I got back from Cuba over a month ago, and I’m finally posting about it. It took me a second to gather my thoughts, and my feelings, and what exactly I wanted to say. When I first got back everyone was checking in to see how my trip went. My manager, who helped get me on the tour, asked me how I liked it. I told her, “Last year when I got back from South Africa I cried thinking about all the incredible animals I saw, and this year as I came back from Cuba… I cried thinking about the people.” A few days after I got back, I did a virtual session with my therapist and burst into tears when he asked me about my trip. At first, when people were asking me about it- I didn’t think I could truly put it into words. Do I share what freaked me out? Do I share that I had amazing seafood and stayed in an all-inclusive hotel at one point (aka enjoyed things that Cuban people themselves don’t get to)? Or do I tell them about the baseball game where we played against members of various Cuban baseball teams? I can’t stop thinking about a speech one of the guests gave at the end of the tour and the words he said about our Cuban Tour Director. It hit me hard that we’d never be able to send him anything in the mail, or donate anything back to Cuba, and there’s no chance of me ever seeing our Tour Director again unless I go back to Cuba. I also got teary-eyed at the grocery store the night I got back to Nashville. I went to pick up some essentials and got overwhelmed thinking about all the cereal options I was walking past. I couldn’t help but think about the Rations grocery store we got to visit in Remedios- there was hardly anything in there, and here I was overwhelmed by the cereal options in front of me.
As I shared in my previous blog, 60 countries and counting, I’ve been to a lot of places and seen a lot of things. I’ve been to Cambodia where small children were standing outside of Angkor Wat asking you for money. I’ve been to the Caribbean, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic… so many places where people don’t have a lot- but Cuba just hit different. I think, for me, the fact that Cuba was a thriving, hedonistic-type haven and getaway for many, but then got cut off because of political tension and a multi-decades long embargo… I was seeing forgotten people for the first time ever. On our tour, we ended up at the National Hotel in Havana- many famous people have visited and stayed at this hotel, and while we were there our Tour Director went over the colors and design of the Cuban flag. He said it’s like Puerto Rico’s, but the colors are opposite. The lone star on the flag is also a nod to the US flag. One thing I found interesting about what he said about it being like Puerto Rico’s, is that had the political tensions not boiled over the way they did, we would have known a world where Cuba was an equivalent to Puerto Rico. Another interesting thing I learned was that the mafia was originally planning for Havana to be a hotel/casino destination. To put it plainly, Las Vegas is what it is only because the mafia wasn’t allowed to implement their original plan in Havana.
Another thing I want to point out is that I’m not a Historian and I’m not writing this post to impose my views on anyone. I am simply sharing my experience and/or what I saw or heard on my tour. I also have no idea if what I share will come across as propaganda, or ill-informed… I’m simply just sharing what we did and how it made me feel. There’s nothing more to it. I’m not here to hurt anyone or speak ill of an entire nation of people. Nothing in this post is meant to hurt or offend people. I merely had the opportunity to go for work, and I did not want to pass it up. We went on people-to-people visas and had a jam-packed itinerary where we met and interacted with various business owners, non-profit creators, and other leaders within the Cuban community.
I’m glad I had the opportunity to go to Cuba for work, because I would’ve never wanted to figure this out on my own. I’m an avid traveler, but the places that inspire me the most are places I don’t want to go to as a solo female traveler. One of the perks of my full-time job is getting to go on one of our trips, every year, and the past couple of years I’ve been very blessed with the places I’ve been able to go to. Over the past four years, I’ve been able to travel to places like Isreal, Jordan, South Africa and now Cuba. All of those places have been high on my list to visit for work, and all because I wanted to go with a group and not as a solo traveler. And I’m glad I did it this way, especially for Cuba. As an American, there is a lot you must make sure you do before you go. I had to apply for a visa under 45 days prior to departure and then get another visa/travel document around 8 days prior to departure, and then I had to get an e-sim for my phone, and then I had to get cash- but smaller and crisp bills as they don’t want anything too big or ripped or torn. I also had to make sure all my bills were paid before I left. I departed on July 2nd, so I luckily had the ability to pay my mortgage on time. However, right as I hopped on the plane to Cuba I saw my lawn mower guy was working on my yard (from my Ring cam)… and I wasn’t able to send payment until I got back nearly two weeks later.
The best way to sum up my experience in Cuba, is this is a place where people, and buildings, are forgotten. Back during the Pandemic, circa 2020, I think all of us were freaked out and fearful that we would have shortages forever, or never be able to go back to work, or not be able to move around as freely as we were used to. I feel like what the Cuban people have been experiencing for 60+ years is exactly that. What would all of us be doing right now if Pandemic shortages or laws were still going on 5 years later? Well, what if they kept going for 60 years? The US imposed a full-trade embargo on Cuba back in 1962, and Cuban people have had to make it work for 63 years. Do they get tourism from other countries? Yes, but they also don’t get businesses or products that we have because businesses trading with the US can’t also trade with Cuba. There wasn’t a Starbucks or McDonald’s in sight. And the sodas we drank were either a brand none of us had ever heard of from a different country, like Portugal for example, or if we did come across a Pepsi or Coca-Cola it came from a place like the UAE.
