Travel for All

500 years of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Baracoa.

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 10:46:05 -0400

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On August 4th to the 16th I traveled to Cuba with the St. Augustine-Baracoa Friendship Association (www.staugustine-baracoa.org ), which is a sister city organization between the oldest city founded in North America, St. Augustine, and the oldest city of Cuba, Baracoa.

This was my second time to Cuba, as I had travelled to Cuba with a small student delegation from my school in March of 2010. This time I travelled independently, meeting many new and wonderful people and having the best time of my life in Cuba. The town of Baracoa was celebrating its 500^th year of existence, as it was founded on August 15^th, 1511.

The beautiful colonial town of Baracoa was bustling with activity, as people were painting and working on restoration up to the final day. There were trucks everywhere and so many people that the city was bursting with its small colonial era streets so congested that I believe this was the first time that Baracoa had experienced a traffic jam! The leader of the delegation, Soledad, helped set up an arrangement for me to meet a medical around my same age who was having trouble learning English as she thought maybe I could be of some help. It turned out to be the best thing to happen to me there, to make a genuine friend. He and I spent lots of time together, mostly just walking around town talking about whatever.

Every day was a celebration, but there were a few highlights of my visit there that stand out. The first is seeing a presentation of Afro-Cuban folk performers, which was a very intense and spectacular event to experience. The way they move their bodies to the rhythm of the drums is fascinating, and the way they danced was so powerful that I could feel the pounding of their feet on the pavement of the road they were performing on. Then there was my walk with my friend to Yara, a fishing village with piers that the locals made themselves. Then there were the conga lines that randomly formed near the center of the city. This was a unique Afro-Cuban Conga, with drum players and a flute player that guided the crowd of hip-moving dancers. I joined one with my new friend, and this was easily the best experience of my life. The pulsating energy of this dance was so intense you could feel it everywhere.

The final celebration on the night before the 15^th, there was a huge crowd gathered at La Punta to watch various events that would lead up to midnight with fireworks celebrating the day of the 500^th birthday of Baracoa. The thing was that the celebration was nearly ruined by torrential rains, and my friend and I ran back to his uncle’s house through the pouring rain and streets turned into rivers. The celebrations continued, with the fireworks going off amidst the storm. The enduring spirit of the city would not be ruined by anything, truly Cuban.

Cuban Family.

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:29:38 -0400

My name is Jonathan and my most recent trip to Cuba was from December 22nd, 2009 - January 12th, 2010 and I was able to go with my Abuela through Cuba Travels in Los Angeles, Ca. The main purpose of this visit, was to get to know my family more and also to take my Abuela with me so that she can experience Cuba before it’s too late.

The above picture was taken on New Years Eve, as we enjoyed some pretty delicious food, as always. My cousin in Cuba is actually a licensed tourist housing Room and Board member, and she is also a nurse. So she gets people from all over the world and it fascinates me how many people come back to her home in La Lisa, Cuba. It’s about 20min outside of Havana.

The greatest about Cuba, in my opinion, is they are all so contently living life, with the bare minimums, and they are happy, when here in the U.S. people are always aiming for more money. Cuba, is a prime example that shows that you do not need money to be happy.

My next trip, I plan on going through Mexico, since i have a Mexican, US, and Cuban passport, so that I can stay for three months instead of three weeks.

-Jonathan Salomon, traveled in December 2009.

Cuba in 2004.

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 14:36:57 -0400

I’m not one to seek out tour packages, but in 2004 I decided it was time to bite the bullet and see Cuba. I found an 8 day trip sponsored by the Jewish Community Center in suburban Chicago for $3000, not including airfare to Miami. I was the youngest in my group of 18 by a good 20 years, which was great fun. We visited the Jewish community in Havana, and brought them prescription drugs and other hard-to-come-by items like car batteries and shock absorbers. We toured the sites in Havana (cigar factories, Hotel Nacional, Old Havana, art museums, concerts, etc.) and spent an evening at an all-exclusive in Varadero.

