Life In Havana

One Marielito remarked on his venture to the United States, “Well, if I’m looking back 30 years ago, the decision of just leaving the country, getting to the embassy, I think it’s that it was a blessing of having the opportunity to leave the country, and especially to come here directly to the US. We didn’t have no hopes to come here. And I think that I have a wonderful family, many opportunities throughout my life.” The American Promise, in the ideal sense became a tangible and practical element within society for exiles, as it made clear the goals and aspirations of the exile community. Exiles seem to share similar sentiments in not wanting to return to Cuba, amidst the history of suppression, oppression, and hardships. “I’m super grateful to this country. I’m grateful to everything. I mean, this is my life. There’s no way I’d go back. Even if anybody would tell me, here, you got your house back in Cuba, I would never go back.” This sentiment summarizes and represents the mindsets of many exiles, at their time of expedition to America, and

Cuba is a very diverse country, but it is very poverty-stricken and is still decades

Cuba is merely one example of a society. Juan Cabrera is simply an ordinary example of an individual. What The Lonely Crossing of Juan Cabrera by J. Joaquin Fraxedas bring to light is the extraordinary effects of stepping outside the comfort zone of following the expectations of those that lead our governments. Although the situation was unlike our own it highlights what could very well could have

Brittmarie Janson Perez, author of Political Facets of Salsa, writes, “Late at night, in a discotheque in a Latin American country whose political system is dominated by the military and is not particularly known for its respect for human rights, a crowd is dancing salsa, a generic term covering Caribbean dance music” (149). This has been and continues to be a very commonly accurate depiction of many Latin American countries. Since Cuba was founded in October 1492, its government and politics has been characterized by brutality, corruption and instability. Nonetheless, involvement from foreign nations and its deeply engrained Spanish roots has without a doubt had a significant impact on the transformation of what Cuba is today. In this paper, I will explore the pros and cons of the 1959 Cuban Revolution through the examination of the historical context of politics and how it impacted the social atmosphere.

In the 1950’s, tourists visited the island of Cuba for its warm beaches, culture and Spanish colonial architecture. But underneath the surface, was a revolution ready to burst through the Cuban people they just needed the right person to lead them. Cuba at this time was run by a Political Dictator named Fulgencio Batista.

Generations upon generations of people have been thriving in Spanish speaking countries. Cuba is no different, through traditional clothing and special holidays they always are in tune with the past. With flamboyant traditional attire, that rivals the suns bright color and Spring flowers, coupled with fun to watch free flowing up beat music like Guaguancó or Pachanga, the Cuban culture is very exciting. In order to start to describe my family ties with Cuba, I will use an analogy: With every spin of a vibrant dress it seems as if the hands of time slowly turn back time. As the clock goes back so does my family history. In the early 1920's my great grandmother and her family made the trip from Spain to Cuba. Ever since then my family has had bearings

There are only five countries left in this world that still call themselves communists stated by (PRI,2013). Everyone knows those five countries as, China, Dominican Republic, Korea, Vietnam, and of course Cuba. Cuba is home to 11.2 million citizens whom live a very different life than us who populate the united states (PRI,2013). During the year of 1925 the socialist party was founded forming the Communist party. Cubans government has survived over 50 years of Communism (BBC,2017).

As a young child, I remember living in New York during the latter part of the

Cuba has been the source of controversy for decades. Between events such as the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis in the 1960s and the country’s ongoing Communist dictatorship, this island nation has not always been thought of as an appealing place to visit. However, Cuba’s physical and human geography, especially when coupled with the lifting of the US embargo, give it the potential to be a prime tourism destination.

The readings for this week consisted of the second half of Conceiving Cuba by Elise Andaya (2014). This half of the book focused on abortion, gendered work and surviving through migration (Andaya, 2014). Overall, Andaya (2014) focuses less on reproductive health and women than one would expect, and instead provides more of a critique of the shortcomings of the socialist revolution in Cuba. These critiques get in the way of Andaya’s (2014) narrative and ultimately detract from the discussion of reproductive health in Cuba.

The Communist Revolution of Cuba didn’t just impact the working class, but rather also affected the youth living in Cuba as well. Many children fought in the brigades to avoid capital punishment. One such account tells the story of Jose Agustin, who wrote an autobiography of his experiences in the brigades titled “Diario de brigadista, Cuba 1961”. It was in this book that Jose talked about his daily

Havana USA by María Cristina García is a book about the very first groups of Cuban immigrants to come to the United States after the Cuban Revolution. The book also discusses the political, cultural, and intelligence aspect of the Cuban people in Southern Florida. Havana is split up into two different sections - this helps separate different events that occurred.

As Cubans began to enter different sects of the labor market, other than entry-level jobs, the locals complained that Cubans were stealing jobs and opportunities from them, the American people (Garcia, 20). After the “freedom flights” started, Miamians were even more displeased at the policies – disregarding that many of the Cubans would only stay temporarily in Miami and would later be resettled in other parts other parts of the country (Levine & Asis, 87). In all, some groups of locals were more welcoming and others were more resentful at the influx of Cuban immigrants.

As I stepped off the gargantuan, snow white cruise ship, I gazed at a colorful sea of retro-style cars zipping through the narrow streets littered with potholes. The day I had been anticipating and fearing was finally here. I was in Cuba. The customs office at the end of the ship terminal was institutional looking, with stark white walls and bright lighting. Eventually, my family left customs and officially entered Cuba. Before meeting our tour guide, we located a restroom. Outside, there was a rugged and dirty looking man selling toilet paper to American tourists, who forgot their own roll. However, the cruise line had forewarned us, so we bypassed him.

Cuba is an island nation that was adopted in 1902. One third of it consists of mountains and rolling hills. It lies in the West Indies, and is said to be a beautiful island. Havana is Cuba’s capital, and the center of government for Cuba. Some important cities are Santiago de Cuba and Camagüey. Santiago de Cuba is near the south-eastern area of Cuba, and has a population of about half a million people. It’s considered the second most important city in Cuba, probably because it’s an important sea port. Camagüey is the fourth largest city in Cuba, according to Wikipedia. The symbol of Camagüey is a clay pot, mainly because there are clay pots everywhere. They can be very small, or very big. They’re used to capture rainwater to be