"Ay, mi Cuba..." a Havana Travel Page by mikey_e

Havana was truly my first impulse trip ever. I was 21 and working in Ottawa at a dead-end summer internship that made me want to scream from boredom every time I went to my desk. I decided to take the August long weekend, plus a sick day, plus some creative hours-padding, to fly off to sunny and exotic Havana for four days. My parents panicked just a little bit and, within 5 hours of buying my ticket, they convinced my sister Joanna that she should go too. That's the story of how I came to jet off to Havana like a wealthy playboy (with his sister). We arranged our casa particular from Canada and met up in the airport in Toronto before landing in a shocking and baffling urban expanse that blew any sort of preconceptions we had far, far from our minds. Havana was hectic, hot, humid and very, very confusing, but eventually we found how to handle it all. Now, like my first love, everytime I think of something spontaneous, irrational and totally impulsive, I think of mi tierra linda, La Habana...

You can always tell people who have never been to Cuba by the way they talk about the Revolution and Cuban socialism. Either they laud Fidel and the Revolution as being one of the greatest events in human history, or they rail against it and socialism as if el Presidente were massing troops for some massive assault against global capitalism. The fact is that the two opinions compete with each other for being farther from the truth about the actual state of Cuba. Although socialism has undoubtedly impregnated Cuban culture and radically differentiated Cuba from other Caribbean states, its not quite the socialist paradise some expect. Its not hard to find examples of American consumerism everywhere and the people are more enterprising and crafty when it comes to earning money from tourists than any American huckster could dream of being. As for Che, it's rather difficult to convince yourself that, even in the staunchest bastions of Cuban socialism, his image isn't being commercialized even just a bit.

The most striking characteristic of Havana is not its ideological base or its isolation from global trends, but the sheer energy that Cubans exude. You might think it impossible to be anything but indifferent in the oppressive heat and humid of the city of Havana, but Cubans are immune to the weather and seem to be ready to have a good time whatever is going on. The people are always very friendly (watch out for those who are too friendly) and willing to start up a conversation if you're willing and able. Even with the embargo people seem to be busy doing whatever they can wherever they can, and you shouldn't be surprised if even the police are trying to get in on the tourist business. In the hustle and bustle of Cuba's relative opening to the rest of the world, however, no visitor should forget to experience life a la cubana. I had a memorable experience wandering through a Cuban concert where the vast majority of people were natives, and I'll never forget the pulsating energy of the human masses dancing to the beat of Cuba's neverending rhythm.