is another story and depends a lot on me raising the finances to do the trip, another reason for writing this book.
The main reason for my stay in Cuba, or rather the pretext for me going there, was to improve my Spanish to a good enough level so that I could teach it as my second modern language. The dream, the mission and the reason all matched together perfectly and I found a language school that had teachers in Cuba. I also had a Cuban friend who would introduce me to his family and friends.
So what did I find in Cuba? Did I find an ideal to die for? No, rather I found a reason to live.
As for the Cuban people I met out there, they are tough. They are tougher and more resilient than any other people I’ve come across. Descendants of conquistadors and slaves, who stamped out the most terrifying cannibals of all times (and I sometimes wonder if there is something of the cannibal in the Cubans, they seem to be capable of eating anything), the strength of will of these people is very impressive. When I got to know them I found they were also among the kindest people I ever met. Kind but not always sympathetic, sympathy didn’t appear to be part of their cultural make-up. If you were ill you were ill but once you recovered they were obviously grateful.
Once I’d made a friend there I was told, rather ominously, that I had a friend for life, and I feel this is the case. Cuban hospitality is extended to the family and close friends, everyone else is treated a little off-handedly and with a certain level of suspicion. But once you are welcomed into the family you are treated like a king, which can be a little overwhelming for some foreigners.
It’s not surprising that families are so close knit when more often than not four generations of the same family would live under the same roof. Great grandparents, grandparents, parents and children would share bedroom, lounge, kitchen and bathroom. And the answer to your question is: they go outside for it or all the family sit in the garden or landing whilst amorous couples are left alone.
Cuba is a third world country, yet in the face of their poverty they always have something to give, and enjoy receiving. A couple of times I went into a house to be met by a child asking for un regalo. This seemed quite acceptable, at least for most of the people I met. Though as a tourist many waiters expect a tip and carry on asking for un regalo in a similar way to the children.
Nearly everyone has a decent level of education. I was told that to work in the cigar factories a worker has to be able to speak two foreign languages in order to be able to talk to visiting tourists and answer questions. It would be interesting to know who were the most educated factory workers in the world.
Religious tolerance is practised throughout the country. One can find Catholic, Protestant, Islamic, Jewish and many of the various derivations of these religions, practised in places of worship throughout the country. There is also an Afro-Cuban religion. The worship of Orishas is practised in many homes.
However, in spite of this religious tolerance and reasonable level of education I came across much racism in Cuba. Racism is ubiquitous and everybody fits into one of the three racial categories: Latinos (Cubans) Mulattos (Cubans) or Negroes (Cubans), each claiming to be more Cuban than the others. This was one of the many surprises and contradictions I met. How could a country where the government preaches equality for all, a country that overcame and overthrew its roots, roots that were established on slavery, which was probably the centre pin of the slave trade for centuries, how could there still be social distinctions based purely on the colour of the skin? I saw very few black members of the communist party, a few Mulattos but mainly Latinos.
The only place that Cubans are really united is in their music, that extends from various ethnic origins: Afro-European and Caribbean. Music and dance mean everything to the Cuban and can be encountered everywhere. I believe salsa came to Cuba from New York in the 1970s, but it might have been the other way round. The best dancers I’ve seen were definitely the older people whose rhythm and movements stemmed directly from jazz.
Is this all about to change? There is an atmosphere of change, or at least a feeling of a need for change, although most people I spoke to wouldn’t believe it is possible. Most foreigners, however, did. When I read the guide books before travelling out there some said that the Cubans would often complain, no es facil, and though I heard this a few times, mainly from older people who’d grown up during the pact with Russia, more commonly I heard the refrain Algun dia, one day . . One day it will change. But how?
Today the society is, to some extent, schizophrenic. Two social systems exist simultaneously. Officially the society is communist, or as my friend A describes it, ‘state-run capitalism’. What I found was a system that was quite simply anti-American. Whatever the Bush admin-istration does is considered bad, therefore the Cuban government do it differently. The state controls everything and everyone is afraid of the police, though not of the policemen themselves. Nothing appeared clear and I met much confusion as to what is allowed and what isn’t. This confusion reaches a state of paranoia when the police stop and search vehicles or inspect houses (Casa Particular) randomly and frequently. Nobody knows who is listening or what is safe to say. On more than one occasion I was asked not to repeat what I was being told.
