Vol. 18, No. 3 March 2010
www.cubanews.com
In the News One year later, Obama’s Cuba initiatives
Facebook for everyone yield mixed results; nothing new likely Obama loosens regs on instant messag- BY ANA RADELAT But Havana has had a real problem with ing, Web technology to Cuba ...... Page 4 t’s been nearly a year since President Obama Obama’s effort to bring Cuba’s citizens into the turned his attention toward Cuba with a ser- information age. And the president’s much- ies of modest initiatives, but they have failed hyped effort to ease restrictions on U.S. tele- Going backwards? I communications firms hoping to do business in to thaw relations with Havana. And new policy Analyst argues U.S. policy is taking steps Cuba has also failed to interest that industry. changes from the Obama administration aren’t in the wrong direction ...... Page 6 In September, the White House issued a new expected anytime soon. general license that allowed representatives of State Department spokeswoman Gini Staab U.S. telecom companies to visit Cuba to negoti- Sweet dreams told CubaNews in late February “there are no ate deals. But Obama’s initiative largely restricts 2010 sugar harvest unlikely to reach re- other initiatives in the works that I know of.” those entities to making deals with non-Cuban One year ago, Secretary of State Hillary Clin- gime’s goal of 1.4 million tons .....Page 7 companies. It also leaves in place a regulation ton promised a review of Cuba. But that propos- that bans U.S. firms from establishing facilities al has been put on indefinite hold, said a State in Cuba or exporting technology to the island Newsmakers Department official who asked not to be named. except for cellphones distributed to individuals. Vicki Huddleston, ex-chief of the U.S. In- Meanwhile, the small steps Obama took in 2009 Those restrictions — and Cuba’s clear signal terests Section in Cuba, pushes her new to change Cuba policy have had mixed results. that it doesn’t want the United States to inter- While Cuba has said Obama’s initiatives are fere with the flow of information on the island — book, “Learning to Salsa” ...... Page 8 meaningless, it clearly benefits from a dramatic have dampened the U.S. telecom industry’s jump in the flow of hard currency resulting from enthusiasm for doing business with Cuba. Reporter’s notebook a boost in U.S. exile travel and remittances. See Obama, page 2 What it’s really like to be a foreign corre- spondent in Havana ...... Page 9 Gross family takes its campaign public; All aboard! Special 3-page report examines the sorry Congress urges jailed citizen’s release state of Cuba’s railway infrastructure and BY LARRY LUXNER what’s being done to fix it ...... Page 10 concerned that his health has recently deterio- he name Orlando Zapata Tamayo was rated. I am increasingly worried about the psy- Business briefs flashed all around the world after the out- chological trauma he might suffer due to his T spoken political dissident died following imprisonment. Lastly, but not less important, his A hotel in Shanghai, a bridge in Vietnam; an 83-day hunger strike in a Cuban jail. 86-year-old mother’s health has deteriorated sig- urban farm project expanded .....Page 14 Tragic though his death was, it’s another pri- nificantly since Alan’s arrest. We are afraid soner — U.S. citizen Alan Gross — whose fate is something might happen to her before Alan Hope for Mariel more likely to determine the immediate future comes home. Every day he is apart from us, it of relations between Washington and Havana. gets harder and harder.” Brazil’s Odebrecht seeks to convert Mar- For three months, the 60-year-old Maryland Ben Gross, who lives in Wynnewood, Pa., is iel into major container port...... Page 17 man has been locked up in Havana’s Villa Alan Gross’s first cousin. Their fathers — both Marista maximum-security jail. After a long of whom worked in the window-cleaning busi- Bookshelf silence, family members and congressmen are ness in New York — were brothers. now starting to talk publicly about the man “He’s got two daughters, ages 24 and 20, and Matanzas, magical powers of state, mak- whom Cuban officials are calling a spy — even they don’t know if their father is coming back,” ing dance and Benny Moré ...... Page 18 though they’ve yet to charge him with anything. said Gross, a business consultant for Philadel- “Our two daughters and I miss Alan terribly. phia-area hospitals. Alan is a social worker by CubaNews (ISSN 1073-7715) is published monthly We need him home immediately,” said his wife, background, and spent an entire career in devel- by Luxner News Inc. © 2010. All rights reserved. Judy Gross, in an email to CubaNews, noting oping countries trying to work with local people. Subscriptions: $429 for one year, $800 for two years. that her husband has lost 52 pounds in prison. The Cubans have detained him for no appar- For editorial inquires, please call (301) 452-1105 or send an e-mail to: [email protected]. “This is the hardest thing we have ever had to ereason. If he’s a spy, prove it.” endure as a family,” she told us. “We are very See Gross, page 3 2 CubaNews ❖ March 2010 Villa Marista prison outside Havana. success. Keeping a campaign promise, Obama — FROM PAGE 1 Cuban President Raul Castro has accused Obama first allowed Cuban-Americans to visit Gross of using “sophisticated” communica- family members on the island once a year — “It wasn’t what the private sector wanted to Bush had restricted those trips to once every see,” said Eric Farnsworth, vice-president of tions equipment to help opposition groups in their role as U.S. “mercenaries,” and Cuban three years — then lifted all restrictions on the Council of the Americas and a former the frequency of family visits. State Department official. Obama also removed all limitations on the The only bilateral telecom project in the duration of those visits and on remittances works seems to be Miami-based TeleCuba’s and broadened the definition of family so that plan to lay a 110-mile undersea fiberoptic it included second cousins. cable linking the Florida Keys with Havana. Those changes pleased the exile communi- TeleCuba won a license last October from ty and resulted in booming business for char- Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control ter companies that offer direct flights to Cuba that exempted it from the prohibition against from Miami, Los Angeles and New York. granting Cuba access to U.S. technology. “Traffic is way up,” said Robert Hodel, TeleCuba CEO Luís Coello wouldn’t dis- president of Costa Rica-based Tico Travel, cuss the status of his $18 million project, one of several dozen agencies authorized to which was to have been “fully operational” by book Cuba-bound charter flights. 2011, according to a company press release. Hodel said charter companies have added HOSTILE RESPONSE FROM CUBA flights to Cuba and secured larger aircraft to meet demand. While Obama implemented the telecom “The real problem now is space,” he said. initiative, it was actually drafted by a State De- Francisco Aruca, founder of Marazul Tours, partment official during the Bush administra- the largest agency providing service from the tion as a continuation of the 43rd president’s United States to Cuba, estimated that 200,000 May 2008 initiative to let Americans send cell- Cuban-Americans visited family on the island phones to relatives in Cuba. in 2009. That’s more than double the estimat- After Obama’s election to the White House ed 85,000 travelers to Cuba on U.S. charter in November 2008, the Bush administration flights in 2008. held off implementing its telecom plan, a for- Marazul agent Bob Guild said 2,000 non- mer U.S. official said. Cuban-American licensed travelers visited The purpose of that initiative was not to Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez told re- porters last month that Gross had committed Cuba in 2008, jumping to 3,000 in 2009, indi- make an overture to the Castro regime, but cating that the Obama administration was to allow Cuban citizens — and especially dis- “serious crimes” and is “under investigation.” The American’s arrest, along with the Feb. more willing to license that kind of travel. sidents — to skirt their own government’s re- “These are still small figures, but it’s a strictions on free access to information. The 23 death of imprisoned Cuban dissident Or- lando Zapata Tamayo after an 11-week hunger change,” said Guild. hoped-for result was destabilization of the Like family travel, U.S. remittances to Cuba Cuban government. strike, has put a new chill on U.S.-Cuba rela- tions that isn’t likely to thaw soon. also dropped after Bush tightened the embar- As could be expected, Cuba’s response was go, from $109.4 million in 2004 to a low of just hostile, evidenced by the Dec. 3 arrest of Alan EXILE TRAVEL TO CUBA UP DRAMATICALLY over $60 million in 2008 (see above chart). Gross, a subcontractor for the U.S. Agency “With either of the Castros still in power, Remittances have since rebounded, though for International Development. Nearly three no one knows by how much since the State months after his imprisonment, no charges substantial changes will be difficult to achieve politically,” Farnsworth told CubaNews. “And Department said it could not provide specific have been brought against Gross, who allege- remittance data for 2009. ❑ ly distributed computer and satellite equip- every time there’s a move toward opening in ment during several trips to Cuba. the United States, Cuban leaders do some- Ana Radelat is a Washington-based freelance But the Cuban government has rejected thing to change the debate.” journalist and has been covering Capitol Hill for repeated U.S. calls for his release from the Another Obama initiative has had more CubaNews since the publication’s birth in 1993. Farm groups back Peterson bill to lift restrictions on ag exports griculture groups ranging from the National Milk Producers Reform and Export Enhancement Act (TSRA) by ensuring its inter- Federation to the U.S. Dairy Export Council are applauding pretation according to the original intent of Congress to allow for Athe Feb. 23 introduction of legislation to boost exports of U.S. payment in a manner that did not impede trade, while also not offer- food commodities to Cuba. ing the extension of credit to Cuba. The Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act (HR Prior interpretations of TSRA have hampered U.S. exporters’ abil- 4645) was introduced by Collin Peterson, a Minnesota Democrat ity to ship product to Cuba in a safe and cost-efficient manner. and chairman of the House Agriculture Committee. It is being co- “This bill would help to address administrative and technical bar- sponsored by 30 other lawmakers including Reps. Jerry Moran (R- riers to U.S. dairy exports to Cuba that are not in keeping with the KS), Rosa De Lauro (D-CT) and Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO). original spirit and intent of Congress when it determined that we The bill, which also lifts all restrictions on U.S. citizens traveling should be able to export agricultural products to Cuba,” said Tom to Cuba, requires farm shipments to Cuba to meet the same pay- Suber, president of the U.S. Dairy Export Council. “The Cuban mar- ment standards as exports to other countries. ket holds significant promise for U.S. dairy exporters but has be- Mavis Anderson, an associate at the anti-embargo Latin America come increasingly difficult to supply within the past few years.” Working Group, calls the Peterson legislation “our best chance to Not coincidentally, the Mar. 10 issue of Roll Call has a full-page end the travel ban in 2010” — though its passage remains doubtful advertisement featuring John Block, who served as President Rea- due to opposition from most Republicans and many Democrats. gan’s agriculture secretary, in which Block says “I have a passion for Notably, the bill would establish clarity and predictability regard- trade, for agriculture in all countries, and I have felt for years it is ing the “cash-in-advance” provision of the 2000 Trade Sanctions truly ridiculous that we don't have an open relationship with Cuba.” March 2010 ❖ CubaNews 3 contract with Bethesda, Md.-based DAI. tablishing VSAT installations in such remote Gross — FROM PAGE 1 On his latest trip, Gross — who volun- places as Afghanistan, Armenia, Iraq and Gross has already written letters to Penn- teered for Obama’s 2008 presidential cam- Kuwait, speculation has focused on the possi- sylvania’s two U.S. senators, Arlen Specter paign — was detained at Havana’s José Martí bility that Gross was giving out satellite (D) and Robert P. Casey Jr. (D), as well as his International Airport as he was trying to leave phones to dissidents — an activity that would Cuba. He and his wife have had four short clearly infuriate the Castro regime. local congressman, Rep. Jim Gerlach (R), ask- Washington Post, ing them to put pressure on the State phone conversations since then, each one The in a Feb. 22 editorial, lasting no more than three minutes. said: “Only in the ancient, crumbling regime Department to push for his cousin’s release. of the Castro brothers could this ridiculous Last month, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) “Judy and Alan were at my daughter’s wed- ding on Oct. 3 of last year,” said Ben Gross. “I charge be leveled. That’s because Cuba is vir- and both of Maryland’s Democratic senators, tually alone, even among Ben Cardin and Barbara Mikulski, wrote to authoritarian countries, in Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressing trying to prevent most of their “overwhelming concern” about Gross. its population from using Van Hollen is also circulating a similar letter the Internet even for non- to colleagues in the House of Representatives. political purposes.” Separately, Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), chair- Veteran Cuba-watcher man of the House Foreign Affairs Subcom- Phil Peters said the PR mittee on the Western Hemisphere, raised campaign executed last the issue at the end of a speech on U.S. policy month on Gross’s behalf towards Latin America. may have in fact wors- “I am extremely concerned about the im- ened his predicament, prisonment of USAID contractor Alan Gross PHOTO COURTESY OF THE GROSS FAMILY noting Feb. 24 in his blog in Cuba,” Engel said in his Mar. 10 address. “I that “it seems more a understand that Mr. Gross’s health has been political defense of the on the decline while in detention, and that he USAID program than an has lost over 50 pounds. Clearly, his release effort to win his release.” needs to remain a top priority.” Peters is vice-president PUNDITS STILL DEBATING WHO’S TO BLAME of the Lexington Institute, a research outfit based in Gross, detained Dec. 3 at Havana’s airport, Alan and Judy Gross in happier times; Alan, 60, is now in a Cuban prison. Arlington, Va. reportedly was helping Cuba’s tiny Jewish He pointed out that, fol- community access the Internet so its 600 or asked Alan what he was doing these days. He lowing the arrest of 10 so members could communicate with each said to me, ‘Ben, I go to Cuba on a govern- American Baptists by Haitian authorities after other and with their exiled families in South ment contract, distributing cellphones and they tried to bring Haitian children in their Florida and elsewhere. laptops to the Jewish community so they can custody who had survived the earthquake to His company, Joint Business Development communicate. And that’s all I can tell you.’ He the Dominican Republic, the U.S. consul-gen- Center LLC, was subcontracted by Develop- did not want to elaborate on what he was eral in Port-au-Prince, Donald Moore, said ment Alternatives Inc. (DAI), itself a benefici- “we tell all Americans all over the world, 24 ary of funds from the U.S. Agency for Inter- doing in Cuba.” hours a day, that you are subject to the laws of national Development in USAID’s mission to Gross says he wonders sometimes what his the country where you find yourself.” promote a “democratic transition” in Cuba. cousin was thinking. Apparently, suggested Peters, that doesn’t Gross, who from 1981 to 1985 was director “Alan is an intelligent man. He should have apply in the case of Americans detained by of commerce at the Jewish Federation of been aware of all this,” he said. “Why would the Cuban government. Greater Washington, had traveled to Cuba he jeopardize his life and his family? Why “Demanding his release is a fine idea, but several times, distributing humanitarian aid would he do it?” that requires the State Department to make and cellphones to political dissidents under a Considering his company’s expertise in es- the demand face-to-face to Cuban officials. No one likes a situation where a USAID contrac- tor is stuck in a communist legal system and C&W eyes Cuba, but says it’s far from final deal our diplomats have to make a case for his looking to sell. The latest numbers from release,” he said. able & Wireless is interested in “We can assign blame to the Cuban gov- Cuba’s telecom market, but isn’t as Etecsa show that as of Sept. 30, 2009, Cuba ernment — fair enough, it arrested him — Cclose to brokering a deal as British was home to 1.11 million landlines, includ- but the U.S. government and Mr. Gross’s press reports suggested in early March. ing public phones — having added just 200 employer would seem to be responsible for A spokesman for C&W says the company new connections in nine months. (Internet putting him in this mess in the first place." is in the running for an undersea cable deal customers numbered 27,100 at the same Peters added: “I continue to believe that the linking Cuba with Jamaica, but it is not — as date, up from 25,800 at the start of the year.) best hope for Mr. Gross is that Cuban author- London’s Sunday Times suggested — close However, growth in Cuba’s wireless mar- ities come to the conclusion that they have to agreeing to a final deal. ket has been more impressive, although far made their point, and he can be released on a C&W also disputed the assumption made from explosive, in recent months. humanitarian basis. Let’s hope that happens.” by a number of media outlets that it’s active- There were close to 546,000 mobile cus- Meanwhile, Judy Gross — a psychothera- ly seeking to acquire a stake in state-run tomers in Cuba as of Sept. 30, up 65% from pist by profession — says she has to be strong Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba. just 331,700 at the end of 2008; Cuba’s wire- for her daughters. While signing on the dotted line for the less market is 94% prepaid. “I can’t forget that their lives go on, and my cable link would be a good stepping stone According to Telecom Italia, that growth job as a mother is to be there for them. I am to working with the Cuban government to stemmed from slashing activation charges trying to keep their lives as normal as possi- serve the island’s telecom market, talk of in December 2008 and again in May 2009. ble under the circumstances,” she told Cuba- buying into Etecsa went too far, he said. Last September, Washington issued a new News. “If I go to Cuba, I hope it is to accom- As its stands, Telecom Italia holds a 27% regulation letting representatives of U.S. pany Alan on his flight back home.” ❑ stake in Etecsa, although it is reportedly telecom firms visit Cuba to negotiate deals. Larry Luxner edits and publishes CubaNews. 4 CubaNews ❖ March 2010 FOREIGN TRADE U.S. loosens regulations on Internet technology to Cuba BY ANA RADELAT U.S. software. So are the citizens of Sudan “To this end, Microsoft is working closely ecretary of State Hillary Clinton’s policy and Iran. But American companies can ask with the Department of State and OFAC to for specific licenses to sell some software to of promoting the free flow of information make technologies like Windows Live those two countries. They can also request Messenger accessible around the globe in S and communication around the globe — specific licenses to sell software to Cuba, but including countries with repressive govern- support of free expression while meeting our it is a different process involving different obligations under the current law.” ments — has hit a big stumbling block: the export control regulations. embargo on Cuba. Yahoo and Google failed to return calls on The White House is trying to fix that prob- IS MESSENGER HERE TO STAY? this issue. lem by issuing new general licenses to in- Many Cubans have access to email through crease personal, Internet-based communica- The Castro regime, and many of its citi- schools, workplaces and post offices. But gov- tions, such as instant messaging, emails and zens, use free, open-source programs. But ernment restrictions keep most Cubans from social networking, with Cuba and two nations the ban on the purchase of U.S. software is unfettered access to the web. And those who also under U.S. sanctions, Iran and Sudan. likely to continue to be an impediment to have access are subject to government filters. “Consistent with the administration’s deep Clinton’s goal of a completely wired Cuba. Cuba’s 11.2 million citizens currently have commitment to the universal rights of all of “Now you can make Facebook available in less access to the Internet than their counter- the world’s citizens, the issuance of these Cuba, but you can’t sell a premium blog pro- parts anywhere else in Latin America. gram,” Zuckerman said. “And there’s no general licenses will make it easier for indi- The Castro regime says Cuba doesn’t have chance of buying something like [Microsoft] enough bandwidth to allow universal access viduals in Iran, Sudan and Cuba to use the Word or any operating program.” Internet to communicate with each other and Zuckerman said the new regulations are to the web, and that the U.S. embargo pre- the outside world,” Deputy Secretary Neal likely to prompt Microsoft to give Cubans vents it from obtaining better service. Wolin said in a Mar. 8 statement. back their Messenger service. The company In any event, said Zuckerman, government Several U.S. companies, including Micro- said it is still working with the Obama admin- control and a lack of money to buy computers soft and Google, have stopped letting Cubans istration on the issue. and get online will keep most Cubans from use their services because they say the “Microsoft is committed to supporting benefiting from the loosened regulations. embargo prohibited it. efforts that ensure that the Internet remains “There are just so many things that keep Cubans offline,” he told CubaNews. But he MICROSOFT UNWILLING TO RISK HUGE FINES a platform for open, diverse, and unimpeded communication and commerce,” the compa- said the administration’s actions are “a step in Microsoft’s Messenger has been available ny said in a statement emailed to CubaNews. the right direction.” ❑ in Cuba for about a decade without interfer- ence. But that changed with the release of Windows Live Messenger at the end of 2008. Microsoft disabled that program in Cuba OFAC also relaxes food payment rules and other countries to “meet obligations to not do business with markets on the U.S. he United States is easing rules for reinterprets payment of cash in advance to sanctions list,” said Dharmesh Mehta, direc- cash payments of agricultural sales mean before title and control of the farm tor of Windows Live Product Management. Tto Cuba through September 2010, goods are transferred to the Cuban buyer. Treasury Department spokeswoman Marti according to a document posted on the U.S. That would let Alimport pay for goods Adams said Microsoft and other U.S. software Treasury Department’s website. just before they’re unloaded in Cuba, low- companies misunderstood embargo law and Reuters reports the move is at least a ering the financial cost of the transactions that a clarification was needed. temporary victory for U.S. farmers whose that are paid through third-country banks. But Ethan Zuckerman, senior researcher at trade with Cuba was complicated by pay- John Kavulich, senior policy advisor at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and ment rules issued by Treasury’s Office of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Coun- Society, said the embargo rules are confus- Foreign Asset Control during the adminis- cil, doubts the rule change would lead to a ing, federal fines for sanctions violations are tration of President George W. Bush. big increase in U.S. farm exports to Cuba. increasing and Treasury’s Office of Foreign The loosening was approved by Con- “From a strictly commercial viewpoint, Assets Control (OFAC) seems more and gress in December in a provision added to it’s going to have very little benefit for more likely to enforce the embargo. a spending bill funding federal agencies for Cuba,” Kavulich said. Even though Cuba “Treasury had an extremely unfair policy the rest of fiscal 2010 (to view it, go to decried the rule change in 2005, it contin- and Microsoft felt like it was taking a risk,” www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/pro ued to buy U.S. farm goods with purchases Zuckerman said. “They probably thought, grams/cuba/fy2010_cashadvance.pdf). reaching a record $710 million in 2008 (see ‘This isn’t a risk we want to take. Cuba isn’t a This has already disappointed lawmak- CubaNews, February 2010, page 6). place where we make a lot of money.’” ers who see the move as ill-timed after the Purchases fell in 2009 to $528 million, He said that Microsoft and other compa- recent death of political prisoner Orlando but the decline reflected Cuba’s dire econo- nies risked fines of up to $250,000 for violat- Zapata Tamayo from a hunger strike. mic situation much more than the OFAC ing the embargo. Farm sales were exempted in 2000 from rule, Kavulich said. To end the confusion over sanctions regu- the long-standing embargo so long as Hav- The House Agriculture Committee re- lations, Clinton pressed Treasury to amend ana pays in advance for the goods and the cently held hearings on farm trade with the embargoes on Cuba, Iran and Sudan in money is handled by a third-country bank. Cuba. Committee Chairman Collin Peter- December. OFAC complied Mar. 8 by issuing The Bush administration interpreted son (D-MN) has offered legislation to fur- the new general licenses. payment of cash in advance to mean Cuban ther ease food sales by allowing direct pay- That means that emails and instant mes- buyers had to pay for the U.S. farm goods ments between U.S. and Cuban banks and saging to Cuba — and sharing photos and before they left port for Cuba. lifting all travel restriction on U.S. citizens movies with people on the island — is author- OFAC’s new regulations, which it said (see box on page 2 of this issue). ized, as long as the exchanges are free. only covered the remainder of fiscal 2010, – REUTERS NEWS SERVICE Cubans are still banned from purchasing March 2010 ❖ CubaNews 5 POLITICAL BRIEFS CUBA LASHES OUT AT EU AFTER CONDEMNATION In their own words … Cuba accused the European Parliament of “The United States deeply regrets the death of Orlando Zapata Tamayo. We “great cynicism” on Mar. 11 for condemning the send our condolences to his family and we reiterate our strong objection to the communist island for the death of an imprisoned actions of the Cuban government. He was imprisoned for speaking his mind, hunger striker, and it vowed not to bow to inter- for seeking democracy, for standing on the side of values that are universal.” national pressure over human rights. — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in a Feb. 25 address before the House Foreign The Cuban National Assembly said in a state- Affairs Committee. The jailed Zapata, 42, died after an 83-day hunger strike. ment that Cuba had a meritorious record in the “struggle for human life” and it blamed the European Parliament’s action on “a campaign “We’re currently reviewing the risks in the wake of the baseless arrest of orchestrated by powerful European media.” Mr. Gross in Cuba so that people who are traveling in furtherance of the mis- The elected body of the 27-nation EU approved sion, advocating for freedom, providing services, providing supplies and mate- a resolution condemning Cuba for the “avoidable rial to Cubans will take the necessary precautions when traveling.” and cruel” Feb. 23 death of political prisoner Or- — Secretary Clinton, in further comments at that same hearing. lando Zapata Tamayo, who died after an 11-week hunger strike for improved prison conditions. “In what may be a new low in cynicism, even for him, Raúl Castro issued an His death provoked an international outcry unprecedented, totally phony, statement of regret over Zapata’s death, blaming against Cuba’s government and calls for it to free it on the United States for reasons that no sane person could possibly fathom.” its estimated 200 political prisoners. The EU par- — The Miami Herald, in a Feb. 26 editorial, “Stop Coddling Cuban Dictatorship.” liament repeated this call in its resolution. Brussels also expressed concern at the “alarm- “The death of Orlando Zapata Tamayo is a horrible tragedy. We urge the ing state” of another dissident, Guillermo Fari- Cuban government to release other prisoners convicted for promoting human nas, who is on a hunger strike at his home in rights, and to change its approach to opposition political activity.” Santa Clara since Feb. 24. He has vowed to die if — Geoff Thale, program director at the Washington Office on Latin America, a the government does not release 26 political pris- nonprofit group that opposes the embargo and is generally sympathetic to Cuba. oners said to be in ill health in Cuban jails. GRANT TO AID CUBA-TRAINED DOCTORS IN HAITI “For the time being, all bets are off regarding further progress in U.S.