At night back in Havana we were on our own. I hired a car and driver to take me to La Floridita to drink daiquiris one night and to Chinatown another. One evening when my group was together we met Ricardo Alarcon at a restaurant. He stopped by our table and joked with us about sneaking into Cuba. He didn’t know we were there legally, but also didn’t seem to care. He was a great guy. At that time, Americans could spend US dollars in Cuba, and buy 2 boxes of cigars and 2 bottles of rum. Upon entry, the customs officers wouldn’t stamp our passports unless we asked them to. They didn’t want to get us in trouble. I was on a legal trip, but even if I hadn’t been, I wanted that damn stamp. I had one for Vietnam ‘91 when the US didn’t have relations with that country. It was more difficult to clear customs back in Miami after we left Havana. The guards tried to make us feel like criminals for bringing back cigars and rum, even though it was legal. I’ve since recommended that trip to many. My parents went later that year, but by then the US dollar was banned.

-Susan Blumberg-Kason, traveled in 2004.

Next Year in Havana.

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 16:53:00 -0400

Fidel Castro…Ernesto “Che” Guevera…Jose Marti. These names are important in Cuban history, but they are not the names that were important to the group of us who traveled to Cuba in the winter of 2006 with an Adath Jeshurun mission led by Hazzan Howard Glantz and his wife Dayna. Instead, we will remember Rosa Behar Hazday, Adela Dworin, Jose Miller Fredman, David Tacher Romano, Julio Rodriguez Ely, Jacob Berezniak, Isaac Rousso Lilo, and the other members of Cuba’s Jewish community who warmly and enthusiastically welcomed us to their “Chosen Island.”

Our mission was to deliver medical supplies and personal items to the approximately 1500 remaining members of this community. We visited three congregations in Havana (Beth Sholom, Conservative; Adath Israel, Orthodox, and the Centro Hebreo, Sefardi) as well as two small communities in Santa Clara and Caibarien. All prescription medications were delivered to Beth Shalom (“The Patronato”), the largest congregation in Havana. There, the medications are catalogued and dispensed, as needed, to people in the community whether or not they are Jewish. Supplies are also distributed to more rural areas of the island. The Patronato pharmacy is run by Dr. Hazday, a specialist in Gastroenterology and President of the Cuban branch of Hadassah International. Another smaller pharmacy is maintained by Congregation Adath Israel.

In all cases our contingent of 42 was welcomed with gratitude and hospitality. We attended services, sang songs, shared Shabbat meals, recited kaddish at two Jewish cemeteries (each with a Holocaust memorial), presented gifts to a Bar Mitzvah boy, said farewell with best wishes to a young woman making aliyah to Israel, visited homes, heard a presentation from the president of the local B’nai Brith chapter, and participated in the life of this vibrant Jewish community. While our Jewish brothers and sisters in Cuba lack material wealth, they are rich in spirit and determination. They thanked us for remembering them and appreciated our willingness to make the people-to-people connection in spite of our governments’ disagreements.

We, in turn, are grateful for having had this opportunity, and we thank those who contributed medications and supplies for our mission.

Next year in Havana!

-Jim Walsh, who traveled with Adath Jeshurun Mission in Winter of 2006

Visiting our Future.

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 11:13:34 -0400

My first trip to Cuba was perfectly set up by my previous months exploring Latin America on sabbatical in 1991: yes, I would see Cuba’s problems and hear the complaints, but the fear in my Salvadoran friend and the desperation in two Guatemalan boys singing for coins would put in perspective the worst of what I was to see in Cuba. All my trips to Cuba were during the Special Period, when things were the hardest.

Though my three trips with Pastors for Peace’ US/Cuba Friendshipment Caravans were my favorites, all eight of my trips to Cuba – my solo sabbatical trip, two with Global Exchange (including an eco-trip), the Venceremos Brigade, the Labor Exchange to an international labor conference – were great lessons in what we could be.