Television only adds to the level of confusion. Cuban state TV continuously broadcasts government messages saying how bad the North American government is. The news bulletins are blatantly biased against the USA. Yet in spite of the continuous anti-American propaganda the best films on TV are American! Die Hard I, II and III, or many Americanfeel-good-factor movies are shown, followed directly by a political discussion commenting on how bad American foreign policy is. One of the most popular TV series in Cuba is The X Files!
Probably nowhere is the dual society more apparent than in the monetary system. There are two types of currency in Cuba. The national money, that the Cubans earn and spend, which is called Pesos, monnai nacional, Pesetas, dinero . . . and most commonly Pesos Cubanas or PC, notably the same initials as Partidad Communista. These can be used by anyone, but most people prefer Pesos Convertibles.
Pesos Convertibles, CUC (Curuncia Universal de Cuba), Pesos, Pesos touristas, or dollars, as they are most commonly called, were introduced to replace the American dollar which is used in most Latin American countries as a more stable currency than their own.
Pesos Convertibles are for foreigners bringing money in from abroad and are intended to be used in all the tourist resorts, bars and restaurants for tourists, taxis, buses for tourists etc. In fact unless you can get away with being a Cuban, Cubans rarely accept Cuban Pesos and invariably charge tourists over the odds using CUC. In 2007 one pound sterling equalled 1.79 CUC and there were 24 Cuban Pesos to a CUC.
A Cuban wishing to buy anything using CUC, and in some bars you could only buy cigarettes in CUC, would first have to change their Cuban Pesos to CUC in the bank. The only other source of gaining CUC is directly from tourists. Therefore most people want to work in the tourist industry.
Of course because of the complexity of the official system and the fact that the government doesn’t provide all, as it claims to do, there is a huge black market. El Marcao Negro is probably the most popular system for trade and economy. Nearly everything runs on the black market as everybody is after that extra buck, but because most of the basics are provided for by the government; housing, basic foods, the infrastructure, refuse collection, street lights etc . . . it doesn’t take a lot to earn that bit extra. Being the black market of course there is no tax on the money they may earn. The greatest earner outside trade and barter is through dealing illegally with tourists. All Cubans do this, except of course, my friends who are all good upright citizens.
The sale of lobster is a good case for the black market economy. Every Casa Particular will offer lobster at some point. Though the people I stayed with wouldn’t dream of breaking the law.
Officially lobster has to be bought and sold by the governmental market. This means travelling to the official market and paying ten times the price it was bought for, when it is easier to ask a neighbour fisherman to sell (or give) you a lobster for a couple of pesos. The price of lobster in a restaurant, owned by the government, is around 17 CUC. A Casa Particular would offer you one for as little as 5 CUC.
In the CP where I stayed, good Cuban citizens as they are, they wouldn’t have thought of offering me lobster. Were I to mention eating such foods it would be unlikely that I ate it in the place I was staying. Equally I would not have wished to break the law by eating such clandestine foods and any mention of doing so probably refers to me eating in an officially recognised restaurant where the lobster was bought from a government source and not just fished directly from the sea.
Houses are bought and sold in a similar fashion, as I explain further on. Though not to tourists, well not directly anyway. There are many rumours of foreign investors and foreign residents securing properties in spite of the fact that no-one can own the houses they live in.