-Cuba relations.” Responding to the critical needs of the Haitian Marifeli Pérez-Stable, a Cuba analyst at Florida International University. people, the Christopher Reynolds Foundation has — made a grant to MEDICC, including $36,000 to match individual donations, dollar-for-dollar. “Lula has known for many years that our country has never tortured any- Funds raised will send aid to the 400-plus Hai- one, never ordered the murder of an adversary and never lied to its people.” tian doctors trained at the Latin American Medi- — Fidel Castro, in a Mar. 2 defense of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da cal School (ELAM) in Cuba, and tending to the Silva, who some have criticized for visiting Cuba hours after Zapata’s death. sick and injured in Haiti’s public hospitals, clinics and makeshift emergency rooms in the capital of “For some reason, when it comes to Cuba, the recent actions by the regime Port-au-Prince and throughout the country. to arrest an American citizen have totally frozen our actions. Are we going to have a permanent freeze on entities that are trying to create peaceful change AERONAUTICS CHIEF IS REPLACED BY RAÚL CRONY for civil society inside of Cuba? Is that the policy of the State Department?” Raúl Castro has fired Gen. Rogelio Acevedo, — Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), urging the White House not to suspend USAID’s president of Cuba’s Institute of Civil Aeronautics pro-democracy programs to Cuba in the wake of Alan Gross’s imprisonment. (IACC), and replaced him with Brig. Gen. Ramón Rodríguez Echevarría, deputy chief of air defense “We will strengthen our voice in the concert of nations through this new in the Revolutionary Armed Forces. mechanism, to become protagonists and no longer mere spectators of what Apparently, Acevedo’s replacement is a man happens in the world.” within Raúl’s inner circle, with little or no experi- — Mexican President Felipe Calderón, hosting a Feb. 23 summit of Latin Ameri- ence in civil aviation. can and Caribbean leaders (including Raúl Castro), who have formed a new The announcement, made on Cuban state TV regional group that includes Cuba but excludes the United States and Canada. earlier this month, gave no reason for Acevedo’s dismissal. Since 1989, under his leadership, Cuba has modernized its airports and upgraded its air “This was a valuable experience for MARL participants. We left Cuba with a fleet despite the collapse of the Soviet bloc. far better feel for the economic issues facing the communist country as a Acevedo supervised the building of airports at result of the U.S. embargo that has been in place since the Cuban revolution.” Cayo Coco and Varadero, and the transformation — Tim Alcorn, executive director of the Minnesota Agriculture and Rural Leader- of airports in Santa Clara and Holguín from mili- ship program, which sponsored a 10-day mission to Cuba in mid-February. tary to civilian use. Other airports in Camagüey and Cayo Largo “It’s overwhelming. When I see how much should and could be done to give were vastly improved, and Havana’s José Martí Havana back its glorious image, I suffer.” International Airport saw the construction of Ter- — Cuban architect Julio César Pérez Hernández, who told Reuters that he drew up minals 2 and 3, as well as an air-cargo terminal. a plan to save Old Havana because the government does not have one. In addition, Acevedo improved air security and air-traffic control systems with new technology, “My boyfriend always saw the woman in me and accepted me how I replacing outdated Soviet-era systems. was, but we couldn’t have sex in a complete way until now.” He leaves the IACC with Cuba receiving flights — Yiliam González, a 28-year-old wedding pianist from Havana, and one from dozens of airlines from around the world, of the first Cubans to get a free sex-change operation under a new gov- up from only a handful of airlines in the late ernment policy; 22 other transsexuals now await similiar procedures. 1980s and direct links to only a few destinations. 6 CubaNews ❖ March 2010 POLITICAL ANALYSIS U.S. policy on Cuba: Turning the page backwards? BY DOMINGO AMUCHASTEGUI visit to Havana, in September 2009. on the human-rights situation in Cuba. n the early days of the Obama administra- Furthermore, he said, it marks an “impor- Valenzuela went on to stress that human tion, a wave of optimism prevailed among tant change” in the way bilateral relations rights and “liberalization of the Cuban re- Iobservers of Cuban affairs. After all, the have been conducted lately — a return to gime” are the conditions for a dialogue new president had questioned and criticized confrontation and a Cold War mentality on between Washington and Havana. Washington’s long-standing embargo policy both sides. Valenzuela’s formula drops the notion of — leading Fidel Castro to lavish praise on In any case, placing Cuban dissidents on an “transition” after more than 20 years of use- equal footing with the Cuban government is less rhetoric and comes up with a new — but Obama’s leadership potential. no mistake or blunder, but a calculated attack actually very old — term: “liberalization.” Likewise, his brother Raúl, the president, on one of the most sensitive areas of conflict But is there really a substantial difference repeatedly stressed his readiness for an open between the two governments. between the two? Essentially, both are agenda without preconditions. Spain and all of Kelly also “demanded” that USAID sub- about bringing down the existing system and Latin America expressed high hopes, expect- contractor Alan Gross be released from his its government, nothing else. ing an end to the embargo as the turning Havana jail cell immediately (see story, page 1 Are these conditions for a dialogue coming point for U.S. relations with Cuba. of this issue). Again, the wording is no mis- from the world’s only superpower? Or is this But after the summits at Port of Spain and take; it is calculated tough talk with bullying a call for unconditional surrender? Under San Pedro Sula, everything began to crum- overtones. such terms, Cuba’s leadership goes back to ble. With the exception of a very few minor the trenches, with a very slim hope, limited changes, Obama has stood by the pillars of FROM ‘TRANSITION’ TO ‘LIBERALIZATION’ to very minor issues, for any successful dia- U.S. policy on Cuba inherited from the Another point: USAID is effectively en- logue, as made clear by Ricardo Alarcón, Clinton and Bush administration. gaged in various cooperation projects around chairman of Cuba’s National Assembly. The various initiatives in Congress seeking the world; there is no question about it. Finally, the Obama administration’s most to improve relations were all simply put aside But in the eyes of the Castro regime, recent initiative was to renew — as it’s done — some would say suffocated — with no sup- USAID means nothing else but active finan- with the embargo and the State Department port from majority leaders in either the cial, technical and political support to terrorist list — the declaration of national em- Senate or the House of Representatives. Miami’s anti-Castro forces and to dissidents ergency, enforced ever since the 1996 shoot- The latest bill, offered by Collin Peterson on the island. And Jewish institutions in Cuba down of the Brothers to the Rescue planes. (D-MN) on export and travel restrictions, will — who receive unfettered assistance from “The Cuban government has not shown its most likely meet the same fate. brotherly institutions and communities from willingness to refrain from the use of exces- In recent weeks, things have not changed the United States, Canada, Europe and Israel sive force against American ships or planes,” for the better, but for the worse. Even the — have not granted one inch of legitimacy to says the official statement, which some news chances for a mere truce have become slim- the claims made by Gross’s employer. agencies have called routine. But the threat- mer, as correctly pointed out by Miami ana- Moreover, Arturo Valenzuela, the U.S. ening language remains the same. lyst Alejandro Armengol. assistant secretary of state for Western And, placed in this context, any real im- This same author, who can hardly be Hemisphere affairs, made some clear-cut provement or progress in bilateral relations labeled pro-Castro, doesn’t hesitate to charac- statements about Cuba during an interview in has to be ruled out. terize Assistant Undersecretary of State Craig Madrid last month. President Obama, wisely enough, invited Kelly’s meeting with a crowded representa- First, he implicitly disqualified Spain’s ef- Middle Eastern nations to turn the page of tion of dissidents at an official reception in forts to revise EU’s Common Position on past conflicts and start anew. Yet right now, Havana as “fundamentallly different” from the Cuba, when he said it wasn’t clear for the U.S. the many pages of the U.S.-Cuba conflict are one held by Bisa Williams, in her previous how this would lead to a signficant change just turning backwards. ❑ Argentine business school offers MBA program in Cuba n Argentine business school with branches in various Latin Furthermore, the regime itself covers the tuition costs for Cubans American countries has brought an MBA program to Cuba — participating in the program, for which foreigners pay $22,000. The A the last bastion of Marxism in the Americas. article mentions one course, “How to Do Business in Cuba: A Cur- Last autumn, Mendoza’s Alta Dirección Business School (ADEN rent Vision for International Commerce With the Island,” in which in Spanish) began offering management courses to Cuban govern- 40 Cuban executives and 20 other Latin Americans are enrolled. ment funcionaries and Latin American businessmen who were in- Greco Guiñazú, who asserted that the mere existence of his MBA trigued with the idea of taking MBA courses in Fidel’s Havana. program in Cuba shows “the interesting change” going on in the ADEN’s president, Ricardo Greco Guiñazú, told the Argentine country, noted that “the Cubans have very strong leadership skills.” newspaper Diario Los Andes that it took a year to put together the ADEN’s office in Mendoza wouldn’t discuss its Havana program Cuban MBA program due to that country’s bureaucracy, but was when CubaNews called seeking comment. But given Cuba’s track able to proceed thanks to an alliance it made with the Cámara de record of who’s hired to run those sectors of the economy relevant Comercio in Havana. to an MBA, the school probably has a number of ex-military person- “We sold [the Cubans] the idea of how to make distinct organiza- nel and favored civilian bureaucrats among its student body. tions — public, private and mixed — more efficient, and not focus so Other Cuban MBA students enrolled in the program are likely much on the issue of business,” Greco said. employed in the country’s tourism sector, as well as in other money- Contrary to what some thought upon first hearing of the school’s generating entities such as CIMEX (which runs Cuba’s “dollar store” MBA course in Havana, the Castro regime reportedly has no influ- supermarkets) and GAESA, the holding entity for Cuba’s Ministry of ence over the content of the courses being taught, whether it’s mar- Defense and parent company of tourism conglomerate Gaviota. keting, sales or executive management. – VITO ECHEVARRÍA March 2010 ❖ CubaNews 7 COMMODITIES 2010 sugar harvest won’t reach goal of 1.4 million tons dizing the final result, says Granma. Among them: Antonio Guiteras in Las Tunas, accoun- ting for 8-10% of national sugar production. In 2002, Cuba dismantled half of its sugar mills along with their lands and infrastruc- ture, leaving active only the most efficient plants and plantations. Seven years later, however, the results of this downsizing seem truly disappointing, as the remaining industries are obviously per- forming worse than before the shutdown and production has fallen to 1.27 million tons in the last five years, which is only a third of the 3.6 million-ton average from 1999 to 2002. Industrial performance has instead wors- ened, with lost grinding time peaking at 67% in 2004. “Lost time by the industry grew over the past six harvests at an annual 2% pace and BY OUR HAVANA CORRESPONDENT On the other side, Matanzas, Sancti Spíri- 2010 seems to fit the same pattern,” accord- tus and Cienfuegos report a grinding pace ing to the Granma analysis. uba is facing serious difficulties keeping Based on that report, we estimate Cuba pro- its sugar industry grinding efficiently. above 70% — which seems good considering the rather bleak forecast — but nevertheless duced 740,000 tons of sugar by Mar. 1. By the CAs of mid-March — the peak of ripening end of the harvest in April, another 500,000 insufficient to attain the official goals. for sugarcane and the best time for grinding tons of sugar will likely be produced. ❑ — the official newspaper Granma says the 44 Some of Cuba’s key sugar mills are jeopar- sugar mills involved in this harvest were used only at 64% of capacity. This translates into 150,000 tons of raw sugar not produced to date. Sugar Ministry inspections found, among 3.95 other problems, that “poor technological and managerial discipline” led to low performance 3.50 67.7 at 18 sugar mills, or two out of five grinding plants nationwide, and decided to stop grind- ing in four of them for these reasons. 2.49 Breakdowns and other interruptions have idled plants nearly 19% of the time so far in 44.5 39.9 41.4 2010, said Granma, with a further 11% of pro- 42.5 duction lost to a lack of sugarcane in the tan- 34.9 36.0 dems, because of an abnormally wet season. 29.5 29.0 29.4 All provinces are grinding below the mini- 22.5 mum 80% pace required if the harvest is to succeed (the official goal this year is 1.4 mil- lion tons). The most critical provinces are Las Tunas, Holguín, Ciego de Avila and Santiago No data de Cuba, which together account for nearly a third of Cuba’s total crop. Sherritt: J-V produced 106 tons of nickel a day in Feb. Canada’s Sherritt International broke nickel while the Che Guevara will weigh in at around rential rains and a storm surge. production records in February, official media 28,000 tons, well below its 32,000-ton capacity. Output had averaged between 74,000 and reported Mar. 10. There was no information on the Rene 75,000 tons of unrefined nickel plus cobalt for The Pedro Soto Alba plant produced 106 tons Ramos Latourt, the oldest plant with a capacity much of the decade before Ike hit. daily while the Ernesto Che Guevara plant of 10,000 to 15,000 tons, which operated below That output could jump to over 100,000 tons reached 76 tons daily, said Holguín province's capacity at various times last year. a year if and when the unfinished Las Camario- TV Cristal. The two plants are located in Moa. Cuba’s unrefined nickel plus cobalt produc- cas nickel plant in Holguín province comes on Pedro Soto Alba is a 50-50 venture between tion weighed in at 70,100 tons last year, accord- line. Plans for the $500 million Venezuela-Cuba state monopoly Cubaniquel and Sherritt, while ing to the government. venture are apparently back on track, accord- the Che Guevara plant is owned by Cubani- Production at the Pedro Soto Alba plant was ing to a state TV report (see story, page 17). quel, as is a third facility in neighboring a record 37,328 tons, Sherritt reported. Nickel is essential in the production of stain- Nicaro, the Rene Ramos Latourt plant. In September 2008, Hurricane Ike slammed less steel and other corrosion-resistant alloys. At current production rates, the Pedro Soto into Holguín’s northern coast, damaging the Cuba says Holguín province accounts for Alba appears on track toward output of around two Cubaniquel plants, infrastructure, housing 30% of the world’s known nickel reserves, with 38,000 tons of unrefined nickel plus cobalt, and buildings and swamping the area with tor- lesser reserves in other parts of the island. ❑ 8 CubaNews ❖ March 2010 NEWSMAKERS Veteran diplomat Vicki Huddleston: Learning to salsa BY TRACEY EATON “I was diverted by the Brookings project Huddleston was nicknamed the “radio am- he Castro brothers remain in power, which brought me back into contact with bassador” because she helped distribute despite five decades of U.S. economic many of the Cuba experts here in the U.S. thousands of shortwave radios to information- T sanctions. Now America’s former top This Brookings project turned into a book — deprived Cubans. diplomat in Havana suggests a new approach: not the book I had intended to write. Rather “Our intent is positive,” she said at the time. Try wiggling your hips. “Salsa” provides a prescription for changing “We are trying to bring the world to Cuba’s U.S. officials need to shake things up, re- U.S. policy toward Cuba. doorstep so that Cubans can make choices tired ambassador Vicki Huddleston says. “Most surprisingly, these Cuba experts, about their lives and their future. They need to change their mindset when it who have very different view on U.S. policy “You can imagine, these kids out in the comes to Cuba. And that’s “rather like learn- toward Cuba, agreed on how to change the provinces. ...When you give them a radio, it’s ing to salsa,” she said. In fact, Huddleston just co-authored a book called “Learning to Salsa: New Steps in U.S.