By Nancy San Martin. nsanmartin@herald.com\. Published
Sunday, May 27, 2001 in the Miami Herald
HAVANA -- A state-of-the-art airport with daily flights from Canada and from
Germany, Spain and other European nations. Newly installed ATMs in colonial
buildings. A cybercafe in the Capitolio.
More than 40 years after the Cuban Revolution, Havana finally appears to be
coming of age as the vivid reminders of a nation that had been stuck in a
decades-old time warp begin to fade away.
Classic American automobiles that served as pre-Castro stamps now share the
road with shiny Hyundais, Daewoos and Mercedes-Benzes.
Crumbling structures built during the colonial period that had been serving
as crowded tenements known as solares have been converted into quaint
restaurants and hostels with room prices ranging from $45 to $175 per night.
And construction projects along the Malecón and in Miramar are going
up in the architectural style of the glass buildings along Brickell Avenue.
The transformation that began in earnest within the last two years is
turning this capital into the heart of a more modern Cuba.
Although Cuba's standard of living still has not recovered completely from
the collapse of the economy caused by the withdrawal of Soviet aid in 1990, a
tourism boom is helping to improve the economic picture, at least for those who
live in Havana.
"Tourism has provided the only steady source of income,'' said Ana
Lopez, director of the 5-year-old Cuban Studies Institute at Tulane University
in New Orleans. "They have to hold on to it to survive. It's a short-term
salvavida.''
To drive home the point, the Cuban government has repeatedly announced to
its population that the worst of the "período especial'' (the "special
period'' of hardship) is over. The message is plastered on billboards across the
island.
"Revolución es Construir'' (Revolution means Construction), one
says.
Another, with a picture of modern-day Cubans in hard hats and their fists
raised, states: "Hombres de Nuestros Tiempos'' (Men of Our Time).
"The entire Cuban economy as it stands today is a miracle,'' Lopez
said. "They were able to survive without completely destroying the basis of
what had made the country special. Their ability to resolver (literally, resolve
-- to fix) boggles the mind.''
The growth, inb large part, is due to the emerging tourism trade, Cuban
officials and U.S. scholars say.
"Tourism registered a strong performance throughout the decade and is
no doubt the star of the 'special period,' '' according to an analysis written
by St. Thomas University economist María Dolores Espino.
At a tourism convention in Havana earlier this month, Cuban officials
reported an industry growth of 12 percent with a record two million visitors
expected by the end of the year.
Obviously cognizant of the importance of impressing visitors, Cuba is
flaunting a refreshed paradise image.
The Calle del Obispo, one of the main streets in Old Havana, is dotted with
outdoor cafes.
Vendors selling crafts and head-to-toe trinkets clog stretches of formerly
open areas.
Musicians in colorful garb, carrying a variety of instruments, hobble on
stilts across cobbled streets, wooing bystanders to follow along like children
behind a Pied Piper.
HISTORIC, MODERN BLEND
City's ancient facades joined by modern icons
Nearby, groomed horses wait patiently to pull visitors around in ornate
carriages. Cubans with dreadlocks huddle around cassette players to listen to
reggae tunes by Cuban bands.
Meandering through the crowded roads are train trolleys and motorbikes
affixed with bright yellow fiberglass shells that go by the name Coco-Taxi.
Tourists disembarking from cruise ships at the renovated port of Havana need
only cross the street to the Plaza de San Francisco for a surreal blend of
historical facades and a window display at United Colors of Benetton showcasing
the "spring/summer collection.''
The more modern Cuba has been uplifting for some, depressing for others.
While visitors dine out in the converted solares on the outer rim of Old
Havana, the lives of tenants at the solares in the interior hang loosely, like
the laundry on clotheslines off decrepit balconies. There is a lingering sense
that it is only a matter of time before they, too, are moved out of their homes
and away from their lifelong neighborhoods.
The hustle and bustle in parts of the old district is on hold, as Eusebio
Leal, the government's official historian and director of restoration, moves
people out to restore the ancient structures to their former glory.
"It's good they're fixing this up, but for the people who have to move
away it's hard,'' Alberto Guerra said. "Their jobs, everything they need,
is here.''
