Your Man in Havana — The Real Thing
Dear Friend,
For a taste of how real Cubans live, I just finished The Cubans: Ordinary Lives in Extraordinary Times, an excellent decades-long survey of everyday life here. The author observed that Cubans have an incredible ability to believe that, even in the worst situations, nothing bad will ever happen to them. I was surprised that parents let their children walk atop a fifteen-foot high sea wall, and a Cuban buddy told me a story. When he was ten, his gang of friends found a bullet, and (of course) they threw rocks at it to see if it would fire. Of course, nothing happened until they all came closer, when the bullet discharged and hit my friend in the ankle. A month later, he finally went to the doctor because the sore was still festering, and they removed the bullet. Today he walks fine — except the click in his right foot. After all, what’s the worst that could have happened?!
I’ve also read Our Man in Havana, set in the 1950s Havana on the same streets I included in my running tour, and The Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway’s reckoning with mortality and toxic masculinity. Next on my list: Cuba: An American History.
Cuba takes pride in its national health program, and it’s about to put its efforts to the test. (There are real concerns about how Cuba treats its medical professionals). Cuba’s medical machismo led it to develop its own COVID-19 vaccines! After 18 months of lockdown, enough people have taken their three doses of the home-grown vaccines that Cuba has opened facilities around the country, if somewhat randomly and without much notice. (Masks will likely be the last thing to go.) First, outdoor dining. Stores are open longer, and Cubans can now travel throughout the island without health restrictions. Then beaches, then, at long last, people returned to the Malecon sea wall in Havana to hang out and a few weeks ago turned out for a giant block party (see pic)! The government is now set to open its borders to the world today! — November 15 — in time to get back to normal and to salvage its tourism season.
Normal in Cuba is not necessarily a good thing. Also today,, opposition groups plan to demonstrate around the country — something that is not done here, what with the totalitarian Communist dictatorship. Let’s look for the best for Cuba’s people and respect for their human rights and freedom of expression.
Normal is relative in international travel, and one of the adventures of living abroad is experiencing the day-to-day errands through the lens of another culture. Driving in every country, for example, has its own rules. I bought a very used car here, and I’ve discovered that the right lane is for suckers. That’s where people walk and stand, bicycles jostle with beasts of burden, buses and taxis swerve to discharge passengers.
I went to a bank and waited in line. (This is actually a big deal: in many countries, diplomats can do many pretentious things, like park on sidewalks and stride to the front of lines in airports and banks.) I huddled outside the lobby door, with other customers, plotting how we would get into the bank, then rushed with them to form a line when the man admitted us. Once inside, we sat in comfy chairs, and waited some more. I bypassed the “Diplomatic Line.” The “regular” clerk who checked my ID was genuinely surprised that the Consul General himself was in her line! In all, about 20 minutes — not forever, but lines just look so long!
I’d gone to the bank to load money onto my MLC card, the electronic debit card used at the larger grocery stores. After my visit to the diplomatic store, I was ready to see how the other half got their groceries at “regular” markets. I headed to the Commercial Center … and tried to wait in line. I couldn’t figure out whether the cars were in line, or the people standing on the sidewalk were in line, so I fell back on one of life’s lessons: Act Like You’re Supposed to Do That. I drove to the gate, waved knowingly to the attendant, and continued into the lot like I was supposed to do that. I joined another line at the grocery store, and waited at the entrance, while the doorkeeper chatted amiably and let people in through the exit. After a few minutes, I smiled at her, said Hola, and walked into the store like I was supposed to do that. (Lest you think I’m getting high and mighty, a customer later asked me for a price check.)
My biggest find in the Centro was Coca-Cola — which has not brought a spark to life (the Spanish translation of The Real Thing) to Cuba in over 60 years. When the revolution nationalized foreign businesses in the 60s, this included the Coke bottling plant. Property was abrogated, feelings were hurt, and Coca-Cola was not welcome in Cuba. The revolutionaries tried to develop their own versions, but TuKola and Fiesta Cola just don’t measure up; Supposedly, Che Guevara said they tasted like s&it. Today, Coca-Cola is a real find, and I snatched a case in hopes of enjoying a Cuba libre [a free Cuba!] today.
This was not my first encounter with Coke. The Embassy gang was collecting takeout orders for a hangout at the ambassador’s house. I texted my order for pollo criollo, a grilled chicken dish, and added 3 colas, so I’d have some to take home. (I deliberately didn’t say “Coke.” I didn’t want to rub salt in any revolutionary soft drink wounds, and I wasn’t picky whether it was Coke, Pepsi, TuKola — just brown and fizzy.) When I saw the check, I realized I should have asked for the real thing. The restaurant interpreted cola as cola langosta — lobster tail, their priciest entre! We all had a good laugh, the ambassador’s guards had the best leftovers ever, and for only US$60 I had an amusing anecdote about the collision of culture, cuisine, language, and history.
Thanks to CR & KRA, who mailed me letters after my first dispatch. I visited the Cuban post office for the first time today and the clerk gave me no confidence at all that Correos de Cuba could ever get mail from Cuba to the US or Europe. What the postman can’t deliver, Twitter can: @SteveInCuba. I remain,
Your Man in Havana.
PS — Thank you, DB, for challenging me to share what Cuba has, not what it lacks!
DISCLAIMER: My views and opinions in this post are mine and mine alone and do not in any way represent or reflect the official policy or position of my employer, my family, or anyone other than me.