- Cuba Relations.” She wrote the 176-page book with Carlos Pascual, a former vice-president at the Brookings Institution in Washington. TRACEY EATON Huddleston was a visiting fellow at Brookings from 2007 to 2009. She and Pascual, now the U.S. ambassador to Mexico, propose a dramatically different strategy toward Cuba. Among their sugges- tions are that U.S. officials: ■ Take unilateral steps to engage Cuba, leading to eventual normalization of ties. ■ Seek approval from Cuban officials be- fore distributing money and in-kind aid aimed at advancing human rights and boosting small businesses in Cuba. ■ Encourage U.S. non-governmental orga- nizations to give financial aid to Cuban com- munity service workers and organizations no matter what their ideological bent. ■ Review whether Cuba belongs on the U.S. government list of state sponsors of ter- rorism — and remove the country from the list if warranted. Vicki Huddleston points to a bronze plaque affixed to the entrance of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana. Unless American officials change their strategy, there is a risk “that Cuba will evolve US-Cuba dynamic. We could envision the unheard of, that someone would give them a without us,” Huddleston told CubaNews. Then steps to a new relationship. Rather like learn- gift like that.” “when the change really comes” to Cuba, “we ing to salsa...” Felipe Pérez Roque, then Cuba’s foreign will be inconsequential.” Huddleston didn’t speak with quite the minister, was not moved. FOCUSED ON AFRICA, PASSIONATE ABOUT CUBA same conciliatory tone when she was the “In this country, we are the ones who are in Interests Section chief. charge,” he said. “The people defend the rev- Huddleston, a career diplomat and former During her tenure, Castro supporters and olution and won’t let others conspire and sub- Peace Corps volunteer, headed the U.S. Inte- his foes clashed over the fate of Elián Gon- vert the order that the people have won.” rests Section in Havana from 1999 to 2002. zález, the Cuban boy found clinging to a raft There was such animosity toward Huddle- After her stint at Brookings, she moved to the off Florida’s coast in November 1999. ston at times that Castro loyalists kicked her Secretary of Defense, where she is now dep- and her prize-winning Afghan pooch out of a uty assistant secretary for Africa. Elián’s mother died during the voyage and the boy’s Miami relatives took custody of him. Cuban kennel club. But she remains passionate about Cuba’s News of the expulsion made headlines in fate and has vivid memories of her experience Huddleston used to stand on a balcony at the Interests Section and watch Castro loyal- the United States. The kennel club felt on the island. obliged to send a letter to Huddleston saying “I have so many stories about my adven- ists down below, marching along the Malecón and demanding Elián’s return. that while she was not welcome, her dog was. tures in Cuba,” she told us. “Just thinking Still, Huddleston was popular in the diplo- about them makes me want to go back and VICKI, THE ‘RADIO AMBASSADOR’ matic crowd and befriended many Cubans, relive the Cuba experience. I will always love too. Writing in the Washington Times, she re- the people, admire the dissidents, and respect Then-President Fidel Castro ordered work- ers to build a huge theater directly in front of called picking up several young hitchhikers in the government.” Havana in 2002. the U.S. mission. It still stands and is called She explained that she respects the Castro “When they asked me where I got the beau- regime — “How can you not?” — because it the José Martí Anti-Imperialist Tribunal. tiful black Crown Victoria sedan I was driving, has endured for more than 50 years. U.S. authorities brought Elián back to Cuba I told them that I was the chief of the U.S. Asked why she wrote “Learning to Salsa,” in June 2000, but tensions between the two Interests Section. Delighted, they exclaimed, Huddleston said she had always wanted to countries continued. Cuban officials objected ‘Be our mother and take us to Miami!’” write a book after living in Cuba, “but that to Huddleston’s support for dissidents and book remains unwritten.” human-rights activists. See Huddleston, page 9 March 2010 ❖ CubaNews 9
■ Huddleston — FROM PAGE 8 Engagement does not mean approval of the Cuban government’s policies, nor should REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK After Cuba, Huddleston served as U.S. am- it indicate a wish to control internal develop- BY TRACEY EATON bassador to Mali. She joined Brookings after ments in Cuba. By slowing the flow of ideas retiring from the Foreign Service. and information, we have unwittingly helped wo former correspondents in Cuba At Brookings, she and Pascual brought Cuban state security delay Cuba’s political have recently written books about and economic evolution toward a more open T their experiences on the island. together 17 scholars, diplomats and experts Isabel García-Zarza, a former reporter who devised a new approach toward Cuba, and representative government. ■ Mortality and time — not U.S. sanctions for Reuters, wrote “La Casa de Cristal: summarized in the group’s April 2009 report — have already begun the process of change. Diario de una corresponsal en La Habana” to President Obama, titled “Cuba: A new poli- A new generation of Cuban leaders will [House of Glass: Diary of a correspon- cy of critical and constructive engagement.” replace the Castro brothers and those who dent in Havana]. And Vicente Botín, an Among its findings: fought in the Sierra Maestra. ex-reporter for TV Española in Cuba, ■ Our nearly 50-year old policy toward On that last point, Huddleston jokes, Fidel wrote the second memoir, “Los Funerales Cuba has failed. It has resulted in a downward Castro may outlast all of us. “Maybe he really de Castro” [Castro’s Funerals]. spiral of U.S. influence on the island and has will live forever,” she said. ❑ Former Miami Herald foreign editor Juan Tamayo wrote about the books and, more generally, what it’s like to work as a correspondent in Cuba. His piece, pub- lished Feb. 21 in El Nuevo Herald, brought “I have so many stories about my adventures in Cuba. Just thinking back memories of my time in Cuba. about them makes me want to relive the experience ... I will always I started traveling to Cuba in 1994 and was based there from 2000 to early 2005. love the people, admire the dissidents and respect the government.” People often ask me what it was like. I can tell you this: I didn’t want to leave. — VICKI HUDDLESTON, FORMER CHIEF OF THE U.S. INTERESTS SECTION IN HAVANA I grumbled about the obstacles that for- eign correspondents face in Cuba. I com- plained about the pressures I felt in a country where the government controls left the United States isolated in the hemi- “Learning to Salsa: most of the press. sphere and beyond. New Steps in US-Cuba I sometimes vented while visiting my ■ The United States should adopt a policy Relations.” ISBN: 978- boss at the Dallas Morning News in of critical and constructive engagement, 0-8157-0389-1. Paper- Texas. He was sympathetic to a point. But phased-in unilaterally. back price: $24.95. De- then he’d shake his head, smile, look me ■ The president does not have the authori- tails: Anthony Nathe, in the eye and ask: Just what the heck are ty to end the embargo or lift the travel ban, Publicity Director, The you complaining about, son? but can effectively dismantle the current com- Brookings Institution, I mean, I wasn’t chained to a desk. I mercial embargo by using his licensing auth- 1775 Massachusetts wore shorts and sandals almost every- ority to permit U.S. exports of certain goods Ave. NW, Washington, where I went. I rarely had to wrap a tie and services, two-way trade in a wide variety DC 20036-2103. Tel: around my neck. I lived near the beach, of goods and services, and/or allow broad (202) 536-3608. Email: practically on it. People were friendly. The categories of travel to Cuba. [email protected]. climate was fabulous. There was very lit- tle crime. I had a dream job. So what was I complaining about? Officials at Cuba’s Foreign Ministry asked similar questions in 2003 when Reporters Without Borders published a
TRACEY EATON report called, “Foreign Journalists Under the Regime’s Microscope.” The 17-page report was based on inter- views with seven correspondents from French, British and Spanish newspapers and a correspondent for Spain’s TVE. Getting the simplest official informa- tion is much like going into battle, they said. The obsessively secret and distrust- ful regime is very anxious to closely mon- itor all information destined for Cubans and people abroad. And relying on third-hand sources, after laborious cross-checking, exposes journalists to the risk of being used or else endangers those who agree to talk to reporters, even anonymously. On a personal level, working in Cuba was considered trying, to say the least. The regime, in its great concern about its foreign image, uses an array of continual and carefully graded psychological pres- Vicki Huddleston, then-chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, poses at her official residence with See Reporter, page 15 Jimmy Carter, his entourage and local Cuban staffers during the 39th president’s May 2002 visit to Cuba. 10 CubaNews ❖ March 2010 SPECIAL REPORT Cuba’s neglected rail infrastructure needs lots of work BY ARMANDO H. PORTELA uba’s railroad system, once a major element of the island’s transportation network and the pillar of its economic devel- Copment, is suffering from decades of neglect. For some sectors of the network, the wear and tear is so severe and the loss of professionalism in the working force so grave that it would make more sense to rebuild tracks, stations, communi- cations systems and signals than repair existing infrastructure. Facing gradual paralysis of the railroads, the Castro regime has allocated $595 million in 2010 to repair the tracks and buy some equipment abroad. Cuba has already purchased 112 new locomo- tives (of which 52 are now on the island) and is expected to buy new passenger coaches, freight cars and a new telecom system. Authorities have also rounded up 2,000 soldiers and an unde- termined number of inmates to perform some urgent repairs on the tracks. Cuba’s railroad network is quite simple. It consists of a main axis running the length of the island or about 700 miles, from the town of Guane (12,000 inhabitants) at the extreme western tip to the city of Guantanamo (population: 208,000) to the east. The net- work connects all major urban centers, economic zones and ports either directly or through branches and parallels the watershed as closely as possible in order to minimize the necessity for bridges. About 8.8 million people, on nearly 80% of Cuba’s population, have direct access to rail service. The exceptions are some inac- cessible swamps and mountainous zones where towns and eco- nomic activities are less significant. Not near the rail system is See Railroads, page 11 March 2010 ❖ CubaNews 11 The largest segments of Cuba’s rail system Railroads — FROM PAGE 10 utilize diesel-operated tracks, with 77 miles of northern Pinar del Río province, the Isle of an electric railroad running between Havana Youth and eastern cities like Baracoa, Moa, and Matanzas. Sagua de Tánamo, Gibara and Niquero. In 2008, Cuban railroads carried 13.8 mil- In 2008, the railroads covered a total of lion tons of freight — one out of every four 5,092 miles (8,193 km), down 16% from 6,040 tons of freight hauled on the island, including miles in 2003 and down 28% from the 7,094 air-cargo and coastal maritime cargo. Most of miles that existed in 1998. Records show that that consists of sugarcane and farm produce. the total length of railroads in Cuba was 9,095 During the critical droughts earlier last miles in 1970 and 11,224 miles at its heyday in decade, the railroads were also used to trans- the late 1950s (twice the current length). port drinking water from western provinces That dramatic drop can be blamed largely to the drought-stricken zones of Las Tunas LARRY LUXNER
Train pulls into Havana’s central rail station (left, and see map, page 11); Cienaga station outside Havana. on the collapse of Cuba’s once-proud sugar and Holguín. The railroad accounts for nearly industry. When the government moved to dis- 1.4 billion freight ton-miles. mantle 70 sugar mills in 2002, roughly 2,200 Passenger traffic is important as well. In miles of tracks were abandoned nationwide. 2008, railroads carried 7.9 million passengers Figures show that public railroads — used islandwide, a sharp decline from the 12.2 mil- for passengers and freight — have remained lion passengers in 2003, and only a third of the stable at a length of 2,60 miles over the last 25 million passengers who traveled Cuba’s few decades. rails annually in the late 1980s. As a whole, Cuba has 11.9 miles of track for Railroads provide transportation for only 7% every 100 square miles of territory (7.4 kms of Cuba’s suburban and intercity travelers, per 100 sq kms). That’s down a third from the though trains are the preferred travel option railroad density Cuba had in the early 1990s. for longer distances. Railways accounted for Cuba uses a standard-gauge railway system 1.056 billion passenger-miles, or 59% of all pas- (1,435 mm or 56.5 inches wide) — the same as in the United States, Mexico, Canada, the senger-miles traveled in 2008. The average European Union and many Latin American passenger traveled 85 miles by train in 2008. countries — for 99% of its tracks. Cuba’s railroad fleet is eclectic, resembling Havana-born Armando Portela, a contribu- Still, 1% of the tracks, or 56.6 miles, are of more a vintage collection than a mode of tor to CubaNews since the newsletter’s birth in narrow guage, a system used to transport sug- transport. It includes U.S.-built engines from 1993, has a Ph.D. in geography from the Soviet arcane in the past. See Railroads, page 12 Academy of Sciences. Portela resides in Miami. LARRY LUXNER
