The spirit, diversity of Cuba

Photo: Andrea De Silva

Shrouded in romance and history, Cuba is the only remaining socialist country of the western hemisphere and is often the most misrepresented and misunderstood island in the Caribbean.

Lying between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean.

Tourism, a vital aspect of this island’s economy, provides an important source of foreign exchange. Visitors flock to the island’s scenic shores primarily from Canada, Italy, Germany, Spain and France.

Like T&T, Cuba enjoys a tropical climate with a rainy season and a dry season. The country’s natural resources include cobalt, nickel, iron, ore, chromium, copper, salt, timber, silica, petroleum and arable land.

Its main export commodities are sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish, medical products, citrus and coffee and its import commodities are petroleum, food, machinery and equipment and chemicals.

Some of the main industries are sugar, petroleum, tobacco, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. Agricultural products include sugar, tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice, potatoes, beans and livestock and its main trading partners are Spain, Canada, Venezuela, Russia, Mexico and China.

With a population of approximately 11 million, whose descendants come from a mixture of Spanish immigrants and African slaves, Cuba boasts a rich fusion of cultures which has greatly influenced all aspects of Cuban lifestyle, tradition and spirit. Among such a large population, there is a very high literacy level of 97 per cent—a direct result of the triumph of the revolution in 1959 when education was made available to the entire population. National pride, fostered from their education system is evident, as the schooling rate from six to 14 years averages 97.5 per cent.

Additionally, the performance of the Cuban health sector is remarkable with some 63,000 doctors (one for every 174 inhabitants) and a life expectancy at birth of 76 years.

In certain respects, however, Cuba is faced with unusual challenges. The most notable being the four-decade old United States-led embargo or as the Cubans prefer to call it, “blockade,” which stems from US opposition to Cuban leader Fidel Castro’s style of governance.

The embargo, which was imposed on Cuba in order to topple the socialist political structure, together with the collapse of the former Soviet Union in the 1990s, has succeeded somewhat in weakening the Cuban economy by prohibiting other countries from directly trading or investing in Cuba.

The embargo is largely to blame for the somewhat “sub-standard” living conditions of the majority of the Cuban people. Life by our standards is difficult because of the limited choices available of food, clothing and personal items since not many foreign goods are allowed into Cuba.

Where permitted, these items are prohibitively expensive since they are accessed not through direct trade with the US but via a second or third country.

Basic items that we take for granted, such as pens, pencils, erasers and paper-clips are considered luxuries by all levels of Cuban society.

Another visible manifestation of the embargo is the low number of modern automobiles on the streets of Cuba. Instead, Cubans have made a virtue out of the necessity of keeping pre-1960 American automobiles in running order, making Cuba a haven for 1950s vintage American car enthusiasts.

“Necessity is the mother of invention”—no adage better describes Cuba today as these people are forced to rely on creativity and ingenuity in their daily lives to accomplish simple tasks because of the inaccessibility of certain raw materials.

A prime example of this is the unique mass transit system employed by the government to relieve the daily transportation woes of the Cuban people. Camellos or camels consist of a standard truck towing a hump back (hence the name camel) passenger vehicle. This is the deluxe model since there have also been instances where 40-foot containers with holes cut out as windows are towed by trucks to serve as an alternative to buses.

In general, Cubans who do not have access to bicycles (a very popular means of transportation) or older cars, simply walk for shorter distances and use camellos for longer distances.

Needless to say, the average Cuban is in good physical condition.

As in any socialist nation, the Cuban government provides for its people by means of ration cards. In this way, basic food items are subsidised and can be purchased at the large number of peso stores all over the island. The average ration card allows for “perhaps six pounds of rice per month, six pounds of sugar per month, eight to ten pounds of vegetables and 17 eggs per month when there are no production problems. Meat is very rare (perhaps three to four times per year) as is soap and cooking oil. Other items, eg milk, are for children only.”

Non-essential items are another matter. These can be purchased at the dollar stores which carry a wider variety of items. However, the dollar stores tend to be very expensive and accept only hard currency, namely US dollars. These stores are targetted primarily at the large number of tourists that visit the island as well as the increasing numbers of foreigners based there.

Cubans with access to hard currency can shop at these stores, however, in 2004, the government temporarily shut them down in an effort to stem what they viewed as growing elitism among the Cuban peoples; those who could afford non-essential items versus those who could not.

With the availability of non-essential material items via the dollar stores, many Cubans found ways to gain access to hard currency, some legitimately and others not so legitimately.

The influx of tourists led to easier access to foreign currency and saw many locals opening their homes as restaurants or paladars serving typical Cuban fare. Those fortunate enough to own cars hired themselves out as taxis while some of the younger Cubans with less material possessions found more creative ways to earn foreign dollars.

Despite the difficulties this US/Cuba tension presents for the Cuban economy, the amazing fact is that whilst there may be general poverty, no one is starving and the strength and sense of national identity of the people is incomparable.

The population manifests certain resilience and an indomitable spirit that has enabled them to survive and even provide medical and technical assistance to others in the region. Our own country, amongst a few, now benefits from Cuban medical capability.

Presently, our Government recruits nurses and doctors who work in the public health system and this arrangement is replicated in other countries across the region, such as Grenada and Venezuela.

In today’s Cuba, there is little evidence of the racial divide that seems to plague so many modern societies. Equal access to education and health have been incredibly successfully in erasing race, sex and class inequalities. Cubans are very conscious of race and sex and of the differences between people but this doesn’t seem to manifest in inequalities of opportunities.

Maybe this phenomenon can also be explained by the fact that, on the surface, Cubans are equal in poverty and it is money that really fuels inequity.

The birthplace of salsa and rhumba, Cuba is well known for its rich musical legacy and exotic sensual rhythms.

In the pre-Castro era of Cuba’s history, mafia dons and Hollywood movie stars alike rubbed shoulders at many of the local hot spots and casinos that did not suffer the restrictions of the American prohibition. Clubs like the Tropicana, styled after many of the nightclubs popular in Las Vegas at the time, opened doors and allowed Cuban musical creativity as well as Cuban musicians to flourish and gain world renown.

Additionally, the fusion of culture and races gave rise to a fertile bed of musical ingenuity which was also later influenced by exposure to the American jazz scene in the 1950s. It is, of course, impossible to omit famous national icons of music such as Tito Puentes, Celia Cruz, Ruben Gonzalez, Ibrahim Ferrer, Pie Leyva and Compay Segundo who, through their talent and work, have undoubtedly made an impact on the world.

There are many positives to the Cuban experience from which we in the Caribbean can all learn. The country’s achievements in education and health stand as prime examples.

In essence, Cuba is much more than rum, cigars, salsa and socialism; it is a vibrant people rich in spirit and energy, history and culture.

For more information about the Spanish As the First Foreign Language (SAFFL) initiative, please contact the Secretariat for the Implementation of Spanish (a division of the Ministry of Trade and Industry) at 624-8329 / 627–9513 or fax us at 623-0365.