When I think about Cuba, one of the first memories to pop into my mind is of a morning in a Círculo Infantil (daycare center.) You know: those places where visitors are often taken, because Cubans are so rightly proud of their “Children’s Circles.”

Actually, they’re proud of their children, and this love shows in the way Cuban children affect visitors. People over the years have come up to me and said, “I just got back from Cuba and you should see this great photo I took of some Cuban children!” I’ve heard that from many people who were so surprised at their sudden artistic talent with their camera. What? Are Cuban children the most photogenic people on Earth?

Or are they just among the most healthy and happy.

So there I was, visiting some Círculo Infantil somewhere on the island, watching a couple girls who were probably about four. And I was thinking, “As teachers back in the U.S., we often share with each other that our students are our future. But as I’ve come to think of Cubans as the future of the world’s people, these two girls…”

I tried to figure out how to communicate to these two little children in my stumbling Spanish this concept which would have challenged me in my own language. As I chose the words, “Y por eso, ustedes son…,” one of the girls interrupted to say, “Sí, sabemos: el futuro.” (“And, for this reason, you are…” “Yes, we know: the future.”)

Then there was a time we visited a high school. The students assembled to meet us caravanistas. After some brief words were shared by representatives of both groups, we were asked if any of us had questions. When it came my turn, I spoke of being a teacher from an innercity school in Los Angeles. I asked if any of the students had a message they wanted me to take back to my students. One girl’s hand shot up and waved with urgency. She answered with the most earnest expression and tone, and her words were translated back, “Please tell them not to give up hope; one day they’ll be free like us.”

-by Carolfrancis Linkins who traveled with Pastors for Peace, Global Exchange and The Venceremos Brigade

Semper Fi.

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 10:00:05 -0400

The sun was breaking as I stood on the bow of my boat, Semper Fi and gazed south at what looked like ominous clouds. The last thing I needed was a storm off the Cuban Coast.

It was January of 2002, just a few months after 9/11, and I was headed to Havana from Key West. I was born and raised in Miami and grew up in the fifties and sixties. In Miami we also lived the overthrow of Batista, the Missile Crisis and The Trade Embargo. My school did drills in which we climbed under our desks to protect from Nuclear Attack. My dad worked on construction crews building missile bases in South Florida. I watched thousands of troops heading south on US 1 to be deployed behind sandbags. Now I was closing in on the island that had created so much emotion in my young life.

As I looked at the clouds again I could see the skyline of Havana and I knew that the clouds were actually mountains in the backdrop. I can remember feeling deceived as I looked at Havana with it’s towering buildings and sprawl, a city that was bigger than I had ever imagined and majestic as well. I had considered myself a well traveled person on that day I first saw Cuba but I was completely unprepared for what was in front of me. This was a city that was a major thriving place before Miami was even a trading post. I fought anger as I could not remember any education in grade school regarding Cuba. No history, no geography, mostly just the fear.

As I got closer I could smell the island. The richness of soil and the activities of life all have their own smells and that smell is the fingerprint of every land mass in the world. The North Coast of Cuba is distinctive and I realized that it was the last thing many would experience as they fled north to the US in rafts, boats and inner tubes. To me it was a perfume that I had dreamed of for decades.

For ten days I took in everything Cuban I could, the people, the land, the life. As I cleared Customs to start back home, I was asked by a Cuban official about the boat name “Semper Fi”, the Marine Corps motto that translates to “Always Faithful”. I tried to explain but thought it best to say that it was “Siempre Fidelis” or as the official took it “Always Fidel”. We both shook hands somberly and I cast off the lines to head home.

Today I sit on Semper Fi unable to take my boat to Cuba because of “new” rules for travel. I study the framed picture of Semper Fi with my Cuban guide standing at the cabin door as I steer. We are entering Havana Harbor and passing El Morro and it is all clear in my head again. I can almost smell it.

