A Journey into Cuba’s Revolutionary History and its Capital City of Havana

Cuba is known for their revolutionary spirit against foreign powers. They are well-recognized around the world for their opposition to the U.S. hyper-capitalist system, and were a significant ingredient fueling the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the U.S. 

The Spanish-speaking island is in the Caribbean region south of the U.S. state of Florida. It is no small island, taking up to 14 hours to drive from east to west. There are 2 currencies in Cuba, the CUC and the CUP. The CUP is used by the locals, while the CUC is used by foreigners. 1 CUC is equivalent to 1 USD, and 1 CUP is 1/25 of 1 USD. Make sure that when you receive change, you are given CUC’s and not CUP’s.

There is also limited internet on the island, so you will need to purchase an ETECSA card. One hour of internet will cost you 1 CUC, and you will either need to be near an ETECSA centre to access the wifi, or in a building where they provide ETECSA service.

Before hearing about our experience in Havana, it is important to know the history of Cuba. Your experience of the food in Cuba, for example, is very much informed by the political turmoils of the country during the 20th century. When travelling to Cuba, you will feel as though you’ve been transported back in time (where horse and buggies are still used), pre-internet and pre-modernized cars, all due to a trade embargo.

Cuban History

The country was claimed by the controversial and infamous Christopher Columbus from the indigenous Ciboney and Guanahatabey peoples who occupied the area during the 15th century. During the 18th century African slaves were brought to the Americas, including Cuba. African slaves were used to labour over the sugar plantations, and in 1860, Cuba produced nearly one-third of the world’s sugar. Slavery in Cuba finally ended in 1886, years after it was legally abolished.

Jose Martí is a name and face you will see everywhere you go in Cuba. The poet and political leader was integral to Cuba’s break from Spanish colonialists. Eventually, the country was won over from Spain by the U.S. and Cuban forces during the Spanish-American War, a conflict which forced Spanish colonists to end their rule over the Americas. 

Yet, after the Spanish-American war, Americans began occupying the country, bringing in their own economic and political interests, and intentionally excluding Afro-Cubans from the government. In 1901 Americans were able to set up a naval station in Guantánamo Bay, on the eastern shore of the Cuban island.

Leaders leading up to the revolutionary take over by Fidel Castro harboured either American interests or were corrupt. As American industries dominated in the region and made a certain number of Cubans rich, the majority of the people were impoverished, facing underemployment.

Fidel Castro’s Revolution and Shift to Socialism

Fidel Castro was a political leader who transformed Cuba into a Communist state. Fulgencio Batista, a military dictator supported by the U.S. between 1952-1959, was overthrown by Castro and his fellow rebels, including Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara. Disintegrating the capitalist system in Cuba, Castro collectivized agricultural production, and  nationalized millions of U.S. dollars worth of properties and businesses. Due to this, the U.S. placed an embargo on the country and had attempted many times to assassinate Castro. For support, Castro aligned with the Soviet Union and declared himself a Communist.

The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 is a famous historical event where the Soviet Union set up missile bases in Cuba pointed towards the U.S. The United States then threatened the Soviets to remove the missiles by pointing their own at the country. This atomic showdown was an intense and frightening worry for people all over the world. During Castro’s reign, many Cubans were divided between nationalism and worry of Soviet dependence. Lots of Cubans fled to Florida and other countries when Castro had momentarily allowed Cubans to leave the country.

After the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, they eased back their support of Cuba economically and militarily, and Castro began rationing food. This is one of the reasons you will find few options on their restaurant/cafe menus. Most dishes will simply include white rice or dark rice cooked with black beans and pig grease, chicken or pork, veggies such as cucumber, tomatoes, and lettuce, and basic sandwiches made of ham and cheese. 

Eventually small private businesses were legalized along with private employment. Once Castro stepped down and his brother Raúl Castro Ruz stepped in in 2008, equal pay was eliminated, and Cubans were allowed to own cell phones and personal computers. American-Cuban relations thawed under Obama’s presidency, and travel to and from Cuba became less restrictive. The state was becoming less Socialist, and in 2016 Castro passed away at the age of 90.

Some of those travel restrictions have been reinstigated by Donald Trump’s presidency. The current Cuban president is Miguel Díaz-Canel, the first non-Castro leader since the revolution.

Nowadays, most businesses are still state-owned, and all Cuban citizens are covered by a national health care plan, as well as receive free education except at the higher levels.

Che Guevara

Ernesto Rafael Guevara de la Serna, or famously known as “Che Guevara”, is a celebrated revolutionary not just in Cuba but in many parts of the world. His image has been copied, printed, re-printed, re-created, and ironically commercialized, standing as a figure of counter-culture, especially against capitalism. 

Guevara left his medical school studies in Argentina to travel around Latin America during the early 50’s. While on his travels he witnessed the poverty inflicted on the general public due to greed. His time in Guatemala solidified his Marxist views, especially after witnessing the American CIA overthrow of the country’s Arbenz regime. Guevara then joined Castro’s fight in Cuba after meeting him in Mexico.

Guevara was not a perfect saint, it is rare to see such a leader, having executed or ordered executions of deserters and traitors of the Cuban revolution. Yet, his ideals were exemplary, believing in a new type of citizen who would work for society and not for personal gain.

