Tracy recounts her visit to Cuba, and what we’ve been missing for half a century. First of two parts.

© Tracy Gross photo

By TRACY GROSS

HAVANA, Cuba — This city is like a cross between Washington, DC and New York City. The capitol building is identical in design to the U.S. Capitol building, complete with capstone dome and steps. The steps are a popular backdrop for street photographers selling daguerreotypes with their box cameras. The surrounding state buildings are flanked with statues of Cuban historical and revolutionary figures.

Like New York City, Havana is divided into various neighborhood districts, each with a distinct flavor and cultural flair.

Havana Vieja, Old Havana, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And a large effort has been made to preserve the city architecture and historical landmarks.

Much of the city is walkable. Coco taxis dart about the main attractions, as well as bicycle taxis and horse drawn carriages.

Bright pink buses pulled by tractor-trailer are a cheap and colorful way to see the city, and a good way to meet people. Locals call it the “Camel” or on weekends the “Saturday Night Movie” for its haven of people watching.

A good point of reference is the Malecon, the seawall is the outermost border of Havana — equal parts jogging route and lovers lane. It’s actually a seven-kilometer long street named Avenida de Maceo — but just say “el Malecon” and you can’t get lost.

MOBSTERS AND MOVIE STARS
The Malecon bears a famous billboard that reads, “¡señores imperialistas no les tenemos absolutamente ningun miedo! — Dear Imperialists, we have absolutely no fear of you!.” Urban legend has it that it is positioned at exactly the longitude and latitude to be seen from Miami and the Florida Keys.

Many of the hotels and tourist attractions for Havana are located along the Malecon in a neighborhood called Vedado. Here you will find the hotels Nacional, Presidente, Havana Libre and Rivera. Each of these was a 1950′s playground for mobsters and movie stars. It was in these hotels, with their gambling dens and music palaces, that Cuba earned the reputation as “ a beautiful place where ugly things can happen.”

Built in the 1920s, they are continental in style and government-run, with modernization limited to key cards and cable television. Cable TV is generally a tourist privilege, as is Internet access. As tips, visitors leave hard-to-obtain goods such as toiletries, batteries or clothing in their room, but discretion is advised. Hotel managers are supposed to collect any gratuities as state property.

Gambling is now illegal in these hotels, but music and dance reign supreme. The Buena Vista Social Club performs three times a week at the Hotel Nacional.

What’s it like to be black in Cuba?

Performances of the National Ballet of Cuba are as easily accessible, as are hip-hop revues, rhumba/salsa/son lessons and and Santeria reenactments. Afro-Cuban culture is also taken very seriously. Musicians, dancers, actors and folkloric ensembles receive subsidies from the Ministry of Tourism to perform.

CULTURE AND CLUBS
Havana boasts more than 30 museums, including two Museo de Ciudad Havana, the Museo de Havana Club Ron (Rum Museum ), Museo de Tabaco ( Tobacco Museum ), Casa de Africa ( which houses the foremost displays of Afro-Cuban culture expert Fernando Ortiz) and the Museo de Revolucion, a must-see.

Downtown Havana is the focus of the city’s club and bar scene. Many of the restaurants there could be considered living museums. El Floridita, the classic Hemingway haunt, is the oldest bar in the city, built in 1817. Next door is the slightly younger La Zaragozana, Restaurante, open since 1830. Each are a good air-conditioned refuge.

The eastern suburb of Alamar has a thriving rap scene. Cuba’s most internationally known rappers, the Orishas, are all from this neighborhood. And it hosts the Festival de rap de Alamar each summer. To the west in the Harbour neighborhood, the open-air Feria de la Artesiana sells handicrafts handicrafts from Wednesday to Saturday. And like most metropolitan cites around the world, Havana has a Chinatown.

A more engaging alternative to a hotel is a casa particular. Not a quite bed and breakfast, these are private homes with rooms to rent. Many also serve as paladares ( Palates ) which means that the homeowner is allowed to serve meals for up to twelve people in their home. These homes and their owners are tightly regulated by the Ministry of Housing. They’re a great way to meet the locals — as well as seeing first-hand the ups and downs of daily Cuban life.

Another fixture in every neighborhood is the CDR, the Committee For The Defense Of The Revolution. Their duties range from organizing local medical care and policing trash removal to policing civil unrest.

REVOLUTIONARY GREETERS
The more enterprising chapters ally themselves with Havanatur, the official government tour operator, and organize welcoming parties and pageants for tourists. Here you will find the party line on life in Cuba, complete with children reciting historical quotes and orations against imperialists. But many times, these presentations are just that an excuse for a great block party.

The atmosphere at these occasions can be very much like a Southern Black family reunion. Cubans love to show off their progeny, cooking and ability to have a good time. Cuban children, like most around the world, love to have their pictures taken. So be prepared to take names and addresses for requests of copies of photos you take — and to keep in touch with your new long-lost family.

Sadly, the time came all to soon to turn in my “barrio pass” and leave. My exodus from Cuba resembled the fall of Saigon. Mandated to be out of the country by midnight New Year’s Eve, I was only able to leave Cuba by pushing my American passport in front of me like a shield. My brown face melted into the crowd of last-flight-outers. I watched Santeria practitioners baptize a 10-year-old boy with rum and fire outside the airport terminal.

I was carrying a Cuban tres guitar, two bottles of rum, a box of cigars and all the Che Guevara memorabilia legally allowed. But the greatest thing I left Cuba with was a respect and admiration for the Cuban people, their tenacity, cultural pride and ingenuity.

1958 Buick, still running in Cuba...just not right now | © Tracy Gross

Text and photos by T. Gross. All rights reserved.

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