Sign points the way to the train station, Pinar del Río. 12 CubaNews ❖ March 2010 the safest sectors to be used in critical places. stay awake and close to their belongings dur- Railroads — FROM PAGE 11 It is not uncommon for a train to be stopped ing intermediate stops to avoid luggage theft. the 1950s or earlier, along with Russian, for hours, while broken rails ahead wait to be Aside from infrastructure decay and the Czech, Hungarian, Canadian and Chinese- replaced. There are 21 culverts considered to shortage of essentials, the rail system is also made engines pulling trains along the tracks. be in poor shape. plagued by a low-paid, demoralized and un- Reportedly, American-built locomotives of El Pinareño, as the Pinar del Río is locally qualified work force, and the exodus or at best the 1950s are still considered the most reli- known, transports some 700,000 passengers retirement of more experienced workers. able of all, while the newer Soviet-made units per year, along with all fuels consumed in the “Over the last few years the technical level are the least reliable. province and 90% of its basic foodstuffs. The of railroad workers has declined,” Rolando Since Cuba’s purchase of new Chinese en- regime has allocated 3,000 workers along with Navarro, general manager of the Unión de gines, 283 locomotives are now in public use, 40,000 concrete crossties and 672 traffic sig- Ferrocarriles de Cuba, recently told the daily up from 206 in 2003, while the non-public sec- nals to fix the Pinar del Río-Havana segment. newspaper Granma. “Among the main rea- tor has 433 engines, down sons for this: poor attention to workers’ needs, 56% from 767 in 2003. poor working conditions, and salaries that There are now 283 loco- don’t motivate them to increase productivity motives available for pub- or aspire to higher positions.” The rail system currently employs 20,240
lic use, up from 206 in LARRY LUXNER 2003, while the non-public workers earning an average $20 per month. sector has 433 engines Only 4% of the workforce has a university de- available (many of them gree, well below the national average. ❑ steam), down by 56% from 767 in 2003. Rail track plants get upgrades Likewise, there were 23,143 freight cars on the Unión de Ferrocarriles de Cuba is mak- island in 2008, though ing investments at two plants that will allow some 16,635 of them are the state-run corporation to speed up reno- specialized cars for the vations of its dilapidated railroad lines, transport of sugar cane. In reports Cuba Trade & Investment News. 2008, there were also 404 The effort is funded by Venezuela, via the passenger coaches, down Young man idles his motorcycle along the tracks in downtown Camagüey. ALBA integration agreement. In 2007, Ven- from 504 in 2003. ezuela’s Banco de Desarrollo agreed to in- A freight train averages 16 cars with a total Even the industry’s star services are com- vest $100 million in infrastructure improve- weight of 900 tons pulled by one single monly affected. The Havana-Santiago de Cuba ments and repairs to Cuba’s rail network, to engine. The maximum permissible weight per daily special, popularly known as “the French increase average speeds from 25 mph to 62 axle is 23 tons. Longer and heavier trains are train,” is frequently suspended or at best sub- mph. In exchange, Cuban rail engineers are limited by the shortage of equipment and the stituted by shorter and lower-quality trains. providing services in Venezuela. condition of the tracks. Since the late 1980s, the travel time to cover This year, only 12.6 of 4,226 kilometers Today, traveling the 100-mile stretch from 466 miles grew from 12 to 16 hours on aver- will be renewed, but that’s up from only 5.6 Havana to Pinar del Río takes over eight hours age (though it’s also been known to take up to km last year, says the newsletter. Central to — compared to three hours in years past. In 24 hours), while the number of cars has been the effort are the Solcar rail soldering plant some part of the circuit, trains cannot exceed reduced from 12 to eight. in Placetas, and a Santa Clara factory expec- six miles per hour (normal walking speed is In the late 1980s, the route was covered by ted to produce 180,000 concrete railroad ties 3.5 mph). According to official media, a com- four daily trains in each direction. Reportedly, and one million elastic fasteners this year. mon practice is to harvest good crossties from train officials recommend that passengers
Population In thousands March 2010 ❖ CubaNews 13 EARTHQUAKE IN HAITI Cuban exile firm vies for Haiti prefab housing contract BY VITO ECHEVARRÍA external bath/toilet. “very easy to build. It houses a lot of people. uban-American exile Andrés Duany, a However, after his visit to Port-au-Prince, It’s very inexpensive. It survives hurricanes renowned architect and urban planner, where he consulted with sociologists and and earthquakes and it’s a cultural fit.” Cis jockeying to get his share of Haiti’s anthropologists, Duany made some design He noted that, given Haiti’s notorious lack post-earthquake reconstruction business. changes to adapt to local conditions. of concrete and rebar, these homes will be Duany recently traveled to Haiti — along “Even within the category called the poor anchored deep into the ground to prevent sta- with executives from Miami-based prefab in Haiti, there at least four classes, and they bility problems in future natural disasters. housing firm InnoVida Holdings LLC and its behave differently,” Duany said in a recent Also, in order to deal with sanitary issues, Venezuelan CEO, Claudio Osorio — to dis- radio interview with American Public Media. due to limited water supplies, he recommend- cuss Haiti’s housing crisis with President “Some of them eat outside, some eat indoors, ed the use of a “peepoo bag” — an item that’s René Préval and other top officials. some in front of the house. Some of them made of a disposable biodegradable bag Duany, working with InnoVida, had initially cook and eat in the back of the house, some which quickly composts human waste. come up with a waterproof, wind-resistant and have windows, and some don’t want windows According to CBS News in Miami, each earthquake-resistant design (consisting of because they believe the spirits enter through structure costs between $2,500 and $10,000 to fiber composite panels) for a small cabin style the windows. All these things — because construct. These units were previously built home with a simple frame, netted sides and a they’re contradictory — have caused us to in Europe and Dubai. supported awning — housing designed for design not one but four different houses.” InnoVida is now collaborating with NGOs eight beds and an additional panel for an Duany also said his prefab house will be like World Vision, Habitat for Humanity and Medishare to help assess the areas within Haiti where housing is most urgently needed. It also plans to set up a factory in Haiti by the end of 2010 with initial startup capital of $15 million, coming from the Overseas
LARRY LUXNER Private Investment Corp. InnoVida plans to create 250 direct and 1,000 indirect jobs dur- ing its first year, with an eye towards con- structing up to 10,000 houses annually. RIVAL PREFAB HOUSING FIRM HOPES TO CASH IN Meanwhile, despite Duany’s good inten- tions, some in the nonprofit community have their doubts about such houses. One individ- ual who’s worked with Caribbean hurricane victims and who’s a staunch advocate of pre- Port-au-Prince lies in ruins after the Jan.12 quake (left); Cuban medical brigade is based at a local hospital. fab emergency housing told CubaNews: “I don’t think it’s going to work. The Haitians are really proud of their culture and their Cuban docs expand Haiti coverage French connection. This home looks like a uba says it’s expanding its medical mis- on advancing Haiti’s long-term health system. walk-in freezer. You can’t stack them on top of sion to Haiti and urging doctors from According to Cuban Communist Party each other. You got to pack in these people.” A rival prefab housing firm, Thomasville, Cother countries to join it. newspaper Granma, the Cubans are building two new hospitals outside Port-au-Prince, in Ga.-based Harbor Homes LLC, has taken Cuban President Raúl Castro, in a Feb. 23 issue with Duany and InnoVida’s use of fiber speech to Latin American and Caribbean lead- areas where health care had been practically nonexistent. The latest field hospital was composite panels for their prefab homes — ers in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, said: “The particularly for a population accustomed to major challenge begins now, when the press opened in Croix-des-Bouquets, on the out- open-flame cooking. headlines abandon Haiti, the moment of skirts of the crowded capital city. “If you research the manufacture of poly- emergency is over, and the supposed ‘threat’ “We’re working to provide comprehensive isocyanurate building materials you will note of a wave of emigration is diminishing. Haiti care over the long term,” said Dr. Carlos that various MSDS sheets are clear that doesn’t need a fleeting and sudden gesture of Alberto García. He noted the immediate need chemicals used in the process can leach, are charity. It requires and deserves a major for surgeries for fractures and polytraumas carcinogens or have other hazards they pres- international effort for its reconstruction.” has now given way to rehabilitation efforts, ent, asserts Harbor Homes official Matthew Castro said Cuba’s medical mission in Haiti treatment of people with diarrhea and respi- Batson. “We believe it would be helpful for has now grown to nearly 1,440, spread ratory infections, and campaigns to prevent everyone involved if the process of [fiber throughout the nearby Caribbean nation. serious disease outbreaks in coming months. composite] panel manufacture were open for Known as the Henry Reeve International “Post-quake epidemics area a real con- review, so that it can be determined what Brigade — named after an American who cern,” he said, reporting that Cuban teams chemicals are used and their known effects.” joined Cuba’s independence war in the late have so far vaccinated 20,000 Haitians and Meanwhile, a donors conference taking 19th century — it includes nearly 800 Cuban international volunteers with 400,000 tetanus place Mar. 31 at the United Nations in New doctors and other health-care workers, as vaccines donated by Cuba, and additional vac- York will determine if the Haitian government well as 637 doctors from Haiti and 26 other cines donated by the Pan American Health ultimately proceeds with InnoVida’s prefab countries who trained at Havana’s Latin Organization against whooping cough, rubel- housing or with another housing plan, as well American School of Medicine. la, measles and diphtheria. as how it will be paid for. Since the quake, the Cuban mission has Details: Diane Appelbaum, MEDICC, 1814 Details: InnoVida Holdings LLC, 560 Lin- treated over 95,000 Haitians and performed Franklin St., Suite #500, Oakland, CA 94612. coln Rd., Suite #303, Miami Beach, FL 33139. 4,500 surgeries. It is now focusing the mission Tel: (510) 350-3052. URL: www.medicc.org. Tel: (786) 837-7200. Fax: (305) 674-8369. 14 CubaNews ❖ March 2010 in the fourth quarter. Cruise-ship arrivals rose The Vietnamese bridge — which spans the BUSINESS BRIEFS 1.4% after a 3% decline in 2008. This increase Saigon River between a new district of Ho Chi was associated with the aggressive marketing Minh City and the old center — is a venture GOVERNMENT EXPANDS URBAN FARM PROJECT drive of the cruise-ship lines. between Vietnam’s Ministry of Construction Cuba has launched a project to ring urban Details: Johnson Johnrose, Caribbean Tour- and Cuban state company Quality Couriers In- areas with thousands of small farms in a bid ism Organization, Barbados. Tel: (246) 427- ternational SA, which is also involved in Bra- to reverse the long agricultural decline and 5242. Email: [email protected]. zil’s modernization of the port of Mariel west ease its chronic economic woes, Reuters of Havana (see story, page 17 of this issue). reported in February. QCI’s role in the 1.25-km, six-lane bridge The five-year plan calls for growing fruits didn’t begin until 2006, reports Cuba Trade & and vegetables and raising livestock in 4-mile- Investment News. wide rings around 150 Cuban cities and towns “The project had been 10 months behind at (not including Havana). that point of time, due to land compensation The communist authorities hope suburban problems. QCI’s original two-year fee had farming will make food cheaper and more been upwards of $650,000,” said the newslet- abundant, cut transportation costs, be less ter. “The bridge, combined with a road tunnel, reliant on machinery and encourage urban is a crucial part of the Thu Thiem trade and dwellers to leave bureaucratic jobs for more financial district megaproject and the city’s productive labor. new traffic infrastructure. The project, funded But government will continue to hold a by Japanese development institution ODA and monopoly on most aspects of food production Collector’s item: government tourist card from 1953. four Japanese contractors, includes construc- and distribution, including its control of most tion of 10 bridges over the Saigon River.” of the land. A HOTEL IN SHANGHAI, A BRIDGE IN VIETNAM CARGO OFFICIAL JOINS REGIONAL RELIEF NGO The pilot program is being conducted in the Cuban state entities have finished construc- central city of Camagüey, which the Ministry tion on two high-profile projects in Asia: a five- Mercedes Costa, president of Caribbean of Agriculture has said eventually will have star hotel in Shanghai, and a $78.5 million Direct International — a Florida air cargo 1,400 small farms covering 52,000 hectares, bridge in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City. company specializing in Cuba — has been just minutes outside the city limits. The 30-story Gran Meliá Shanghai — a joint named by AmericasRelief Team as its new The farms, mostly in private hands but also venture between Grupo Cubanacán and the logistics coordinator. including some cooperatives and state-owned Chinese entity Suntime International Techno- “Ms. Costa has been a friend and supporter enterprises, must grow everything organical- Economic Cooperation Group — towers over of AmericasRelief Team for several years, and ly, and the ministry expects they will produce Shanghai’s financial district. has over 25 years in ocean and air transport. 