Guevara eventually became disillusioned by Cuba’s revolution, opposed to the Soviet dependence. He decided to spread the call of revolution elsewhere in other countries. In 1967 he was captured in Bolivia during combat and killed by a special Bolivian army assisted by the CIA.

Havana

Havana is Cuba’s capital city on the northern coast of the island, and a major tourist destination hub, especially in the last few decades. Before the U.S. embargo, Havana saw many wealthy tourists, including celebrities travelling here for the brazen nightlife and warm weather. 

Old Havana in the east is characterized by cobble-stoned streets, and tall, high-ceilinged, colourful, historic colonial buildings, many of which have been turned into hostels or casas particulares. These are basically like hostels except you stay in a local’s colonial-style home. The rooms will usually have their own bathroom, and breakfast is served for about 3-6 CUC in the morning.

On our first morning in Havana as we sat down for breakfast, a Portuguese-speaking family stayed in the casa with us. They offered us a shot from a bottle of Havana Rum which they were sharing between them in their morning coffee. We added it to our pineapple juice, excited to explore the city after such a welcoming gesture.

Like any downtown area of a major city, in Old Havana you will see poverty and decaying buildings. During Castro’s rule he redirected funds to rural Havana in order to develop the area, which led the old part of town to deteriorate.

If you venture out to the newer parts of the city west of Old Havana, many of its citizens are living comfortably in well-maintained neighborhoods, such as Vedado. Many government officials actually live in the large homes you see in newer Havana. In 1982 Old Havana was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Plaza de la Revolución

The revolution square where Castro held meetings and speeches during the revolution is massive at 72,000 square metres. Beautifully structured giant faces of Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos decorate the tall buildings in the Plaza de la Revolución in New Havana. The building with Guevara’s face reads Hasta la Victoria Siempre, and Camilo’s reads, Vas Bien Fidel.

Museo de la Revolución

To learn about the history of the Cuban revolution, a museum with historical tanks, trucks, planes, and cars, Museo de la Revolución provides excellent details. Here you can learn about Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos, another famous revolutionary alongside Castro, and the battles the country faced against the U.S.

Fusterlandia

Fusterlandia is a neighborhood in Jaimanita, Havana which is painted in folk art and mosaics, all done by artist José Fuster. The artwork uses simple yet vibrant colours. The art is distinctive by its oddly-shaped figures, and an arrestingly innocent vision of a child-like world.

Fuster wanted his art to come alive in his reality and therefore re-created his imagination onto his physical homeland. Fuster revitalized the poor neighborhood into a lively artists’ district and a major destination for tourists.

John Lennon Park

At a park in the neighborhood of Vedado, Castro has commemorated John Lennon from the Beatles with a statue of him relaxing on a bench. During the 1960s and 1970s the Beatles were banned from Cuba due to its distracting American influence on the population while a revolution was taking place in the country.

Since then, Castro completely changed his opinion and honored him in the early 2000s with a statue. Castro has said that the reasoning behind the change was their shared identities as dreamers, and finds Lennon to be a kindred spirit because of his rebellious attitudes towards the U.S.

Chinatown

Havana has their own Chinatown, and although we did not try the food there, we took some pictures of the one-block area. Cuba had the largest Chinese community in Latin America during the mid-19th century. Many Cantonese-speaking Chinese were brought to work on the sugarcane fields as indentured or contracted workers.

Nightlife in Havana

Although the nightlife is no longer what it used to be pre-embargo, there are plenty of bars and clubs to visit for a memorable night, especially with a bottle of Havana rum.

We visited the El Floridita Bar, creators of the Daiquiri cocktail, and a well-known hangout spot for Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), journalist and novelist of simplicity and emotion. It is a busy bar with  people filing in and out, and Cuban musicians serenading the crowd with their upbeat dance-stepping music.

Our favourite bar to visit though was El del Frente, which we randomly found near our casa particular. The door opens to a set of stairs which leads you to the bar upstairs, and a terrace above that. A red and blue neon sign on the terrace reads, People like you need to eat with People like us.

Their cocktails are creative, funky and absolutely delicious, such as their Makerena and Reigning Geisha. We had some of their appetizers including their empanadillas (mini-empanadas), which were pretty tasty.

Restaurants

Many of the local restaurants which offer authentic Cuban dishes are similar in their menus. They serve two kinds of rice, meat, and certain veggies, or simple sandwiches. Once you’ve had the local dishes, the lack of variety can be tiresome.

We managed to find a couple of private restaurants which offered something more. In addition to the earlier bar/cafe we mentioned, El del Frente, we also found El Cafe, and Chanchullero. Both of these restaurants provide more variety in their menu, along with Cuban dishes and ingredients, and exhibit a young bohemian aesthetic to their decor.

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If you want authentic Cuban cigars, it is best to purchase them directly from the local farmers in Viñales. However, if you are unable to head over to the western town, then visit the liquor and cigar store next to El Floridita. Here we bought small hand-made Cohiba cigars as souvenirs, costing us 6.95 CUC each.

Stay tuned for our posts on other travels around Cuba, including Cienfuegos, Trinidad, and more.

Cuban historical research from Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Copyright © Beyond Here 2020.

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