Lives have improved, if only a little, primarily for those in Havana.
Couples dress up and take casual Sunday strolls. Teenagers chatter between
mouthfuls of ice cream and pizza. Children run across the Plaza de San Francisco
chasing the dozens of pigeons whose presence has provoked cynical commentary.
"Even the pigeons have been imported for the tourists,'' Cubans say.
In Havana, the Cuban government has succeeded in cleaning up its streets --
physically and socially. Prostitution still exists, but it is more discreet.
The solicitations now come with the wink of an eye, a request to borrow a
light for a cigarette.
The throngs of hustlers that used to overwhelm visitors with propositions of
cheap cigars and romantic adventures have been swept aside by a special police
brigade set up to make tourists feel safe. The hustlers are shooed away by men
in blue uniforms who stand on every corner of the most frequented neighborhoods
-- Old Havana, Vedado and Miramar.
NOT ALL LIVES IMPROVING
Some enjoy gains in Havana, but poverty rules elsewhere
While the transition has been beneficial for some of Havana's two million
residents, opportunities for the remaining nine million Cubans outside the
capital remain as thin as the new coats of paint.
That is especially true in Guantánamo province and other parts of
eastern Cuba, which have been hit hard by drought. Prostitution in Santiago de
Cuba, the country's second-largest city, is blatant, according to numerous
recent visitors to the region.
The continued hardship across Cuba is partly due to a double economy created
by hard currency from both tourism and remittances -- perhaps the second most
important component of the Cuban economy. An estimated $800 million from Cubans
in the United States makes its way across the island annually.
According to estimates of both Cuban and U.S. scholars, more than one-third
of Cubans have access to U.S. currency, which Cubans have been allowed to
possess since 1993. The dollars have become so common that Cubans are no longer
turned away from restaurants once reserved just for tourists. And supermarkets
built mostly for foreigners now are filled with Cuban consumers.
But such perks are out of reach for those with little access to U.S.
currency.
"A lot of possibilities exist for tourists but not for Cubans,''
complained a taxi driver. "Things are a little better, but they still have
a long way to go. But don't get me wrong, we are grateful for the little that we
have.''
Most Cubans earn just under 250 pesos a month. That amounts to approximately
$12 at government exchange rates now of about 20 pesos to $1.
Although food rations provide Cubans with about one-third of their monthly
nutrition, and costs for housing, utilities, education, healthcare and public
transportation are minimal, Cubans still struggle to make ends meet.
Clothing and other basic necessities, such as soap, remain a luxury. The
dollar-driven economy also has driven up the cost of food and household items.
As a result, many have resorted to stealing and panhandling.
Restaurant workers slip tips into their pockets when they think nobody is
watching. Taxi meters are rigged so drivers can keep more.
Even the elderly, once a protected segment of the community, have turned to
begging.
"Can you help a grandmother?'' an elderly woman hawking issues of
Granma, the official government newspaper, whispered to visitors in Havana. "I
can't live off my pension.''
Fritz Auer, a second-time visitor from Austria, said the island has a
magnetic appeal, despite its shortcomings. "I like Cuba. I don't know why.
Maybe it's the music, the glamour,'' Auer said. "There is something about
it.''
But when he arrived in Varadero, the popular beach town about 90 miles east
of Havana, he was disappointed to find that tourists outnumbered residents.
Auer's enthusiasm was further spoiled by the sound of American music blaring
from loudspeakers, the rented scooters zipping through Varadero's main street,
the faces belonging to Europeans, Asians and Central Americans.
"This is not Cuba,'' Auer initially complained.
But after a few hours in the sun and surf, he tapped his fingers to the tune
of a bolero, lit a cigar and downed a shot of Cuban coffee.
"Aaah,'' he said. "This is Cuba.''
Copyright 2001 Miami Herald
The Navy has used its range on Vieques, home to 9,400 people, for six
decades and says it is vital for national security. Critics say U.S. maneuvers
on the island pose a health threat, which the Navy denies.
Participants in the government-organized rally cheered speakers and waved
tiny Cuban flags outside the U.S. Interests Section - the American mission in
Cuba.