75% of the food for the city of 320,000 people, The luxurious 686-room hotel is operated by Her role is to provide support and bridge the with big state-owned farms providing the rest. Spain’s Grupo Sol Meliá and represents gap between the non-profit community and The changes are tweaks to Cuba’s central- Cuba’s largest single hotel investment abroad, our logistics partners,” said the agency. ized socialism, not a major step away from it, said visiting Tourism Minister Manuel Mar- AmericasRelief Team is a private-sector col- in keeping with Raúl Castro’s vow to protect rero, though no dollar figure was released on laboration of Florida companies and nonprofit the system put in place after the 1959 revolu- how much investment the hotel represents. groups created to help Latin American and tion. He has balked at more sweeping, mar- Noting that the partners had to overcome Caribbean countries in times of disaster. It ket-oriented changes that many expected “great obstacles” to make the Gran Meliá has been particularly active in providing post- when he took power and without which many Shanghai a reality, Marrero said it’s the first of earthquake relief to Haiti. economists say Cuba will not significantly more ventures between the two state entities, Details: AmericasRelief Team, Miami. Tel: increase agricultural output. hinting that the next project would be a similar (786) 488-2935 or (305) 884-0441. Fax: (305) TOURIST ARRIVALS UP BUT $$ DOWN IN ‘09 hotel at Havana’s Marina Hemingway area. 260-4214. Email: [email protected]. Cuba closed 2009 with a historic record of foreign visitors and a 3.5% increase in tourist Cuba Trade Expo founder forms travel venture arrivals vs. 2008, when the previous record was set, according to official state media. on Bedard, organizer of the 2009 Cuba www.cubaToDo.com, offers would-be visi- Last year, 2,429,809 tourists visited, with Trade Expo in Miami, said he cancelled tors to Cuba some useful tools (amazingly, Canada consolidating its position as the top Jthe 2010 expo — scheduled for late he only paid $10 for the domain name). tourist market, followed by Great Britain, March — because of waning prospects for “Our intention is this: we’re going to Spain, Italy and Germany. Despite the an opening in U.S.-Cuba ties on the part of have a price matrix on our home page that increase, however, tourism revenues fell 11% Congress and the Obama administration. shows all the charter routes between Cuba due to the continuing global economic crisis. “We definitely want to keep the door and the United States [Miami, New York Meanwhile, the Caribbean Tourism open,” Bedard told CubaNews. “We had a and Los Angeles],” he said, explaining that Organization is forecasting a rebound in visi- lot of interest this year, but the political cir- round-trip airfares range from $299 to $459 and up. “Right now, it’s very confusing try- tor arrivals in 2010, on the heels of positive cumstances in Washington were not as indicators from the 4th quarter of 2009. ing to travel to Cuba, so this site should encouraging as they were in 2009, so we answer your basic questions. Then hopeful- Winfield Griffith, director of research and decided to postpone this year’s event. information technology, said the CTO expects ly those people will stay around and buy “As soon as we see an opportunity, we’ll the ticket from us.” regional tourism to grow by up to 3% in 2010. be having more expos in due course,” said A total of 22.1 million people visited the Bedard says he’s more interested in peo- Bedard, a Massachusetts real-estate and ple-to-people and educational travel than Caribbean in 2009, down from 22.9 million in business investor. “I’m for every conference 2008. Although aggregate tourist arrivals to Cuban exile travel because in the long run and every expo — the more the better.” that will be a far more lucrative market. the 33 CTO member countries declined by In the meantime, Bedard has acquired a 3.6% in 2009, quarterly data showed succes- Details: Jon Bedard, Cuba LLC, 90 Travel Service Provider license so his com- sive improvements. Exchange St., Suite #LL2, Lynn, MA 01901. The first quarter saw a 6.6% decline, eyt that pany can get into the travel-to-Cuba busi- Tel: (617) 529-4900. Email: jonabedard- fell to 6.0% in the second quarter, 2.0% in the ness. As such, his just-inaugurated website, @gmail.com. URL: www.cubaToDo.com. third quarter and then saw an increase of 1.0% March 2010 ❖ CubaNews 15 FEATURES Making sense of Cuba’s colorful license-plate hierarchy BY WILL WEISSERT / ASSOCIATED PRESS their cars to get to and from work. Russian Embassy is likely behind the wheel. t’s Cuba’s twist on “you are what you drive.” “It’s a form of control," said Weichel Guera, For years, officials’ cars were Iron Curtain Here, you are your license plate. A rainbow a National Office of Statistics chauffeur who is imports, as Cubans were encouraged to drive Iof colors and an alphabet soup of codes tell assigned a government sedan that he can use Ladas or other boxy, smelly and slow models. the discerning eye how important you are in only to ferry top officials during business Now many official sedans are imported the egalitarian revolution as you whiz by — hours. He and his Lada spend most of their from China or bought from Havana’s Peugeot, your nationality, what you do for a living and time parked outside the statistics building. Fiat and Mercedes dealerships, adding diver- often how high you rank at work. In Cuba, the first letter in the license plate sity to the white-plated fleet. “The kind of car you drive says something," indicates which of 14 provinces the car hails Rental cars get maroon plates. Foreign jour- says Norberto León, a retiree who collects from, such as “H” for Havana. The letter “K” nalists, religious leaders and Cubans working pocket change for watching parked cars. “The means the car is privately owned — either by for overseas firms have neon-orange ones. license plate, it says more.” a person or by a foreign firm. Red “provisional” plates allow vehicles to Cuba’s painstaking color-coding of license Military vehicles have mint-green, rear- circulate while authorities sort out just what plates — a system copied from the former only plates; olive-green plates are for vehicles color tag they should get. USSR — is one way authorities have kept tabs issued by the Ministry of Interior, including Most of the 50-year-old American roadsters on people and their vehicles for decades. Fidel Castro’s fleet of armored Mercedes on Havana’s streets have yellow license plates, The government owns most cars. They 280s which were built between 1982 and 1984. meaning they’re owned by ordinary cubanos. have blue plates with letters and numbers that Black plates are for foreign diplomats, who The holdovers from Detroit’s chrome-and- indicate when and where the vehicle can oper- don’t have to adhere to traffic laws. White- tail-fin era are still prominent on the roads ate and whether the driver can use it for per- plated vehicles of Cuban government minis- because Cubans with non-VIP jobs can buy sonal as well as professional reasons. ters or heads of state organizations also drive and sell only cars manufactured before the Inspectors wait along highways out of town, as if they have diplomatic immunity — though Castros took power in 1959. stopping official cars to check their route technically they don’t. “It’s normal,” insisted Leonardo Rodríguez, sheets and to make sure they aren’t being The last three digits on diplomatic plates 49, whose faded, baby-blue ‘57 Buick Special used for a jaunt to the beach. often denote the professional rank of the driv- has yellow plates and a front grill wide enough Executives at government-run firms — who er. So, if you’re stuck behind a gray Mercedes for a family of five to picnic atop. get caramel-colored plates — have more lee- with black license plate 179-004, that means “Maybe it’s confusing for a foreigner, but way. But even they may only be allowed to use the fourth most-important officer from the for us it’s not.” ❑
Gems from the collection of CubaNews publisher Larry Luxner, including a motorcycle plate from the U.S. Naval Base at Guantánamo and a private plate from 1961.
It’s hard to describe in a few sentences or I know some journalists disagree with that Reporter — FROM PAGE 9 paragraphs what it’s like to work in Cuba. Juan approach. I’ve heard some say that if they had sures, ranging from mild rebukes about a Tamayo called me while reporting his story. the chance to run a news bureau in Cuba, story to being summoned by the authorities He asked if reporters censor themselves in they’d write about nothing but human-rights and even denunciation in the official media. Cuba. I told him that abuses and prison conditions until the Cuban The drastic step of expulsion from the coun- they do. I admit I government kicked them out. For better or try has become rarer in recent years with a sometimes practiced worse, I didn’t do that — but that doesn’t mean stricter visa policy that makes it less neces- self-censorship myself I won’t criticize the government. sary. The constant police surveillance, though — and there were I’ve always wanted to write about Cuba over fairly discreet, extends to journalists’ private times when I held the long haul, not just for a few years. I’ve tried lives and pushes even the sturdiest people to back because I wor- to maintain relationships with Cubans of all the brink of paranoia and schizophrenia. ried about possible political persuasions, from press spokesmen repercussions. to activists who don’t agree with the regime. TO SELF-CENSOR OR NOT TO SELF-CENSOR Yet times have I sought out those who have had enough of changed. Cubans now the Castro brothers, including U.S. officials, To do their job according to normal journal- talk more openly about istic rules, foreign reporters in Havana, espe- diplomats and some Cuban-American acti- topics that were once Tracey Eaton vists. While in Cuba, I also tried to write about cially those working for news agencies, have politically sensitive or to play a cat-and-mouse game within ever- even taboo. all kinds of things, not just politics. But I ran changing parameters. But some things never Cuban bloggers and others have helped fuel into Cold-War politics everywhere I turned. change, as the experiences related here show. a more vigorous and open debate. And many Cuban officials never told me what to write. Cuban officials criticized the Reporters Cuban officials have become more tolerant of They were always respectful, even when I Without Borders report and said it was inac- critical views of their socialist government. wrote stories that upset them. curate and politically motivated. I remember My goal when I opened the Dallas Morning In 1994, the Morning News announced the one Cuban official telling me something like: News bureau in 2000 was to provide balanced closing of the Havana bureau. I left in early “Well, I don’t see any of the foreign corre- coverage of Cuba. I also wanted to cover the 2005. I had hoped, to be in Cuba for at least spondents leaving. It must not be all that bad.” news in Cuba as the country evolved. I figured several more years. Despite my grumbling, And it wasn’t. But we’re all human. And it wouldn’t do the Morning News any good if I Cuba was where I wanted to be. And I’m grate- sometimes people just have to complain. were blacklisted or kicked out of the country. ful I had the chance to work there. ❑ 16 CubaNews ❖ March 2010 INFRASTRUCTURE Walking through the crumbling, sad streets of Havana BY DOMINGO AMUCHASTEGUI mous and everyone, one way or another, is les” in Old Havana were completely packed, a s I walked through the streets of Hav- involved in it. Needs find solutions here. result of better services, real hospitality and ana after several years of absence, my On the other hand, the lack of effective the charm of colonial surroundings. A eyes were focused not so much at new services and supplies from state sources, on a Most streets are extremely bumpy and full things to look at — but on ordinary, average regular basis, is another obvious reason for of holes, with underground pipes frequently daily life. There’s not that much new anyway, this with its ripple effect on increased corrup- broken and spilling water. Those streets that except for a few shiny hotels and buses, and tion. It is just one more aspect of the many get repaired tend to be the ones crucial to the the restoration of some streets in Old Havana. anomalies in Cuba’s current economy. circulation of public buses — a result of Housing continues to be a critical issue in In such “barrios populares” something else demands by Chinese authorities as a condi- peoples’ lives. Apartment and home construc- was very visible: food. Contrary to the tion for selling buses to Cuba (otherwise the tion projects are very few, and the ones that reports that followed the devastating hurri- warranties would not be valid). are seem to be never finished, according to canes of 2008, food markets out in the open The same thing is true with Chinese loco- motives and the upgrading of Cuba’s railways. Health care, once a remarkable achieve- ment, has also lost its luster. Qualified person- nel and doctors are still there, but the facilities couldn’t be worse. LARRY LUXNER Filthy examining rooms and broken-down equipment are the rule rather than the excep- tion, with no sheets, towels, food, furniture and appliances either stolen or in disarray. I witnessed this in three hospitals and two polyclinics — a shocking scene. FRUSTRATION IN THE AIR Cultural activities such as lectures, book presentations, theaters, movies, ballet and re- creational activities for children were numer- ous and well-attended. The recent Juanes con- cert was attended by over a million people, and I had the chance to enjoy Kool & the Gang in December. The well-known R&B group performed right on the Malecón, next to the U.S. Inter- ests Section, cheered on by a roaring crowd of thousands for more than two hours. Bicyclist pedals along a rain-slicked, potholed street in Marianao, a rundown neighborhood of Havana. And politics? Of course, everyone in Hav- ana is an educated and informed politician. neighbors. Repairs and maintenance are (generally callled “agros”) now offer generous Disappointment, frustration, criticism and words that have disapppeared from the quantities of rice, beans, tubers, bananas, veg- cynicism was thick in the air, a result of the Cuban lexicon, even in recently built-up etables, pork, chicken, turkey, rabbits and high hopes inspired by the public debates and places like Miramar’s Centro de Negocios. lamb. Most payments were made in pesos. Raúl Castro’s many promises since officially This is especially true of apartments, even But not only the conventional “agros” were replacing his older brother Fidel as president in areas for tourists and foreigners. Simply selling to huge crowds. in February 2008. put, no one is responsible for their mainte- Scores of small outlets were offering pork, The statements made at