-Ken Fickett

The Conundrum: Cuba.

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 16:19:00 -0400

My third trip to Cuba in July 2009 was with the stellar Witness For Peace group. Me and twenty-seven other U.S. educators and artists were immersed in the eclectic and electric culture of Cuba lock, stock, and barrel. Fabuloso! Even though I had made two other trips, my spirit, intellect, soul, and body remained wide-open to the infinite possibilities of learning more about the wonderful people of Cuba, and the machinations of that society; really. Granted, I was ever prescient of the heinous authority of the Cuban State Security system, especially since I was followed two times during my July 2007 trip. Undaunted yet not an “ugly American”, I remained tiny and cautious all-the-while absorbing and reveling in the fulsome warmth of the people, colors of their world, society, ambiguities, and landscape of Cuba. What ultimately guided me in 2009 were two things: 1. I knew that Yoani Sanchez and her colleagues were working hard via their incredible blog, Generacion Y, to instigate change from within, and 2. That my beloved friends, Mildred and Rolando Diaz and children, with all other Cubanos (except the politburo) were at the affect of the lack of food, medicines, etc.; more so than when I saw them in 2007.

To this day the most glaring ambiguity is when one visits with José Fuester the respected Cuban ceramicist. Yes, I love his work. Yes, I am astounded by the way he has worked with about a four-block area of his neighbors to transform the neighborhood in to a wonderland of astounding ceramic work. Yet, he is a socialist living a capitalist’s life. Furthermore, I have asked myself time and time again, Why? You own two pieces of his tile. You know that this contributes to his coffer, yet you continue to visit him. My answer: Because, when I see the good he has done side-by-side with his neighbors, their pride, their creative endeavor, I know that he remains a Cubano equal to his own.

With my ever-growing resolve I remain committed to ending the inhumane embargo foisted upon the Cuban people. With LAWG’s spot-on insight and guidance and Dr. Wayne Smiths’, I constantly bombard my state’s Senators and Congresspeople about the ancient embargo. As with any political transformation, the elders must pass away and the young must take the reins with a clear vision and actual knowledge of how transformation occurs. Thus I humbly and tenaciously persevere.

-Cathy A. Roszell, Traveled with Witness for Peace, July 2009.

90 Miles Away.

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 16:10:00 -0400

My church, Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh, NC, has had for approximately 20 years a sister church relationship with Matanzas Baptist Church in Matanzas, Cuba. It’s another story about how the churches came to be so closely affiliated. Because of that relationship, each year, 2 or 3 times, different groups will travel to visit, staying 1-2 weeks. It could be the choir going, or the teenagers, or a group of interested adults.

I was fortunute to be a part of the group 2 times: traveling once in 2003 and in 2007. The first visit makes the biggest impression. We walk into the church courtyard, travel weary, and are welcomed and greeted so open-heartedly by church members that all our weariness disappears. While getting food to feed large groups of people can be probablematic in Cuba, the visiting group would never know that. Our meals are lovingly prepared in the small church kitchen for us daily—each one a joyfull feast. However, we do see all the leftovers carefully packed for others to share.

We are escorted around the city, go to the beautiful beach, learn of the Santa Maria cult, explore the communityy garden in the ‘projects.’ Some of us speak Spanish, some of us don’t. Not a problem, as we always have a translator with us. Of course, the Sunday service we are there is spiritual celebration of each and every one of us and our connection.

We do have paperwork, documentation, rules to follow in order to make these trips. We have a devoted lawyer in Pullen Church who shepards the travel application process through the system and we are able to go. Now, folks who have make this trip and try to explain it to others are frequently asked about it as a mission trip. What mission where we working on when we went to Cuba? We do try to take aspirin, vitamins, and some medical supplies when we go as they are much needed; but, the mission is from our Cuban friends to us. They demonstrate so much love and friendliness and acceptance to us. They show us how to be church and we learn from them. The mission is from them to us.

