I visited Cuba about a month ago. I thought it was a very interesting country and you can´t really opine about it with true certainty without having been there.
I think it´s a country so rich in culture where you can watch musicians play salsa in every other corner. You can speak to a cab driver who has a degree and can express himself really well.
That´s the good part.
The bad part is that they´re hungry. They want more of what they can´t get. We went to a Carnaval de Santa Marta (Carnival) and I had a bottle of rum that had been given to us at the Tropicana show but nobody drank. We all bought beers and every now and then pulled out the bottle for a shot. At one moment, a Cuban person grabbed the bottle in my hand and signaled if he could have a drink (he must´ve thought that I don´t speak spanish). I felt really bad about being in that state and I let him have it. The bad thing is, as soon as he held it in his hand several other cubans swarmed the bottle and all had a quick shot like they would never have another one in their lives.
Afterwards, in bars and clubs we soon realized that cuban girls - if there were any - show up to these places to get some income. They have no money so they flirt with you only if you´ll buy them things.
People try to give you directions and be extra helpful just to earn a much needed "Peso Convertible". It can get annoying.
Not one of them said a bad thing about Castro. They all said that he´s a hero and that the revolution is the best thing that could´ve happened to Cuba. Most Cubans really say that they thing their income will rise as the whole country rises together and they will have luxuries in the future all as one. But they all say they´re content with waiting for the common good. Maybe they were being trutful but I have my doubts that maybe they were just convering their backs.
The one truly admirable things is that there is hardly any crime at all. We walked through the darkest of places and never worried that we would be robbed or have anything happen to us.
Something that was really interesting was the Office of American Interests (I´m not sure if it translates that way but it´s the SINA office). This building has a black marquee with red letters in its facade and they decided to show subsersive messages like "Free Cuba" or Ghandi and Lincon quotes. The Cubans decided to place a big monument of black flags with white stars on it to cover the marquee. I thought that was pretty sweet.
There are no commercial billboards. All the signs and murals have political messages. I actually saw one comparing Bush to Hitler.
All in all, Cuba was a great trip in which I learned a lot. I think it is truly a beautiful country. I never felt like visiting it before because of all the bad rep it gets but actually being there is a truly different experience. I would´ve never gone without my parents paying for the whole thing but now I´m actually thinking of going back.
Hasta la victoria siempre.