Havana-first impressions
It is always unwise to record one's first impressions because they usually turn out to be wrong---but that has never stopped me!
I am now in Havana, having arrived late Wednesday. On thing for sure--it's a complex place.
But the simple stuff first:
Yes the 1950s American gas-guzzlers really do still exist--the Pontiacs, the Dodges, the Chevies, the Chryslers. With their fins and their chrome and brightly coloured leather upholstery. Some convertibles, a few whitewalls. I had rather expected that they were part of the tourist hype and that I might see a few, strategically located to provide the tourists with photo opportunities. But no, they are still in common circulation. Many are taxis but a lot are still in private everyday use. They are in various stages of decay of course. Very few retain all their chrome. I suspect that there are almost none with their original bright coloured enamel paint jobs. But they are still there, in all their faded Detroit glory. That was a more colourful and exhuberant age. None of your milquetoast beiges and blacks and modest eco-friendly ways. No sir. I remember it well!
The Cubans are very partial to sky blue--their flag, their window shutters, their flag, their sea--and, yes, their sky. A more prosaic explanation is that it is a good colour for repelling mosquitoes.
Havana does seem to have an enormous number of museums covering every conceivable special interest from stamps to rifles to motor cars and from the Revolution to rum to playing cards to the fine arts. I can't say I saw crowds lined up to enter any of them---except for the Museum of the Revolution which I think it must be compulsory for all visitors to Havana to go through.
There are quite a lot of tourists in Havana, although only of a fraction of the number who fly in (the airport is chaos) and go directly to the beach resorts in Varadero. No Americans of course (although apparently some do come, by circuitous routes of course, to avoid the embargo---see comments later on its affect). A few Brits, more Canadians, plenty of Spanish, South Americans and Mexicans. A number of other Europeans, including some from the ex-Soviet Union as one might expect. Apparently there are increasing numbers of Chinese tourists although I didn't notice any. (China has of course invested in Cuba and has sold/given Havana its shiny new tour buses). It is interesting that virtually all the tourists no matter what their native language have to converse in English if they don't speak Spanish. Apparently English is mandatory at school. So far I haven't had too much problem with only my virtually non-existent Spanish--but wait until I get out into the countryside next week!
I'm in a lovely hotel, the Saratoga. It is very well located, opposite the Capitolio and so right on the edge of Old Havana but with the wide boulevards and green spaces of Centro. My room has 15 foot ceilings with two 12 foot wooden shuttered French doors leading out onto two small wrought iron balconies. Marble bathroom . Elaborate, colourful patterned tiled floor. The best sort of example of tasteful and meticulous restoration of a nineteenth century building. And a decadent roof top swimming pool with bar and restaurant and a magnificent view, which certainly wasn't part of the original hotel! But I quickly discovered that while the renovations are perfect, no one checked the water pressure and the fine marble tub takes forty five minutes to fill, a teaspoon at a time.
Which brings me to some of the more complex issues:
The restoration of Havana's wealth of 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th century Colonial-era buildings is a monumental task, and like painting the Forth Bridge it is unlikely ever to be finished. For example some of the earliest renovations are already now being redone. But it is certainly worth it. The restorations are meticulous and the results outstanding. This is due to the passionate and dictatorial committment of the city historian Dr Eusebio Leal Spengler who is sometimes referred to as the other Cuban "Maximo Lider" (Fidel Castro being the best known one!) Many of those buildings in Old Havana which have not been renovated yet clearly have "good bones" and will turn out well once they get to them. At least they have the wealth of old buildings to work with --most cities have torn theirs down, if they ever had them, and put up a parking lot. And the renovated buildings are not museum pieces or Disneyland recreations, but all are in daily use--although since many of them were mansions of the wealthy originally they do make ideal boutique hotels.