"The struggle over Vieques has become decisive in the liberty of Puerto
Rico,'' Fernando Martin, a leader of the Puerto Rican Independence Party, told
protesters.
For more than a year, the Cuban government has organized a weekly Saturday
rally, usually to protest U.S. policies toward Havana. This was the first time
the rally was dedicated to lending support to a cause in another country.
Opposition to Navy exercises on Vieques grew after a civilian guard was
killed on the range in 1999 by two off-target bombs. The Navy has since stopped
using live ammunition. Islanders will vote in November on whether the Navy must
leave in 2003 or can stay, resuming the use of live ammunition.
Venezuelans Protest 'Cubanization'
By Christopher Toothaker, Associated Press Writer. Yahoo!
May 28, 2001
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Demonstrators protested what they call the "Cubanization''
of Venezuela on Saturday outside the Cuban Embassy, only to be chased away by
hundreds of supporters of President Hugo Chavez.
Waving banners reading "Fidel Is An Assassin'' and "Democracy, Not
Dictatorship,'' dozens of protesters belonging to a group called Civil
Resistance warned that Chavez is leading Venezuela down a path to communism.
Since taking office in February 1999, Chavez has forged strong ties with
rogue states such as Cuba, Iraq, and Libya as part of his strategy to create a "multi-polar''
world against U.S. domination. Last year, Chavez rolled out the red carpet for
Castro during a five-day visit.
Members of Civil Resistance claim that Cubans who have been arriving in
Venezuela recently under an oil-for-services trade pact are secretly spreading
Castro's communist ideology.
"I still have family in Cuba - they have been completely brainwashed,''
said Ida Aguilar, a Cuban immigrant who fled the communist island 36 years ago.
"I'm afraid the same thing is happening here in Venezuela.''
The protest came a day after the Cuban ambassador to Venezuela, German
Sanchez Otero, denounced what he called a campaign to spread anti-Cuban "xenophobia''
in Venezuela.
Sanchez charged that Miami-based anti-Castro groups are funding a campaign
to spread the idea that Chavez is trying impose a political order modeled on
Castro's communist regime.
In a Friday interview with Caracas daily El Universal, Sanchez denied that
Chavez is trying to import his country's revolutionary ideas.
Responding to a call by Chavez' ruling party, hundreds of the former
paratroopers gathered outside the embassy to support Cuba's growing presence in
the South American nation.
Wearing T-shirts bearing the image of Cuban revolutionary hero Che Guevara,
several pro-Cuba demonstrators burned a United States flag. Accompanied by a
group of drummers, others chanted "Long Live the Revolution!'' and "End
the Embargo Now!''
Intimidated by the growing crowd of Chavez supporters and fearing violence,
members of Civil Resistance quickly left the scene.
An energy pact signed last year allows Cuba to pay for some of its
Venezuelan oil imports with goods and services. The communist island has sent
178 doctors and 323 sports trainers to Venezuela under the pact, and Chavez has
sent more than 500 Venezuelans to Cuba for free medical treatment.
Cuban Photographer Korda Dies at 72
HAVANA, 25 (AP) - Alberto Korda, the photographer whose images helped make
Ernesto "Che'' Guevara a guerrilla symbol, died in Paris on Friday of a
heart attack, according to relatives here. He was 72.
Korda, whose real last names were Diaz Gutierrez, worked with the newspaper
Revolucion immediately after Fidel Castro (news - web sites)'s guerrillas
toppled Fulgencio Batista in 1959. He was later a personal photographer for
Castro.
He took a photo of Guevara in Havana in 1960 that became famous. It showed
the rebel leader gazing intently into the distance beneath curly hair and a
tilted beret. After Guevara's death in Bolivia in 1967, the photograph was used
on posters and T-shirts around the world.
Korda took the photograph at a memorial service for more than 100 crew
members of a Belgian arms cargo ship who were killed in an attack that Cuba
blamed on U.S.-backed counterrevolutionary forces.
It was little noticed until several years later, when he gave a copy to an
Italian publisher who turned it into a poster.
Korda said he had never made any money from the Guevara photograph, though
it and others of the early revolutionary period in Cuba made him famous.
He was in Paris attending an exhibition of his works when he died.
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