What's Cuba Like? Who's Been To Cuba?

[Encrypted Soldier]

Just wondering, what's it like?

Is it as bad as our media will have us believe it is?

[Dominicana_1965]

Check out the Cuba Truth Project:

http://www.cubatruth.info/

[Encrypted Soldier]

Thanks for the link Trinitario! Does anyone have any personal stories from being down there though?

Meh, I was thinking about getting a PhD in Philosophy, but now I might get one in Economics and see if I can get some Lange going on over there in Cuba! lol

[BuyOurEverything]

I've been (briefly), what would you like to know?

[jake williams]

My mom has/had a work-friend (she works at Value Village) from El Salvador. We spent a few interesting meals at her house. The one time she had friends over from I-can't-think-where, and even though maybe a third of the conversation was in Spanish, and my Spanish a couple years back was basically nil and it isn't great now, I picked up an extremely high perception of the Island. Specifically, that it was very very safe, I know Delmy specifically said that a woman could easily go out at night and not worry, juxtaposing it uncomfortably even to here.

[Encrypted Soldier]

I've been (briefly), what would you like to know?

Just... how is it?

Did you get any sense of fear from the residents? Were workers getting treated fairly and do you think workers were being payed proportionally to the profit they make? etc.


My mom has/had a work-friend (she works at Value Village) from El Salvador. We spent a few interesting meals at her house. The one time she had friends over from I-can't-think-where, and even though maybe a third of the conversation was in Spanish, and my Spanish a couple years back was basically nil and it isn't great now, I picked up an extremely high perception of the Island. Specifically, that it was very very safe, I know Delmy specifically said that a woman could easily go out at night and not worry, juxtaposing it uncomfortably even to here.

Nice, thanks for the reply.

Too bad I didn't care my freshman year in high school and nearly failed in my Spanish class, lol.

[Os Cangaceiros]

I've never been there, so I can't speak with any authority on it.

I do know (and have worked with) someone from Cuba, though. He floated over to the US on a raft when he was 16 with his father, actually. He didn't have very many nice things to say about Castro. He actually said he was going to throw a party when he died. But, I guess that's a biased source, hehe. He was a cool guy, though.

He talked about his childhood sometimes, and it actually didn't seem that much different than quite a few Latin American countries I've been to.

[BuyOurEverything]

It was... well, awesome. I would highly recommend everyone go, it's a beautiful country. There certainly wasn't any fear among anyone that I could detect. I did meet a few anti-Castro people who were genuinely against the government, but they were definitely the minority. If I had to give a rough estimate, I'd say about 70% of people were pro-Castro, 20% were apathetic and didn't care, and 10% were against. I actually saw one guy wearing a Republican Party T-shirt (freely, there were cops all about, Cuba is not a police state, I can say that for sure). That's obviously a completely unscientific poll based solely on my personal experience, but I did visit a pretty good cross section of the country. Hell, even in Havana, where there were a lot of cops, they were by and large pretty cool. They didn't carry guns, and I actually saw a group of teenagers drinking rum walk up to a group of cops (I was expecting a confrontation or something) and they just back slapped and hung out for a bit. It was actually kind of strange. That said, when you're in Havana, you'll get hustled. It's a great city, but it's really touristy, so everyone's trying to rip you off. It gets exhausting after a while. Once you get out though, people are awesome. I went to Vinalles (sp?), Vedados, Playa Chiron (sp?) and Santa Clara, and the people are awesome. I actually ran into some random dude who was drinking by himself in a bar who ran an internet cafe, and took me on a little tour (so I personally vouch for the fact that they do have internet access in Cuba (I checked my hotmail!) - this was a pretty small town and the place was definitely not a tourist joint. Again though, Cuba is a poor country, it's not some socialist utopia, there are very real shortages or things. It's way better now than it was in the early 90's, but it's still a problem. At the same time though, it's not even comparable to any other country with a similar GDP. Everyone is guaranteed a basic amount of food so there's no starvation. Everyone has great medical care. Also, everyone is guaranteed a house, so there's not really any homelessness. Although, at the same time there is a definite housing shortage, a lot of the times divorced people have to live in the same house for years, which is pretty fucked up. So, I mean, it's a poor country, but they definitely do light years better with the wealth that they have than any other country. Also, they don't have direct elections for the leader, which is fucked, but they do have elections for local representatives, and I was actually there during one of them, so it's not like a military dictatorship or anything.