As confusing as all this may seem it appears quite clear to most Cubans, though some are more successful at exploiting the system than others. There is a new bourgeoisie growing in Cuba made up of those who are able to earn a disposable income from their contact with tourists. These people, mostly owners of Casa Particulars, can afford new clothes, holidays and building work to their houses, though they still aren’t allowed to own their houses. Economically there is, ironically, a three tier system in Cuba. Although Castro famously stated that no member of the Cuban government has a dollar in his bank, they do alright for themselves. Castro is reported to have 52 houses. The top government officials live in luxurious houses in the Miramar area of Havana, alongside foreign diplomats and officials. The only Cuban yachts I saw were for the use of government officials who also drive the biggest cars and eat a lot of lobster. Next on the social scale come the officials who work with foreigners, tourist workers, international lawyers etc. They make up the middle classes and are the only people with some disposable income, though this is limited. Anyone seen to make too much money will soon have it taken off them. At the bottom of the scale is the poor majority, mainly black or peasants (by peasants I mean country workers, farm workers, tractor drivers etc) who live in wooden buildings often with poor sanitary conditions and go around barefoot so as not to wear out their shoes.
Obviously this leads to prejudice and jealousy and the poor dislike the middle classes who in turn are suspicious of the Civil Servants. However all the time I was in Cuba I never heard a bad word against Castro, who seems to be admired by all. While the government got a lot of discreet criticism, Ché has reached a level of idolism bordering on sanctity. He is seen by most Cubans as somewhere between a pop icon and a demi-god.
DISCLAIMER
Because of the level of paranoia, the genuine fear of reprisals by the police for speaking against the government or behaving illegally, and because I don’t know the Cuban laws and it was often unclear to me whether my Cuban friends were breaking the law or not, I have to be very discreet when talking about the people I met there. To help keep their anonymity I will only use initials or nicknames I made up myself. I will also avoid all physical descriptions, which is a great shame because I would love to describe the people I met. The anonymity is because I am genuinely concerned that there may be misunderstanding and legal repercussions for my friends. I will also call my Cuban friend in England A. This is because he is going through the tricky process of becoming a British National and I wouldn’t like this to be prejudiced in any way. There are no photos to go with this book, mainly because I broke my waterproof camera and dropped it in the sea, it leaked and ruined all the film. But most of the pictures you can find on Google Earth. They are a lot better than the pictures I would have taken anyway. Just click on Trinidad and you will see the town, the beach at Ancon, la Boca and just about most places I talk about.
Voltaire once said: ‘I may not agree with what you say but I’m prepared to die to give you the right to say it’ (my own translation).
In spite of the strange and vastly complicated relationship between America and Cuba (a relationship which once nearly led to the entire destruction of the planet), and maybe it is because of the complexity of this relationship, Cuba is politically a fascinating place. The American naval base in Guantanamo is symbolic of the political stalemate between the two countries. I apologise beforehand for my very simplistic view of the situation. The Cuban anti-imperialistic revolution is essentially against America. As long as the Americans remain in Cuba the Cuban government has to continue its communist revolution, and as long as the communist revolution continues in Cuba the American government will perceive Cuba as a political and military threat and will therefore, remain in Cuba. I can’t see any way out for either side, as both the Cubans and the Americans are quick to label each other as terrorists. All I know is that my Cuban friends are very nice people as too are my American friends and I’m sure they would all get on very well if we were allowed to have a barbecue on the beach together.
Furthermore Cubans have had to do with so little mainly due to the trade embargo, and it would be nice to help them out a little, and we in the so called developed world have so much, too much really, I wonder where we put it most of the time.
Here is a list of ten things you can do, if you go to Cuba, to help beat the international trade embargo:
(1) Import useful things; umbrellas, puncture repair kits, tools of any description, cooler boxes, shoes, clothes, bed linen (no duvets or jumpers).
(2) Import fun things: marbles, balls, DVDs (be selective), chocolate.
(3) Import interesting things: books (be careful with anti-communist propaganda), magazines, encyclopaedias etc . . .
(4) Import necessary things: anything your local chemist sells, especially Nurofen, anti-diarrhoea treatments, condoms, tampons, sanitary towels etc.
(5) Spend your money freely once you get to Cuba.
(6) Drive to out of the way places and mix with the community. Introduce yourself by offering a few tools to a local farmer or craftsman. Give gifts to children. Teach them new games and sports.
