The More Things Change...

Today, I looked back and saw that it has been nearly three years since I last visited Cuba - in February of 2016. I think a lot has changed, but much remains the same. I just landed in Cuba and soon will be visiting Havana as well as new locations in the western tobacco growing countryside as well as colonial towns in the center of the country. I'm here with photographers sponsored by Santa Fe Photographic Workshops and led by Arthur, Kip and Jennifer, as well as talented Cuban photographers Carlos & Jorge.

Back in 2016, there was optimism about President Obama’s efforts to “normalize” relations, Fidel Castro was alive, and his brother Raul was president of the country, but repressive laws remained on the books - even if most Cubans found a way around them. On the positive side, the country was having difficulty keeping up with the surge in tourism and Cuban citizens were scrambling to find a way to capitalize through small restaurants, apartment rentals, or just about anything they could think of. Foreign investors were putting money into badly needed building renovations, and for the time at least, the Cuban people were happy to see American visitors.

A lot was happening then, and quickly.

Today, both the US and Cuba have new presidents, and future relations are uncertain. Most of the US diplomats have withdrawn from Havana due to the “brain wave” thing, but US commercial airline flights are now allowed and cell phones from the US (may) work in many parts of the country. Visits by US citizens are still permitted, but rules have reverted to a time when access was more controlled. I have a few forms and a visa for travel that I need to carry, and the Cuban government adds a surcharge to my plane ticket to cover medical insurance. On a hopeful note - last month, Major League Baseball has just reached an agreement with the Cuban baseball authorities to allow Cuban players to sign contracts with US teams without defecting, and allow return travel to Cuba by those players (I think this is a positive development, but there's still a strong possibility that the deal will blocked by the US government).

And recently, Cuba has drafted a new constitution to be voted on by the people in February. When it passes (I can’t imagine that it wouldn’t) changes will not be earth-shattering; Cuba will remain a single party communist government and will continue to control major industries – manufacturing, sugar, mining, tobacco, rum, etc. – but changes allowing private ownership of property and business will be adopted. There will even be age limitations on the presidency – no older than 60 to initially occupy the office. Worth noting that the current president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, is 58 and is eligible to be (re)elected by the Assembly under the new constitution. He sounds pretty bland in the Wikipedia  description as "a party technocrat who was little-known to the public before becoming president. Policy experts expected him to pursue cautious reform of his predecessors' economic policies, while preserving the country's social structure."

So, a lot is happening now, but a little slower.

I look forward to seeing what's up for myself in the next weeks.