the last session of nance; nobody cares, and there are no re- tubers and fresh vegetables from finqueros. Cuba’s National Assembly caused consider- sources available for people to buy and make These private farmers rent or lease their able worries. Others continue to wait impa- their own repairs, not to mention furniture, small places and turn them into tiny markets tiently. All of them agree that the system can- mattresses and other items where people can buy fresh meat. not go on functioning as it is; that a wide When you look at houses, the contrasts are POTHOLED STREETS AND FILTHY HOSPITALS range of changes and reforms are needed and obvious. Many are deteriorating, lacking must be postponed anymore. paint, but right next to such dwellings you can The same thing could be said about many Cubans are also frustrated with the Obama find a growing number of fully repaired, state restaurants (El Aljibe, La Vicaria and administration after an initial euphoria with recently painted houses, some even with high others), as well as “paladares” (private restau- the 44th president. The vast majority of fences or brick walls. rants), and the many individual and private habaneros willing to speak out made clear that vending facilities where mostly pizzas and CUBA’S THRIVING UNDERGROUND ECONOMY not even Obama can bring about a normaliza- spaghetti are sold at very cheaply. Private tion of relations between the United States Resources are available “under the table” renting (alquileres particulares) is also anoth- and Cuba. Indeed, changes and reforms are when the proper amount of cash (in pesos or er major “private sector” doing very success- not just political rhetoric; they take on a sense CUC) is handed over. And I’m not talking fully in Havana, together with private taxis of urgency if any continuity is to be achieved about the fancy, luxurious old neighborhoods and Cuban “teamsters.” by future generations. ❑ of Miramar, Nuevo Vedado, Siboney or Ved- Foreign tourists, mostly Canadians and Eu- ado; the streets I strolled are in Marianao, La ropeans, were quite visible, especially in and Former Cuban intelligence officer Domingo Lisa, Buenavista, 10 de Octubre and Centro around Old Havana. Amuchastegui has lived in Miami since 1994. Habana, the real world of society in Havana. Expensive hotels in Miramar and Vedado He writes regularly for CubaNews about politics, Cuba’s underground economy is enor- were far from being full, but hotels and “hosta- economic reform and Cuba’s Communist Party. March 2010 ❖ CubaNews 17 INFRASTRUCTURE TOURISM BRIEFS VARADERO READIES FOR GOLF TOURNAMENT Brazil’s Odebrecht revives Mariel port Organizers of Varadero’s 2nd Annual Mon- Another big-ticket infrastructure project tecristo Cup and Esencia Cup say registra- uba’s port of Mariel, 31 miles west of tions are almost full for the 2010 event. Havana, could become the island’s big- apparently remains on track, according to a state TV report — a $500 million ferronickel “Players are participating from all over the Cgest port, thanks to a $300 million plan world for what is expected to be an amazing by Brazil that will allow the docking of mega- plant announced last year by a Venezuelan- Cuban joint venture. few days,” says a press release issued by the ships and capacity to handle one million con- sponsor’s Toronto-based PR agent. “April con- tainers per year. The February 2010 issue of Cuba Trade & Investment News says the news came “after a ditions are perfect for golf in Cuba and the Brazil’s Odebrecht SA will undertake the historic Du Pont mansion Xanadu is the ideal work in a project to be largely financed by Rio nine-month-long official silence and signs of a cash crunch” both in Cuba and Venezuela. location for the post tournament festivities.” de Janeiro-based BNDES, according to Cu- The two-day event includes the Montecristo ban press reports following the recent visit of “Plans for the project, one of the most important in the country, are being met,” said Cup. Limited to 72 competitors, the 18-hole Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. tournament will be open to both amateur and Odebrecht plans to begin work within a few the report, citing progress in civil and tech- professional golfers with a handicap under 28. months, including roads, railroads and the nology planning, mine surveying and hiring. The following day will be the Esencia Cup dredging of a channel leading to the future in- The unfinished Las Camariocas plant in — a team-play competition with no handicap ternational container terminal. The entire pro- eastern Holguín province — started by limit and played by a maximum of 18 teams, ject will take 10 years, says Cuban state TV. Czechoslovakia in the 1980s — has been each with four players. President Raúl Castro escorted Lula to mothballed since 1993. Cuba has repeately Spanish golfer Alvaro Quiros will appear at Mariel on Feb. 24 and signed several accords, tried to restart the plant, says the newsletter. both events and play an exhibition match including one creating a J-V between Cuba’s In 2004, China’s Minmetals Corp. unveiled against another world-class golfer. On Apr. 24, Quality Couriers International SA and Ode- a major investment in the plant and in nickel an evening gala awards dinner will be held. brecht to modernize Mariel, which will be mining in neighboring Camagüey province, In related news, companies from the Canary operated by Dubai Ports World of the UAE. but the project never materialized. Islands will help develop golf tourism in Cuba, Before his arrival, Lula said there were also Finally in 2007, Venezuela and Cuba estab- and both governments will seek a direct air joint projects in tourism and roads, indicating lished the Ferroniquel SA joint venture, to connection between the Canaries and Cuba. that state oil monopoly Petrobras wants to feed Siderúrgica del ALBA, a $600 million Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero build a lubricants factory in Havana and con- Venezuelan-Cuban stainless steel factory “expressed great interest that the first initia- tinue prospecting for oil in the deep waters off under construction in Venezuela. tives [in golf tourism] should be from the Cuba’s Gulf of Mexico coast. Las Camariocas will boost Cuba’s nickel Canary Islands,” said Paulino Rivero, presi- Last summer, Petrobras opened offices in processing capacity from 75,000 metric tons a dent of the autonomous province, during a Havana and concluded seismic studies in year to over 100,000 tons, says Juan Ruíz, dir- Feb. 18 visit to Havana. Another Canary dele- Cuba’s exclusive economic zone. ector of Empresa Exportadora de Níquel. ❑ gation will come to Cuba in December to talk about specific investments. Details: Dalia Blumenthal, DBPR Internatio- US-Cuba travel professionals to meet in Cancún nal, Toronto. Tel: (416) 926-1967 or Esencia Hotels, London. Tel: +44 779-345-1652. Email: he US-Cuba Travel Summit, sched- The summit will offer breakout sessions [email protected]. uled for Mar. 24-26 in Cancún, Mexico, on all aspects of travel in Cuba, and two days T is being billed as “a unique opportuni- for U.S. participants to talk informally and GOV’T TO EXPAND VARADERO, HAVANA AIRPORTS ty for travel professionals to connect with personally with Cuban officials. The Castro regime will invest $45 million Cuban officials and travel specialists.” Besides the Ministry of Tourism, the Can- this year in two airport expansion projects, Organizers say the event at the Gran Meliá cún meet will draw officials from other Cu- according to state media quoted in the Cancún offers participants the chance to “be ban government ministries including trade, February 2010 issue of Cuba Trade & Invest- at the front when travel opens to Cuba.” foreign investment and foreign relations. ment News. Both projects were to start in May Presented by Alamar Associates in associ- This is the 10th such U.S.-Cuba business 2009, at which time press reports talked of a ation with the Kentucky-based National Tour gathering organized in Cancún by Alamar $32 million investment. Association, the event is sponsored by the Associates. Overall more than 400 U.S. exec- Rogelio Acevedo, who has just been dis- U.S. Tour Operators Association along with utives have been able to meet their Cuban missed as president of Cuba’s Civil Aeronau- Sol Meliá, The Mark Travel Co., Cuba Tra- counterparts in sectors as food and agricul- tics Institute (see note on page 5, this issue) vel Services, Marazul Charters, Gulfstream ture, energy, general business and travel. said Feb. 9 that the expansions at Varadero’s Air, Vigilant Worldwide Communications NTA is the leading association for profes- Juan Gualberto Gómez International Airport and The Americas Group. sionals in 40 countries serving travelers to, and at Terminal 2 and the customs facilities of Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND), sponsor of from and within North America. Since its Havana’s José Martí International Airport will the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act, will host founding in 1951, the association has served start this year. a Q&A via teleconference on the status of his a broad and diverse membership and helped Both airports have benefitted from a surge legislation. The agenda includes an overview them expand market reach with innovative in visitor arrivals. Havana’s Terminal 2, of Cuban tourism by Miguel Figueras, senior business tools, strategic relationships and opened in 1988, serves U.S. travelers from advisor at Cuba’s Ministry of Tourism, and a collaboration within the industry. and to Miami, New York and Los Angeles; panel of Cuban hoteliers speaking on the The cost for attending this event ranges traffic has jumped since the Obama adminis- experiences of international companies in from $1,500 to $2,950 depending on affilia- tration relaxed restrictions on family travel to the Cuban travel sector. tion and company size. Cuba in 2009. In addition, representatives from Gaviota, Details: Madeline Vied, Public Relations Varadero, serving the island’s most popular Havanatur, Habaguanex/San Cristobal, Gran Specialist, NTA, 546 E. Main Street, Lexing- beach resort with 17,000 hotel rooms and the Caribe, Palmares, Cubanacán, Marlin Nau- ton, KY 40508. Tel: (859) 226-4275. Fax: port of Matanzas, is Cuba’s 2nd-busiest air- tica and Marinas — all state-run entities — (859) 226-4404. Email: madeline.vied@nta- port, receiving 25% of all foreign travelers. will present information on tourism to Cuba. staff.com. URL: www.uscubasummit.org. Current government plans call for a doubling of capacity, says the newsletter. 18 CubaNews ❖ March 2010 BOOKSHELF Matanzas, magical powers of state and making dance eriodically, CubaNews offers reviews of CUBA RISING: AN INSIDER’S PERSPECTIVE: ary Cuba, paying particular attention to the books we think will interest our readers. “Cuba Rising, An American Insider’s Perspec- roles of memory and history in the construc- P This month, our books look at the city of tive” by former White House staffer and for- tion of shared political imaginaries. Matanzas, an “American insider’s perspective eign policy expert Jonathan Showe, is based on “A fascinating, timely and deftly balanced on Cuba,” the “magical” powers of the Castro the author’s nearly 80 visits to the enigmatic account of the power of magic and the state in revolution and Caribbean dance. island nation over the last dozen years. revolutionary Cuba,” says Raquel Romberg, Showe credits author of “Healing Dramas: Divination and MATANZAS: THE CUBA NOBODY KNOWS “persistence, Magic in Modern Puerto Rico.” “This com- Matanzas — the name literally means tenacity, curiosity pelling and evocative book transports readers “slaughters” — is the Cuban city nearest the — and modest to the secret and mysterious alleys of religious United States. Known at the heyday of the irreverence for and political workings, the ritual production of 19th-century sugar boom as the “Athens of U.S. travel restric- selective historical memory, and the current Cuba,” it is renowned for its art music and tions” as the statecraft of religious appropriations.” rich African her- answer to how he Adds Christine Ayorinde, author of “Afro- itage. It’s also the keeps getting in. Cuban Religiosity, Revolution and National place where Latin Showe’s back- Identity”: “A valuable contribution to scholar- American baseball ground in the mili- ship in Cuban studies and the study of religion began. Yet most tary combined in the Americas, Routon goes beyond other Americans have with a graduate works in analyzing the Cuban capacity for com- never heard of it. degree in interna- bining apparently incompatible beliefs such as “Matanzas: The tional relations socialism and various Afro-Cuban practices. Cuba Nobody resulted in his “He also provides a number of important Knows” by Miguel joining first the Nixon and then the Ford White insights into the processes by which magical A. Bretos (ISBN Houses, where he was involved in U.S. econo- and ritual idioms of power feed the political 978-0-8130-3432-4, mic policy and international trade negotiations. imagery and exercise of power in Cuba, and $27.50 hardcover) Even when his career evolved to include a vice-versa.” remedies this histo- U.S. multinational corporation, his work analy- Details: Stephanie Williams, Publicity Mgr., rical oversight. zing, writing and speaking about Cuba contin- University Press of Florida, 15 NW 15th Street, Though he came to the United States as a ued. As Showe succinctly puts it, “How can a Gainesville, FL 32611. Tel: (800) 680-1955. Pedro Pan child and has lived all over the small island with few resources and of little Email: [email protected]. URL: www.upf.com. world, his family is still closely tied to the city consequence stand toe-to-toe with the global MAKING CARIBBEAN DANCE where they lived for generations. superpower for 50 years? It can’t, but it did.” After 40 years, Bretos has returned to his “Cuba Rising” (ISBN 978-0-615-32361-9, Caribbean dance is a broad category that homeland “with the longing of an exile, the Global Insights Press, $26.95 hardcover) is can include everything from nightclubs to anticipationof a child, the curiosity of a visitor, available at www.amazon.com and bookstores. sacred ritual. “Making Caribbean Dance,” the resentment of a victim, and — hopefully Details: Michael Hemp, The History Com- edited by Susanna Sloat, connects the dance — the objectivity of a scholar.” pany, 6 Merrill Way, Carmel Valley, CA 93924. of the islands Through the book’s 336 pages, Bretos un- Tel: (831) 659-2112. Fax: (831) 659-3113. with their rich folds the Matanzas story from the aboriginal Email: [email protected]. URL: multicultural his- Taínos to the coming of revolution with solid www.cubarising.net. tories and com- research, wit, clarity and the kind of vivid plex identities. detail that can come only from an insider. HIDDEN POWERS OF STATE Delving deep But he also deftly inserts Matanzas into a Despite its hard-nosed emphasis on the into the many larger picture. More than local history, this demystifying realism of Marxist-Leninist