(7) Don’t exploit the people: many investors are sitting waiting to buy up property ready for when the revolutionary government changes. Salivate over but don’t try to buy the old American cars (Cuba’s greatest asset).
(8) Encourage organic farming: it’s easier for Cubans to do this. Buy organic cotton clothes (very good quality and very cheap). Don’t bother bartering.
(9) Smoke more: Yes I know but it is one of their main exports!
(10) Drink more rum: This helps everyone and after a while you no longer care about the embargo. ‘Embargo, what embargo?’
There are many other groups supporting Cuba and many trying to bring down the present government. You can choose to join either of these or do nothing, like most people. Whether you are pro-Cuban, pro-American or just like holidays in the Caribbean I can certainly say it is refreshing to live in a country with so little American influence.
Tourism has to be Cuba’s greatest source of income today. The film Buena Vista Social Club was not only a film about some cool old men, who play groovy music, it also marked the opening of Cuba to the outside world. Still many people go today to Cuba for salsa. But most tourists go for other reasons, and Cuba has a long history of tourism that dates back a long time before the revolution. Tourism is mentioned in Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, and it would be too much to say that Columbus was the first trans-Atlantic tourist. Many tourists today still go with the attitude of the conquistador or the colonialist trying to get the most out of the natives, you can often see them bartering at artisanal markets or consuming the sights, clicking away with their digital cameras like Japanese tourists, out to get the best clichés. But the Cubans know this and will be extremely friendly and helpful in return for your money. One thing they’re not used to, and that is foreigners coming for long term stays.
There are many tourists from all over the world, except of course the USA. An American caught going to Cuba may be arrested once they return to the USA and fined up to 250,000 dollars as well as facing five years in prison. This puts off most North Americans, though I did hear rumours of Americans coming to Cuba via Mexico or Venezuela, but these are probably Canadians. There are a lot of Canadian tourists in Cuba. I did see a few photos of Jack Nicholson in Havana so somehow he’s found a way in and out, or maybe he just pays the fine! As far as I know the Cubans have no difficulties with Americans coming into the country as long as they are coming on holiday and not invading.
There are essentially three types of tourists who come to Cuba. Tourists come on package deals, mainly Canadians and Europeans, then there are travellers who are going around the world or travelling in Latin America, most of these are under 25, and then you can meet Eco/politico tourists who are there for the environment and because of the political make-up of the country. Strangely I didn’t meet any tourists who just came for Eco tourism or just for the culture; they all seemed interested in both.
The activities that these tourists can enjoy are quite distinct, and though most people come for one specific reason, they would often dabble with some other aspect of tourism, things the Cubans wouldn’t necessarily do or want to do.
The leisure industry was mainly established around the big foreign hotels (Ibirostar and Novotel) and included typical holiday activities such as swimming in pools, diving, sailing, horse riding, flying excursions etc . . . I only ever saw Germans in the big hotels unless they were anthropology students. Anthropology seems a good excuse to travel and as far as I can tell there are a lot of German anthropologists. Beach bumming seemed quite a popular activity among the younger (traveller) tourist, who would spend entire days lying on the beach or swimming in the sea. The more energetic ones would play volleyball. Dancing and music are big attractions for tourists who would regularly enrol for dance classes or bongo lessons, though this appears to be less popular than before. Many foreigners, mainly women, would come just for the dancing as they will always find a dance partner and invariably told me that Cuban men are the best dancers in the world. Various types of tourists come for the culture and nearly all were more interested in Ché and Fidel than the Modern Art Museum or the ballet.