[Forte]

This thread has been really enlightening so far. I'm also really glad to hear that the Cuban people sound very friendly. Are there any Hostels there? The HI doesn't list Cuba in it's Country list. It'd give me a good chance to practice my spanish :)

[Encrypted Soldier]

I've never been there, so I can't speak with any authority on it.

I do know (and have worked with) someone from Cuba, though. He floated over to the US on a raft when he was 16 with his father, actually. He didn't have very many nice things to say about Castro. He actually said he was going to throw a party when he died. But, I guess that's a biased source, hehe. He was a cool guy, though.

He talked about his childhood sometimes, and it actually didn't seem that much different than quite a few Latin American countries I've been to.

LOL. Seems like a good guy.


It was... well, awesome. I would highly recommend everyone go, it's a beautiful country. There certainly wasn't any fear among anyone that I could detect. I did meet a few anti-Castro people who were genuinely against the government, but they were definitely the minority. If I had to give a rough estimate, I'd say about 70% of people were pro-Castro, 20% were apathetic and didn't care, and 10% were against. I actually saw one guy wearing a Republican Party T-shirt (freely, there were cops all about, Cuba is not a police state, I can say that for sure). That's obviously a completely unscientific poll based solely on my personal experience, but I did visit a pretty good cross section of the country. Hell, even in Havana, where there were a lot of cops, they were by and large pretty cool. They didn't carry guns, and I actually saw a group of teenagers drinking rum walk up to a group of cops (I was expecting a confrontation or something) and they just back slapped and hung out for a bit. It was actually kind of strange. That said, when you're in Havana, you'll get hustled. It's a great city, but it's really touristy, so everyone's trying to rip you off. It gets exhausting after a while. Once you get out though, people are awesome. I went to Vinalles (sp?), Vedados, Playa Chiron (sp?) and Santa Clara, and the people are awesome. I actually ran into some random dude who was drinking by himself in a bar who ran an internet cafe, and took me on a little tour (so I personally vouch for the fact that they do have internet access in Cuba (I checked my hotmail!) - this was a pretty small town and the place was definitely not a tourist joint. Again though, Cuba is a poor country, it's not some socialist utopia, there are very real shortages or things. It's way better now than it was in the early 90's, but it's still a problem. At the same time though, it's not even comparable to any other country with a similar GDP. Everyone is guaranteed a basic amount of food so there's no starvation. Everyone has great medical care. Also, everyone is guaranteed a house, so there's not really any homelessness. Although, at the same time there is a definite housing shortage, a lot of the times divorced people have to live in the same house for years, which is pretty fucked up. So, I mean, it's a poor country, but they definitely do light years better with the wealth that they have than any other country. Also, they don't have direct elections for the leader, which is fucked, but they do have elections for local representatives, and I was actually there during one of them, so it's not like a military dictatorship or anything.

Cool, thanks for the reply. Responses like this one were the kind I was looking for.


I've been there, and I maintain regular contact with several comrades there.

The conditions there surpass those of every other country in Latin America. Right off the bat, one notices the lack of homelessness there, which certainly isn't the case in the rest of Latin America, or even places like New York, Philly, etc.

There is a spirit of solidarity among people. Folks work together and look out for each other. They figure out ways to overcome problems, and refuse to subject themselves to domination by the imperialist monster to the North.

There are a few anti-social elements around the tourists towns, and that's due to the pressures of the situation.

Good reply, thanks.

[MT5678]

Haven't been to Cuba, but I would rather live there than in the "City of Roses" (Portland, OR), where it rains 8-9 months every year.

Cuba's existence has sucessfully proved that whatever the case, stay away from neoliberal capitalism.

Cuba right now is much better off than Mexico, which has the largest slums in the world in Mexico D.F. Karachi is in second place, with Mumbai in a close third.