ide- forms of secular, original work is Cuban history from a local ology, the political imagery of the 1959 Cuban social, carnival, perspective. revolution — and the state that followed — experimental and Bretos is retired as senior scholar from the conjures up its own magical seductions and performance Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait fantasies of power. dance, the book Gallery, and is the author of four books, Kenneth Routon, in his soon-to-be-released (ISBN 978-0- including “Cuba and Florida: An Exploration book “Hidden Powers of State in the Cuban 8130-3467-6, of a Historical Connection, 1593-1991.” Imagination,” shows how magic practices and $34.95 cloth) Author Manuel Barcia calls the Matanzas political culture are entangled in Cuba in explores some of book “a deep analytical and a warm personal unusual and intimate ways. the region’s most mysterious and beloved, as approach ot the history of Bretos’s place of In the 208-page book (ISBN 978-0-8130- well as rare and little-known, dance traditions. birth. A funny, intelligent, elaborate and eru- 3483-6, price $69.95 cloth), Routon, visiting From the evolution of Indian dance in dite work, this book will certainly graciously assistant professor of anthropology at Christo- Trinidad to the barely known rituals of los mis- stand the passing of time.” pher Newport University, describes not only terios in the Dominican Republic, this 352-page Adds fellow author Dick Cluster: “A fine how the monumentality of the state arouses volume looks at the vibrant movement vocabu- document of Cuban culture, a history and magical sensibilities and popular images of its lary of the islands, with distinctive chapters on memoir of a charming and oft-neglected city, hidden powers, but also explores the ways in such topics as experimental dance makers in infused with an émigre’s love and longing for which revolutionary officialdom has, in recent Puerto Rico to the government’s use of dance the lost place.” years, tacitly embraced and harnessed vernac- to shape national identity in Barbados. Details: Stephanie Williams, Publicity Mgr., ular fantasies of power to the national agenda. Details: Stephanie Williams, Publicity Mgr., University Press of Florida, 15 NW 15th Street, This study brings anthropology and history University Press of Florida, 15 NW 15th Street, Gainesville, FL 32611. Tel: (800) 680-1955. together by examining the relationship Gainesville, FL 32611. Tel: (800) 680-1955. Email: [email protected]. URL: www.upf.com. between ritual and state power in revolution- Email: [email protected]. URL: www.upf.com. March 2010 ❖ CubaNews 19 BOOKSHELF Q&A: John Radanovich, biographer of musician Benny Moré BY STEPHANIE WILLIAMS Although he might have left the country if Two things gave me a very different per- ohn Radanovich is the author of “Wildman he weren’t dying at the time of the revolution, spective on Benny than other writers might of Rhythm: The Life and Music of Benny Benny also said that he could never leave the have brought to his biography. I spent much JMoré” (ISBN 978-0-8130-3234-4; Univer- place of his birth. of my childhood on my family’s farm. My sity Press of Florida; price $24.95 hardcover). He could have moved to Mexico or some- favorite uncle, who drank himself to death at Radanovich has written for the New Orleans where in South America, but it’s hard to imag- an early age, was as big a personality and as Times-Picayune and covered the New York ine him happy or as successful anywhere else beloved a character as Benny. music scene for New Jersey’s Bergen Record. but in Cuba. Benny the man and artist belong Benny raised pigs and chickens and pea- He’s also written about Latin music, jazz and to a very particular time and place. cocks, and named them after his friends. No world music for Offbeat and Down Beat. one had to tell me that he himself butchered On a more personal note, what is your and served these animals to their namesakes How did you become interested in favorite Benny Moré recording and why? for the sake of the joke, as well as the fresh- Cuban music? I love all of his standards ness of the meat. I also under- My stepfather was a big jazz fan, and loved equally and will never tire of stood that you can be an alco- Dizzy Gillespie, so I grew up hearing Latin them, but I find “De la Rumba al holic, and still be an essentially jazz long before I heard salsa. I learned to Cha Cha Cha” to best capture happy person — even though love salsa while living in New York. I was dis- both his African background that might seem impossible to appointed by lame commercial radio airplay and incredible skill in any us these days. of bland salsa and so-called salsa romantica. Cuban form he chose. One strange and memorable Luckily, in New York, there were lots of The song contains exciting thing happened to me on one other ways to hear fantastic salsa and Latin ritual rumba drumming mar- of my trips to Cuba that made jazz live, and on radio shows like Awilda ried to a stunning cha-cha. It is me feel much closer to Benny. Rivera’s “Latin Jazz Cruise” on WBGO and as great a cha-cha as any of the It was Valentine’s Day, when Vicki Sola’s “Que Viva La Musica” on WFDU. orchestras famous for that style Cuban men bring home little Ialso lived in San Juan, Puerto Rico, for a ever recorded. When the chocolate cakes and everyone time and was able to hear authentic salsa on rumba drumming ends and has yet another excuse for a the radio and in clubs. The more I learned, Benny starts to sing, you tend party. All that day, I had been at the more I found that all roads in salsa lead to get light-headed and involun- Benny’s house, talking to his back to Cuba, and once you hear Benny, tarily sway to the rhythm. daughter about his terrible last hours, and her words lingered everything else is just practice. Do you see Moré’s influ- in my mind. That evening, ence still strong in today’s music scene, while friends were having a great time on the What makes a writer decide to become either Latin or American? balcony, a nasty virus decided to make its a biographer? Was there a distinct mom- Benny’s bolero or ballad style set the stan- presence known to me. ent when you decided, “I want to chroni- dard for all ballads sung in Spanish in the Being sick in a place with very little medi- cle the life of Benny Moré?” Americas. Even though he didn’t invent son, cine and only one clinic for foreigners is When I first heard Benny’s “Que Bueno he brought a swing and life to his improvisa- rather frightening, to put it mildly. And in a Baila Usted,” Iwas completely knocked out. tion that came from his Afro-Cuban back- half-delirious 48 hours, I couldn’t stop think- From then on, I searched for Benny’s tracks ground and his love of jazz. Not only do many ing of Benny and his suffering, and how he everywhere. I told myself that I was only salsa groups still record tributes to him and asked to see his young children at the end. going to write a magazine-length story, but I his songs, but the best singers and groups all Granted, a flu gives you only a glipse of kept finding his personal story just as addic- know that he was and will always be the king. what liver failure feels like, but for two days tive as his music. and nights all I could think of was Benny Out of growing frustration with the lack of From a researcher’s point of view, is it dying on the couch in his living room. I information on such a fascinating character, I difficult to maintain objectivity to a man’s thought I saw Benny looking down on my bed kept thinking that it was time for someone to life when you are so immersed in its his- on the second night, so I asked him through write his story for an American audience. tory? Do you feel that objectivity is im- gritted teeth if he sent me the virus to under- portant to a biographer’s craft? stand him better. He wouldn’t answer. Benny Moré is well-known in Latin I don’t pretend to be objective about Two days later, I was standing in front of America but never quite caught on in the Benny’s voice and music. His recordings are his grave in Santa Isabel de Las Lajas. United States. Do you attribute this to among the best that any Cuban ever created. cultural differences? I’m a writer who happens to deeply love Interviewing Moré’s friends and family Benny’s obscurity in the United States until music. I am drawn to great stories like must have been a great experience. Tell recently is due to many factors. He never Benny’s. Any music biographer had better us more about being able to talk to peo- toured widely in America; he was a black man feel very strongly about his subject, or the ple who knew the legend. in the 1950s playing music that wasn’t yet enormous task of historical research would Any visit to Cuba is quite an adventure. It understood widely in America; he spoke and become unbearable. was incredibly exciting to meet Generoso sang in Spanish. Attempting to conduct research in Cuba Jiménez and Enrique Benítez in Havana, and And, mostly, the U.S. embargo and Fidel has its own interesting challenges. just as exciting to finally see Benny’s house in Castro’s control of the flow of information The old joke about lack of food in Havana is La Cumbre, and the street where he grew up from Cuba caused Benny to be lost in the that if you want great Cuban food, first fly in his native Santa Isabel de Las Lajas. cracks of the larger political issues between back to Miami. The same goes for imagining One of his relatives in Miami had asked me our two countries. that there are archives to search or tools to to bring a letter to read to Benny and leave at use in Cuba. So, ask anyone in Cuba where his grave, which made for a moving and emo- Moré refused to leave Cuba after the the nearest photocopier is, and they’ll tell you tional visit. In every way, searching for Benny revolution. How does this speak to his “in Hialeah.” in Cuba was the experience of a lifetime. ❑ relationship with Cuba? 20 CubaNews ❖ March 2010 CALENDAR OF EVENTS CARIBBEAN UPDATE If your organization is sponsoring an upcoming event, please let our readers know! You already know what’s going in Cuba, Fax details to CubaNews at (301) 949-0065 or send e-mail to [email protected]. thanks to CubaNews. Now find out what’s happening in the rest of this diverse and Mar. 21: “Classically Cuban: The World Sings to Cuba,” San Carlos Institute, Key West, Fla. fast-growing region. An anthology of songs and instrumental music about Cuba compiled by Emilio Cueto and Subscribe to Caribbean UPDATE, a written by composers from 23 countries. Co-sponsored by Florida International University’s monthly newsletter founded in 1985. Cor- Cuban Research Institute. Tickets: $20. Details: Alejandro Pascual, San Carlos Institute, 516 porate and government executives, as well Duval St., Key West, FL 33040-6553. Tel: (305) 294-3887. URL: www.institutosancarlos.org. as scholars and journalists, depend on this publication for its insightful, timely cover- Mar. 24-26: US-Cuba Travel Summit, Hotel Gran Meliá Cancún, Mexico. Event organized age of the 30-plus nations and territories of by Alamar Associates in association with National Tour Association and U.S. Tour Operators the Caribbean and Central America. Association. More than 100 U.S. attendees expected, along with a Cuban delegation of 20 When you receive your first issue, you tourism officials led by senior advisor Miguel Figueras. Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota have two options: (a) pay the accompany- will host a Q&A via teleconference on the status of the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act, which ing invoice and your subscription will be he is sponsoring. Cost: $2,950 with private appointments (excluding hotel and airfare). processed; (b) if you’re not satisfied, just Details: Madeline Vied, NTA, 546 E. Main Street, Lexington, KY 40508. Tel: (859) 226-4275. write “cancel” on the invoice and return it. Fax: (859) 226-4404. Email: [email protected]. URL: www.uscubasummit.org. There is no further obligation on your part. The cost of a subscription to Caribbean Mar. 29: “U.S. Policy Responses to Changes in Cuba: A Simulation,” Casa Bacardi, Miami. UPDATE is $281 per year. A special rate of Discussion will focus on U.S. responses to various crises in Cuba (civil war, violence, exodus $141 is available to academics, non-profit of refugees, famine, etc). Jaime Suchlicki, director of the Cuba Transition Project, will play organizations and additional subscriptions the role of national security advisor, along with former U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos mailed to the same address. Gutiérrez (secretary of defense); Brian Latell (director of national intelligence); Ambassador To order, contact Caribbean UPDATE at James Cason (secretary of state); Andy Gómez (governor of Florida); José Azel (secretary 116 Myrtle Ave., Millburn, NJ 07041, call us of homeland security) and Kathy Fernández Rundle (attorney general). Cost: $20. Details: at (973) 376-2314, visit our new website at Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, University of Miami, PO Box 248174, Coral www.caribbeanupdate.org or send an email to [email protected]. We accept Gables, FL 33124. Tel: (305) 284-2822. Fax: (305) 284-4875. Email: [email protected]. Visa, MasterCard and American Express. Mar. 30: “Investment Conditions in Cuba,” AS/COA, New York. Speakers: Teo Babún of Babún Group; Juan Belt of Chemonics International; IMF economist Rafael Romeu; consult- ant Maria Werlau and moderator Christopher Sabatini, editor-in-chief of Americas Quarterly. Cost: $20 ($15 for AS, COA and ASCE members). Details: Matthew Aho, Council of the Ameri- cas, 680 Park Ave, New York, NY 10065-5072. Tel: (212) 277-8389. Email: [email protected]. Apr. 16-17: “Cuban Counterpoints,” University of California at Berkeley. A UC-wide, inter- disciplinary graduate student conference and workshop. Faculty from a range of disciplines will be on hand. “In keeping with the event’s hybrid character, we encourage submissions of Editor & Publisher abstracts and/or proposals in a various range of formats and styles.” Details: Raúl Fernán- ■ LARRY LUXNER ■ dez, Chairman, UC-Cuba Multi-Campus Research Program, School of Social Sciences, 3151 Social Science Plaza, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697. Email: [email protected]. Washington correspondent ■ ANA RADELAT ■
Apr. 24-May 6: US/Cuba Labor Exchange trip to Cuba. Visits to hospitals, schools and Political analyst worker centers. Trip marks both the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution and the 70th ■ DOMINGO AMUCHASTEGUI ■ anniversary of the Confederation of Cuban Workers (CTC). Cost: $1,650 (includes round-trip airfare from Cancún, Mexico to Havana; hotel (double occupancy), breakfast and dinner, Feature writers ■ TRACEY EATON ■ internal transportation, visas and translation services. Details: US/Cuba Labor Exchange, PO ■ VITO ECHEVARRÍA ■ Box 39188, Redford, MI 48239. Tel/Fax: (313) 575-4933. Email: [email protected]. Cartographer ■ ARMANDO H. PORTELA ■
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