As you can see, these trips are full of good feelings and good relationships. Some of the Pullen members take these trips over and over again. Some have traveled 10 to more times to Mantanzas—they love it so much. Our Cuban brothers and sisters live a simpler life, without all the possessions we have, but they live so much better. We have a lot to learn from Cuba.

-Deborah Brogden

REUNIFICATION.

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 16:52:00 -0400

A year ago I was diagnosed with Parkinson Disease. I was some what traumatized with the thought that I would progressively lose abilities to maintain an active life and especially travel. My sister sensed my fears was extremely generous and offered my husband and I a trip to where ever we wanted to go in the world. At first I thought of Hawaii, but as I thought about it, I realized the place I truly wanted to visit was Cuba.

My parents came to the USA in the 1940s during WWII from Cuba. My mom was recruited as a doctor to provide care in the US as many doctors were overseas taking care of the wounded soldiers. The family settled in New Jersey where eventually my brother and I were born. Every year the family traveled to Cuba to reunite with our large family there. That was until 1959.

Most of my family came to the US in one of the waves to the US but a handful stayed. They stayed for non political reasons. The generation before mine kept the communication going among the family, but my generation lost track.

Then January 2011 there was news of a policy for families to travel to Cuba directly. I just came back August 20th, 2011 from a three week stay in Cuba where I got to see my only living uncle of 93 years and his daughter! A cousin who I had thought died in Angola years ago, but was alive and well. Another cousin who, when his family migrated to the US could not come because he had to serve his military service. Lastly I got to see a cousin who also has Parkinson and helped me accept the future with the disease.

I was the first family member in 45 years that the cousins had ever seen. It was my first time seeing my uncle and cousins. The love and stories we shared in those three weeks were priceless. I came home with a full heart.

Now I read that others may not have the same experience of reuniting with their family. Will my cousins need to wait another 45 years for a visit?

Making Friends in Cuba.

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 14:51:33 -0400

When people I know in the U.S. ask me “What is Cuba like?” I often answer “It is a different world”.

Having been born in Cuba and having relatives on the island, it gives me a privilege that most Americans are denied: that of traveling to Cuba.

A small incident on my trip early this year proves the point of the uniqueness of the island. It was February and I was a Cuba to partake in the wedding of my cousin’s daughter. When I go to Cuba I enjoy staying in the little town of Cojimar where I was born and where I lived the first eleven years of my life.

In the early morning, I enjoy going outside and watch the town come alive. This morning I noticed the parents taking their children to school. Since few Cubans have cars, most parents walk their children to school or ride them on a bike or a motorcycle. I had my camera with me and I was photographing this event daily. The house where I was staying was near the top of a hill and riding a bike with a passenger was not an easy task. I noticed this gentleman riding his daughter to school and I took their photograph. They smiled and they kept on riding, I kept shooting away with my camera.

I repeated this the second day and this time the father and the daughter waved. On the third and last day when I took his photograph again, the father yelled at me “Oye, turista, un dolar por la foto” (“Hey, tourist, one dollar for the photo”). They laughed and I laughed also.

Back home when I downloaded the photo to my computer, I realized details that I had not noticed when I took the photograph. The smiles, the waves, the pink “Barbie” backpack the dad was carrying, his European jersey. Someone later pointed out to me that he was riding a pretty good bike, not the typical bike you see Cubans riding. And I wonder, would I be able to find this father and daughter again and give them this photo?

I did not know their names or where they lived; but in most towns in Cuba that is not a difficult thing to overcome.

Six months later I returned to Cuba with a 5x7 photograph of the two happy riders. I asked Alicia, my cousin’s ten year old granddaughter if she knew where they lived. She did not know but she said she knew another girl in school who claimed to know the girl in the photo. We went looking for her friend and found her.