There were also many foreign students who were interested in the political system. Eco-tourism is quite big and excursions to nature reserves seemed popular with all types of tourists, visits to see wild turtles, waterfalls or reefs were done by tourists from all walks of life. Although I heard that sex-tourism was quite big in Cuba I didn’t see much of this practised overtly as is the case in many Latin American countries. What I did witness, over and over again, were many beautiful (and they were nearly always good looking) and wealthy (I could tell from the designer beach wear) young women who came to Cuba quite simply to fuck the men. Often, and I observed this at least ten times in Trinidad and heard mention of it in Havana, they would meet up with a young Cuban, nearly always black – black Negro, not black mulatto – and spend a week or two with him, taking him to expensive hotels, hanging around with him and his black friends. What surprised me the most was that these young ladies apparently from well-to-do families would not be allowed to behave like that in their own countries. In fact a few foreign women told me they felt a lot freer in Cuba than they did in their own countries. Of the young women going to Cuba for the men, I noticed they were predominantly Irish or Scandinavian, though some were Canadian. The only time I saw anyone kissing openly in the streets were foreign women kissing Cuban men. The opposite did not happen. Cuban women are far more discreet about their relationships with tourists because they don’t wish to be branded as puttas. However they did have encounters with tourists that usually involved money being exchanged somewhere along the line, even if it didn’t have the guise of overt prostitution. Many Italian men were in Cuba quite simply to be with black women.
As far as package tourism is concerned, if you want to go to a smart hotel on a golden sandy beach I don’t see the point in travelling all the way to Cuba when there are just as pleasant beaches in Spain and on the Spanish islands.
Following various news reports, and according to Castro himself, Cuba has a developing ecological programme. They are installing wind generators and solar panels to generate electricity in the more secluded villages or areas it is difficult to get mains electricity to, however they are lacking the equipment to do so and rely on foreign imports.
There is at least one nuclear power station (built by the Russians) that I know of and this, as far as I know, is the main source of electricity on the island. There is no gas and little petrol because of the trade embargo, though outside of Havana there are few cars so they don’t have a high fuel consumption. I believe they have no coal reserves and what is left of the natural woodland is protected. Without help from outside, and this help seems to be coming from China, North Korea and a few Latin American countries, Cuba would have an energy crisis.
There is a programme for ecology in Cuba but this seems to be being undermined by the black market. Lobsters are protected by the law but if all 11 or 12 million Cubans decided to eat lobster brought from the black market there would be few left.
There is a programme of development for organic farming and urban farming. Apparently there is more urban farming in Cuba than in any other country in the world. However this was brought about by the embargo rather than by any particular political programme for environ-mentally friendly farming. Because there is so little transport food had to be produced in or near towns or cities.
One can find organoponicas on the outskirts of most towns. An organoponica is like an allotment where organic food is grown and sold directly. The ones I saw offered a variety of foods, a greater variety than you can usually buy in the streets, where most fruit and vegetables are sold. However I was told that this food was expensive for most people.
As with the majority of third world countries water and sanitation is a problem. Though the government is aware of this and is working towards having sanitised water for everyone this is still a long way from the case. I came across lots of cases of stomach illness when I was there and managed to have a stomach upset that lasted six weeks, every time I ate I had diarrhoea. Though everyone, including the doctors in England and France, thought at first I might have caught a giardia from drinking well-water, the tests showed nothing. It is probably more likely that I got gastro-enteritis from eating lobster, or it might have been the cat-fish or any other of the odd fish I ate out there.
There is very little industrialised food and most state-produced food is rationed. No-one is allowed to eat beef except children and old people, there is an egg ration and a bowlful of rice a day as well as bread and other basic foodstuffs.
Outside of Havana, urban composting is practised in most towns. The pig man comes by every other day to collect food waste. In fact very little is wasted in Cuba, bottles are re-used or saved for an emergency. Everything is repaired and kept going for years, many of the fridges date from before the revolution, as do the cars and lorries.
None of this environmentally friendly behaviour is due to any particular eco-political approach, it is quite simply due to the fact that Cubans have had to do without for so long that they are reluctant to throw anything away.
In fact if the whole world chose to live like Cuba the world would be a healthier, cleaner and safer place. Unfortunately even the Cubans don’t chose to live the way they do. Their way of life is forced on them by the political regime and the international trade embargo forced on them by the US who refuses to deal with anyone who deals with Cuba. Though this seems like classroom politics, I’m sure most seven year olds could come up with a solution. But all this may change when Castro stands down from power, or when he dies.
This book is dedicated to all my friends in Cuba.
