Havana Vieja

The old colonial center of Havana is Havana Vieja, but in reality all of Havana is old. Much of the city is a tapestry of crumbled or soon to be crumbled structures. In other world capitals these neighborhoods would be candidates for urban renewal. Here, the problem is so vast and the government has such limited resources that the city crumbles one grain at a time, and the people can only endure. I am walking through a neighborhood that I would avoid if it were in New York or Los Angeles, but here there I no way to avoid and I find that I am very glad to get out of the small tourist center of the city and walk these incredible streets. Our guides are four Cuban photographers who know the city and help us find interesting locations for photography. I have a tendency to like building that show some "character" and search them out when I travel, but here I am overwhelmed by possibilities. I soon change my mindset and realize that this is also a trip to pay attention to people. 

 

Amid the decay and torn up streets (there is money to replace water pipes and electrical cables), people are going about their lives. Someone asks where I am from, and I mumble something about Estados Unidos - I get a big hug. Fruit vendors try to sell us something off their carts, a few men ask if I want to buy genuine (read: fake) Cohiba cigars; a barber works on a customer in a doorway facing the street; and old woman sells coffee from her window; cabinetmakers work on a project in a shell of a building that looks like it will fall on their heads any minute; a man on the street makes a living by refilling disposable butane lighters. Everywhere, there are the famous old American cars, in every color of the rainbow, except maybe black, white or gray. Some are for hire in front of the higher end hotels, but many are shared taxis that shuttle people to work and back. Lines of passengers wait at pickup points and coordinate who is going where. That, and the public transportation system, seems to handle most of the morning commute. No solo drivers here.

Miami to Havana

It is four days after US-Cuba policy changes have gone into effect and I am in a meeting room at the Miami Airport Marriott Courtyard with a group of photographers who are going to Havana tomorrow morning. Kip, our coordinator, is giving us the briefing – in summary: “It’s Cuba; it’s complicated”. Currency (two different national currencies), street manners (feel safe, but be mindful of your wallet), phone/internet prospects (minimal), daily itinerary (soon to change, more than once). Two main hazards to avoid – a) twisting an ankle on ancient sidewalks or falling into a hole, and b) getting hit by a car; it seems that Cubans are not inclined to stop for pedestrians unless in a marked crosswalk.

There is excitement about the changes and more than a little uncertainty about how they will affect us. We are each given us a license granting us permission by the US to visit the country, but it seems that this is no longer needed. Some rum and cigars may be brought back but nobody knows how picky US customs will be about receipts documenting total cost is under $100.

It is now morning and we huddle as a group to check in for our charter flight at the American Airlines counter. Our flight is an American Airlines plane and crew, Chartered by ABC charters which has a license to fly to Havana. The crew is bi-lingual and good natured with a lively sense of humor. After the 45 minute flight. we Land in Havana at a separate terminal dedicated to charter flights from the US and quickly get to customs. The young lady in a uniform notices on my passport that I have been to Africa and she asks if I have been recently or been in contact with friends or relatives from Africa recently – I can see where this is going and the answer fortunately, is no (Ebola is still a cause for concern – although there is none in Cuba). The baggage claim is a free for all, with bags arriving on both conveyors – A and B, with no hint which one will spit out my bag. I eventually come to think that identifying my bag can’t be so hard because 75 percent of the luggage is bundles of stuff in blue shrink wrap – brought in my Cubans and their relatives returning from the States. Mostly soft stuff like clothes, but I see boxes with big screen TV's, microwaves, and other electronics not available here. Among the piles of luggage, I also notice a neat pile of NBC News camera equipment and it is only now that I realize that the US Assistant Secretary of State, Roberta Jacobson, was on our flight – arriving for diplomatic talks with the Cuban Government along with Brian Williams and Andrea Mitchell of NBC. Later tonight, we will see our group on TV, boarding the plane – so that’s what the lady with the iPhone was filming!

After slight worries about finding my bag, I hand in paperwork declaring that I am not sick and am not bringing weapons, illegal drugs or pornography into the country and head out of the terminal into an uproar of relatives greeting arrivals (and their shrink wrapped bundles). The area outside the terminal has the sweet smell of cigar smoke and vintage Chevy cars cruse by looking for passengers, and I know I am here.

Tonight the city sparkles outside my hotel.

Prepping for Cuba

I am certainly fortunate to be traveling there at this time - Leaving Jan 17th with a few days in Florida first, then to Havana and returning on the 28th. I planned this trip about four months ago to travel with a group of photographers led by the Santa Fe Photo Workshops. In December, when I heard about the changes in the US / Cuba travel policies, I had no expectations that they would be in place by the time I traveled - I just couldn't imagine government moving that quickly, but now it looks like they will be put in place tomorrow! Four days before we land in Havana - that means that we will be one of the first groups of Americans to take advantage of the relaxed rules regarding personal purchases. I never liked cigars, so I don't expect to bring any back but I will have to try one when I am there. Rum, however, is a different story.

We will be a group of 12 plus our American photographer guide plus two Cuban photographers. I am feeling a bit of pressure to take perfect images, but I remind myself that the goal is to have fun and to learn something at the same time. No different than any other trip.
I will try to update with posts from there, but we will see how that goes. Our hotel has wifi, but you never know...

What Wikipedia has to say about the Cuban Flag–

The Cuban flag was created by Narciso López in June 25, 1848, and put together by Emilia Teurbe Tolón. The flag's origins date from 1848, when various movements to liberate Cuba from Spanish rule emerged, mainly among Cuban exiles in the United States. Anti-Spanish Cuban exiles under the leadership of Narciso López (a Venezuelan) adopted a flag suggested by the poet Miguel Teurbe Tolón (a Cuban). His design incorporates three blue stripes, representing the three parts that the country was divided during the independence wars, central, occidental, and oriental areas of the country, and two white stripes symbolizing the purity of the patriotic cause. The red triangle stands for the blood shed to free the nation, which is placed where the star is, symbolizing the sky turned red from the blood shed in battle. The white star in the triangle stands for independence. López carried this flag in battle at Cárdenas (1850) and Playitas (1851). Although López was not victorious, this was the first instance of the flag being raised in Cuba.

Here is my first recollection of the Cuban flag -
a Throwback Thursday thing:

When I was a Cub Scout, living in New York, our pack played a part in the ceremony that lights the Christmas trees which run the length of Park Avenue. One evening in early December we marched out of the Brick Presbyterian Church where our pack met, and circled the first tree at the north end of Park Avenue with the flags of the United Nations. The mayor said a few words and pressed a button, and TaDa! One year I remember wondering what flag I was carrying. Getting home, I looked up flags of the World in our fat Webster's Encyclopedia and, finding the Cuban flag, realized that it was slightly scandalous to be seen with it. So naturally I thought that was cool - this must have been 1959, or there about, when Cuba was first shunned by the US.

Photo thanks to Tommy Wolfson (sitting next to me) and Miss Bergan.

Davey Freidberg, on the far right was in my pack too.