Sadly for many of these old buildings, particularly those along the seafront promenade, the Malecon, it is too late to renovate. They are truly past recovery I think. I found the Malecon (which is much trumpeted in the guide books) to be truly depressing. Such a magnificent seascape but absolutely no signs that it would receive any attention in time to save it. I really thought that there the only outcome must be demolition and rebuilding in a more people-friendly way . At present there is not a bench to sit on, not a cafe or even an ice cream van and a multi-lane highway wizzing along with not one single pedestrian crossing to get in safety across to the promenade.
Another problem. How do you choose what to renovate? Do you let the lovely 19th century buildings rot while you do the 16th century ones? More intractible are the dwelling houses. While it is relatively politically and socially uncontroversial to undertake the restoration of public buildings, it is not going to be easy to renovate the more modest but still elaborate houses which were built for one middle class family and now house many times that number of families. Where will the people go in the meantime?
It is always unwise to record one's first impressions because they usually turn out to be wrong---but that has never stopped me!
I am now in Havana, having arrived late Wednesday. On thing for sure--it's a complex place.
But the simple stuff first:
Yes the 1950s American gas-guzzlers really do still exist--the Pontiacs, the Dodges, the Chevies, the Chryslers. With their fins and their chrome and brightly coloured leather upholstery. Some convertibles, a few whitewalls. I had rather expected that they were part of the tourist hype and that I might see a few, strategically located to provide the tourists with photo opportunities. But no, they are still in common circulation. Many are taxis but a lot are still in private everyday use. They are in various stages of decay of course. Very few retain all their chrome. I suspect that there are almost none with their original bright coloured enamel paint jobs. But they are still there, in all their faded Detroit glory. That was a more colourful and exhuberant age. None of your milquetoast beiges and blacks and modest eco-friendly ways. No sir. I remember it well!
The Cubans are very partial to sky blue--their flag, their window shutters, their flag, their sea--and, yes, their sky. A more prosaic explanation is that it is a good colour for repelling mosquitoes.
Havana does seem to have an enormous number of museums covering every conceivable special interest from stamps to rifles to motor cars and from the Revolution to rum to playing cards to the fine arts. I can't say I saw crowds lined up to enter any of them---except for the Museum of the Revolution which I think it must be compulsory for all visitors to Havana to go through.
There are quite a lot of tourists in Havana, although only of a fraction of the number who fly in (the airport is chaos) and go directly to the beach resorts in Varadero. No Americans of course (although apparently some do come, by circuitous routes of course, to avoid the embargo---see comments later on its affect). A few Brits, more Canadians, plenty of Spanish, South Americans and Mexicans. A number of other Europeans, including some from the ex-Soviet Union as one might expect. Apparently there are increasing numbers of Chinese tourists although I didn't notice any. (China has of course invested in Cuba and has sold/given Havana its shiny new tour buses). It is interesting that virtually all the tourists no matter what their native language have to converse in English if they don't speak Spanish. Apparently English is mandatory at school. So far I haven't had too much problem with only my virtually non-existent Spanish--but wait until I get out into the countryside next week!
I'm in a lovely hotel, the Saratoga. It is very well located, opposite the Capitolio and so right on the edge of Old Havana but with the wide boulevards and green spaces of Centro. My room has 15 foot ceilings with two 12 foot wooden shuttered French doors leading out onto two small wrought iron balconies. Marble bathroom . Elaborate, colourful patterned tiled floor. The best sort of example of tasteful and meticulous restoration of a nineteenth century building. And a decadent roof top swimming pool with bar and restaurant and a magnificent view, which certainly wasn't part of the original hotel! But I quickly discovered that while the renovations are perfect, no one checked the water pressure and the fine marble tub takes forty five minutes to fill, a teaspoon at a time.