Yes, she knew where the girl lived; down the hill where the church was located (there were five streets down the hill where the church was located). She didn’t know the street name but she knew there was a sign in front of the rider’s house … but she couldn’t remember what the sign said.

Being so close but still so far, we asked the girl’s mother if we could “borrow” her daughter for a few minutes”. The mother agreed but her sister had to go with her. Can you imagine driving away in the U.S. with two young girls when the parent never met you before?!!!

But, sure enough, just as she said the girl took us to a house down the street from the church with a “Santo Domingo” sign by the side. I went to the house and knocked at the gate. The smiling girl of the photo came to answer.

I took out the photo and I asked “Do you know the people in this photo?”

“Yes, that is me and my father,” she said with a shy grin admiring the photo.

By then, her mother had come to the gate, she opened it and invited us in. She remembered her husband telling her about the tourist that kept taking their photo and his comment about “un dolar por la foto”. They laughed at his comment never expecting to see “el turista” in their house.

I gave the mother the photo and asked for her husband. She told me that Camilo (her husband) was now in Italy where he works part of the year making ice cream. She kept saying how good the photo was and how surprised Camilo will be when he sees it.

I asked if I could take a picture of her with the girls and the photo. She agreed, and several more photos were taken.

Then as I was getting ready to leave, the mother asked me if I would dedicate the photo to her husband. I said glady and I wrote in Spanish:
“Camilo it was a pleasure to take your photo with your daughter Lazara. But now you owe me $2 or a dish of ice cream. I hope to see you soon” and I signed it.

I cannot wait for my next trip and my dish of ice cream.

-Julio Travieso

A traveler's tale.

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 16:27:00 -0400

Studying abroad in Cuba was an experience that is impossible to forget. People’s eyes bulge whenever I mention that I lived in Cuba for five months. A torpedo of questions always follow; “Did you feel safe? How did you survive? Isn’t Cuba communist?” While I love to discuss my time spent in Cuba, it’s questions like these that make my mind race and my blood boil.

Yet they also remind me of why I wanted to travel to Cuba: to understand daily Cuban life and how Cubans identify with their own history, as opposed to the way their history is written in U.S. textbooks. Through U.S. foreign policy towards Cuba, we have walled ourselves into a way of thinking that isn’t quite pro-American, but definitely anti-Castro.

This is why I believe opportunities for exchange are so important. Rather than reading about Cuba in the media, you need to actually see Cuba, because when it comes to Cuba from a U.S. perspective, something is always left out. And even though Cuba sits 90 miles from Miami, it is impossible to see it, moreover understand it, from the States.

Once I got to Havana, I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into. However, after adjusting to the immediate climate, my experiences only flourished. Cubans are infamous for being talkers, and I definitely listened. But I was also able to express my stories and opinions in return and what I said did not fall on deaf ears. Cubans young and old want to learn about life outside of Cuba and are fascinated by the United States. Many Cuban-Americans return to Cuba carrying fabricated stories about the grandiose life that lies across the Florida straits. I was there to counter those fairytales.

Whether it was simply sitting down in a café with some Cubans talking about school and American hip-hop, grocery shopping at the agromercados, dancing in rumbas at Callejon de Hamel, or sweating intensely at packed hip hop and reggaeton concerts, I can say that I have experienced the real Cuba.

People say that it’s impossible to see Cuba as a tourist. But it’s not, the real Cuba is there. It’s merely a matter of stepping outside your mental and physical comfort zone and taking on the challenge. It’s not easy, but it’s about being open-minded in Cuba. Your own expectations can either make or break your experience.

This blog was re-posted from NAFSA’s (Association of International Educators) Connecting Our World website. Click here to read more stories about study abroad experiences in Cuba. Emily Chow studied abroad in Havana, Cuba during the Spring of 2009 through American University and the University of Havana.

End the Travel Ban on Cuba

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 16:20:28 -0400

End the Travel Ban on Cuba