One of the biggest things that has stuck with me is how rundown the buildings are in Havana. Even down the beautiful main boulevard, heading towards our hotel, all the houses were rundown and deteriorating. Imagine going down a main boulevard in a place like Beverly Hills. Think of how manicured those lawns are, and how well taken care of those mansions are. Pristine. Nothing is out of place. Pure perfection. Well, now think of those same mansions never having any upkeep for 60+ years. It was as if wind gusts, and time had taken their toll on these once beautiful mansions, and they were just left there to never be taken care of again. It also hurt me to hear that the President of Cuba would do big Presidential car rides down this boulevard- he would be able to see exactly what I saw. Old homes that were not kept up with, and you’re proud of that? You’re able to drive by those mansions and wave to your people and look past everything crumbling around you? Something that continues to haunt me is we stayed at a really nice hotel near the water, and right next to it was an apartment building called the Giron. One of my colleagues sat with me on the bus one day, and I mentioned to him that I wanted to take a video of this condemned/abandoned building that was right next to us- the juxtaposition was insane! I kept telling him about how scary the stairs looked, and how it must’ve been impossible to go up those, and there were wires hanging down from the ceiling in the stairwell too. He looked at me and said, “Malia- did you look at the back of that building?” I told him no. He said, “there were lights on, and windows open, and people have some of their laundry hanging out drying… people live there”. My heart sank. In the US, we would mark that as a condemned building and not allow people to live there.
We were also told that the way Cuba works/runs/operates will make no sense to us whatsoever, but they’ve been able to make it work and that’s all that matters. For example, our Tour Director said Cuba is the country with the highest number of divorces and it turns out it’s because it’s very cheap to get a divorce. Also, sometimes people needed to marry and/or divorce in order to get a car or house put in their name. Like they weren’t allowed to sell a property, but they could agree to marry someone, put a house in their name, and then divorce and keep the house in the divorce. Also, we got to do a classic car ride excursion and one of the drivers was also a Doctor- but he made more money driving tourists around in classic cars, so he retired and drives people around now.
And once again, the people are what have impacted me the most. We stayed at a hotel in a small town called Remedios, and they made us a very nice fish dinner. The Tour Director told us that the workers brought spices from home to make sure the food would be more to our liking. We also learned that that same town does an annual celebration that started decades before the revolution- and they still do it. We got to visit a warehouse where people from the town come and work on displays and even fireworks. As it turns out, they don’t have fireworks in Cuba… but the people of Remedios figured out how to make them so they could still celebrate the same way for their annual festivities. All I can think about is how resilient people are. Despite not having a lot, the people were so nice and made me realize that even in such an extreme circumstance… life goes on. People adapt. People figure it out.
I can’t help but think of the song from Wicked when I look back on my time in Cuba.
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good
This trip really impacted me. If there’s anything I can leave you with after reading this blog post, it’s to go see Cuba for yourself. Even our Tour Director told us to encourage others to visit. Go on a people-to-people visa and experience the country through its people. Don’t just visit an all-inclusive hotel (the money goes back to that hotel-chain, not the people living there). I promise, you will be forever changed too ❤
One last thing- this is obviously a booze free blog, and I haven’t even touched on my experience of not drinking while I was there. I didn’t know where exactly I could sprinkle this in, so the end is where it has to go. The good news is that my not drinking didn’t phase my colleagues or our clients. People were supportive and understanding- if anything clients who didn’t drink, or didn’t want to, would find themselves near me and we’d order mocktails together. My colleagues also know what I do outside of office hours, and they are super supportive. I was able to find a lot of drinks, and truly didn’t feel like I was missing out on the culture- I had a bunch of non-alcoholic mojitos, a non-alcoholic daquiri, iced americanos and pineapple soda. The only time I really heard some pushback was at a restaurant called Casa Mia. It came highly recommended and was right next to our hotel. My colleagues and I opted to get lunch before clients arrived. My colleagues ordered alcoholic drinks, and I ordered my mocktail and I heard the waiter say, “why did you even come to this country if you’re not going to drink rum?” under his breath. I have to remember that this person doesn’t know me, and he doesn’t know my story or what I stand for. I also have to understand that he comes from a country known for their rum and mojitos. I had to remind myself that I’m never going to see this person again, and his issue is not my issue. I was still able to enjoy my mocktail and enjoy the incredible food. And then we hit the road.
Booze Free in Music City 
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