The Changing Face of Cuba

Posted 20th November 2015 by David McGuinness

“Eee-con-o-mia”. The face scrunches up, the corners of the mouth turn down, and the eyes narrow. The word for “the economy” is enunciated in the same manner and is accompanied by the same expression by Cubans across the country. Frustration, exasperation, exhaustion.

Older Cubans have watched life get harder, watched opportunities dry up for their children, forcing many to break for Mexico, Miami and beyond, often in small home-made rafts, usually far from fit for purpose. Cubans have been attempting this perilous, often fatal, journey for a very long time. Since long before the Arab Spring’s bloody aftermath forced Syrians to attempt their own death-defying escapes towards Europe. It may seem a strange time for fatigue amongst Cubans given the warming relations between Raul, Barack and their respective nations.

And yes, there is also hope – but Cubans have witnessed false dawns on numerous occasions in the past and though a post-Castro Cuba cannot be too far away, it would be a foolhardy analyst that would pronounce with any certainty what this future might hold for this Caribbean island and its eleven million people. In the shorter term, partisan politics in the US might scupper even the most sensible and humanitarian relaxation of the sanctions that currently strangle the economy. Cuban hope wears its years wearily.

Beyond the economic and the geopolitical Cuba oozes an easy charm. 1950s’ Chevrolets, Buicks, Bedfords, Fiats, Saabs, and Opels – from an era when the automobile surely reached the zenith of its style, the pinnacle of its panache – still ply the streets, sharing them with boxy ladas of varying age, bicycles, cycle taxis and horse-drawn carts. Faded pastel shades adorn every building. Cowboy hats are ubiquitous and the Cuban fascination with old rock ‘n’ roll – think Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Deep Purple (another Golden era, it could be argued) – add to the sense that by boarding the plane to Havana you have traversed not just space but also time, arriving several decades before you boarded.

Don’t think however that the love of old rock music means Cuban music is not thriving. It is – very much so. Buena Vista Social Club brought Cuban music to the world but every Cuban town has traditional music venues, where locals and sometimes tourists pack in nightly to hear local bands play traditional sons, but also salsa, rumba and more – and to drink rum, smoke cigars and dance. Despite the economic conditions, perhaps, in some ways because of them, Cubans have a highly developed sense of community – and it cannot be denied that they know how to enjoy themselves. They put the “social” in “socialism”. During the day too, you can hear live music emanating up a cobbled street, across a picturesque plaza. For music lovers, like me, this is truly one of the highlights of Cuba – listening to craggy old men pick out some beautiful melody from a street corner. I can just listen for hours.

Since Fidel stepped aside from the day-to-day running of the country and handed over the reins to his brother in 2008, many things have changed in Cuba. The communist face is becoming more a façade. Capitalism dripped in first, then became a trickle, now a steady pour. It is still nowhere near full flow but the cork cannot be put back in the bottle at this stage. One of the ways this has affected visitors to Cuba is that instead of just dull state-run hotels, it is now possible to choose to stay with ordinary Cubans, whose houses have been deemed fit and passed rigorous state inspections. These homes are known as “casa particulares” or just “casas” and there is a huge range – from the rustic to the palatial – but what unites them is that you get first-hand interaction with real Cubans, and what a charming and lovely bunch they are. It is fascinating to listen to their thoughts on Cuba today, where Cuba is headed and their take on the world beyond its borders. To try to summarise or synopsise that would be to trivialise the true diversity and complexity of Cuba.

Cuba today exists in a bubble. How long the bubble will last is anyone’s guess.

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