CHÉ’S FAREWELL LETTER TO FIDEL
HAVANA
Year of Agriculture (1965)
Fidel:
I remember many things in this hour – how I met you in the house of Maria Antonia, and how you proposed that I come with you, and all the strain of the preparations.
One day they passed by to ask who would be advised in case of the death, and the real possibility of it struck us all. Later we knew that it was true, that in a revolution one triumphs or dies (if it be a true one). Many comrades were left along the road to victory.
Today everything has a less dramatic tone, for we are more mature, but the event is repeating itself.
I feel that I have fulfilled the part of my duty that bound me to the Cuban Revolution on its territory, and I take my farewell of you, my comrades and your people who are now my people.
I formally renounce my posts in the leadership of the Party, my post as Minister, my rank as Major, my status as a Cuban citizen. Nothing legally binds me to Cuba, only ties of another kind that cannot be broken, as can official appointments. Looking back over my past life, I believe that I have worked with sufficient faithfulness and dedication in order to consolidate the revolutionary triumph. My only deficiency of any importance is not to have trusted you more from those first moments in the Sierra Maestra and in not having fully understood soon enough your qualities of leader and revolutionary.
I have lived through magnificent days and at your side I felt the pride of belonging to our people in the luminous and sad days of the Caribbean Crisis. Rarely has any statesman shone more brilliantly than you did in those days. I feel pride, too, in having followed you without hesitation, identifying myself with your way of thinking and seeing and of judging dangers and motives.
Other regions of the world claim the support of my modest efforts. I can do what is forbidden to you because of your responsibility to Cuba, and the time has come for us to separate.
Let it be known that I do it with a mixture of joy and sorrow: I am leaving here the purest of my hopes as a builder and the most loved among my beloved creatures, and I leave a people who accepted me as a son; this rends a part of my spirit. On new battlefields I will carry with me the faith that you inculcated in me, the revolutionary spirit of my people, the feeling of having fulfilled the most sacred of duties: to fight against imperialism wherever it may be; this comforts and heals any wound to a great extent.
I say once more that I free Cuba of any responsibility save that which stems from its example: that if the final hour comes upon me under other skies, my last thought will be for this people and especially for you, that I am thankful to you for your teaching and your example, and that I will try to be faithful up to the final consequences of my acts; that I have at all times been identified with the foreign policy of our Revolution, and I continue to be so; that wherever I may end up I will feel the responsibility of being a Cuban revolutionary, and I will act as one; that I leave nothing material to my children and my wife, and this does not grieve me: I am glad that it be so; that I ask nothing for them, since the State will give them sufficient to live and will educate them.
I would have many things to say to you and to our people, but I feel that they are unnecessary; words cannot express what I would want them to, and it isn’t worthwhile wasting more sheets of paper with my scribbling.
To victory forever. Patria o Muerte!
I embrace you with all my revolutionary fervour!
Day 1
Arrived on Sunday, Fiesta de Las Madres. The Cubans know how to do Mother’s Day: salsa blasting from every rooftop, dancing in the streets. Thumping raga and salsa blasted from most apartments, people were dancing in the streets and balconies looked as though they would collapse under the weight of dancing families. Everywhere there was movement, all to the rhythm of the music. Cool cars, Cadillacs and old 1950s American cars (though not too many) cruised slowly along the coastal road and wound their way through the barrios, the same music blasting out of tired speakers. There are as many Ladas and other Russian made vehicles bumping their way around the streets of Havana.
Wandering round Havana at night I was caught up immediately by the exoticism of the place, the warm humidity of this coastal city, the unkempt nature of the whole city that seemed to be falling into rack and ruin. Old tenement buildings like those you find in central Paris were falling into decay. Some had already been replaced by shiny new tower blocks overlooking the sea front. The sea itself slapped gently against the Malecon, the main coastal road that you see on any picture of Havana, that leads up to the old fortress that dominates the main estuary, leading into the city from the sea. How many wars this fort must have seen, how many invasions had taken place I did not know but the solid edifice looked worn by time and history.