Which brings me to some of the more complex issues:
The restoration of Havana's wealth of 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th century Colonial-era buildings is a monumental task, and like painting the Forth Bridge it is unlikely ever to be finished. For example some of the earliest renovations are already now being redone. But it is certainly worth it. The restorations are meticulous and the results outstanding. This is due to the passionate and dictatorial committment of the city historian Dr Eusebio Leal Spengler who is sometimes referred to as the other Cuban "Maximo Lider" (Fidel Castro being the best known one!) Many of those buildings in Old Havana which have not been renovated yet clearly have "good bones" and will turn out well once they get to them. At least they have the wealth of old buildings to work with --most cities have torn theirs down, if they ever had them, and put up a parking lot. And the renovated buildings are not museum pieces or Disneyland recreations, but all are in daily use--although since many of them were mansions of the wealthy originally they do make ideal boutique hotels.
Sadly for many of these old buildings, particularly those along the seafront promenade, the Malecon, it is too late to renovate. They are truly past recovery I think. I found the Malecon (which is much trumpeted in the guide books) to be truly depressing. Such a magnificent seascape but absolutely no signs that it would receive any attention in time to save it. I really thought that there the only outcome must be demolition and rebuilding in a more people-friendly way . At present there is not a bench to sit on, not a cafe or even an ice cream van and a multi-lane highway wizzing along with not one single pedestrian crossing to get in safety across to the promenade.
Another problem. How do you choose what to renovate? Do you let the lovely 19th century buildings rot while you do the 16th century ones? More intractible are the dwelling houses. While it is relatively politically and socially uncontroversial to undertake the restoration of public buildings, it is not going to be easy to renovate the more modest but still elaborate houses which were built for one middle class family and now house many times that number of families. Where will the people go in the meantime?
There is a certain risk for individuals to undertake renovations themselves because it may attract unwanted attention of the authorities who will want to know where the money came from. Those who have renovated have done so with an eye to comfort and practicality not to architectural or historic integrity. Thus a gash in the outer wall to house an airconditioning unit and the original floor to ceiling shutters replaced with the Cuban equivalent of PVC windows.
Also, although the interior of the living quarters in these buildings are owned by individuals, the common parts are owned by the state. The "state" is a great lumbering bureaucratic beast (see below) and is unlikely to be interested in fixing up the stairwell of individual buildings. I am told that when you enter some of these apparently decaying structures you will find individual living quarters very smartly done up with the latest electronic devices and furniture. It reminds me of Bombay where rent controls dictate that the outsides and common parts of the old buildings are left to rot by the landlords while the individual apartments and offices are magnificent when you get inside them.
It is ironic that the greatest glory (at least from an historical --and a tourist's --point of view) of Havana, its magnificent treasure of 16th to 19th century colonial architecture, would not be there were it not for the Cuban revolution and the subequent 50 years of embargo by the US. The pre-revolution influx of high rollers and wealthy Europeans and Americans who used Cuba as their playground were already tearing down the old buildings to erect the flamboyant hotels and highrises during the '30s, '40s and '50s. Although that particular political clock stopped in 1959, time and the weather and the salt air and needs of the growing urban population did not. Despite the best efforts of Dr Spengler many of the renovation efforts have slowed or stopped. I photographed one building covered in scaffolding over which vines and bushes had grown so you could barely see the scaffolding! Money and swift action are needed and neither seem likely to come any time soon.
Next complex issue is the dual economy. As long as Cuba remains isolated and embargoed by the US this is unlikely to change. Cuba needs goods from abroad and it needs markets. Its natural trading partners are in the Americas. But with the US embargo they are cut off from most of these partners. And China is a long way away.
Tourism has become a major source of income, particularly in foreign currency. But tourism is a people business. Tourists need to be fed and housed and entertained and that requires contact with Cuba people. Cuba has tried to control the impact of the flow of foreign currency tips to the waiters and taxi drivers and others who derive their income from the tourists in various ways. None of these controls have been very successful.
A spectacular failure was the decriminalisation of the US dollar for Cubans, which took place in the mid 2000s. Although it seemed to be a good gesture towards liberalisation it backfired since it meant that the doctors and teachers gave up their $25 a month salaries and became $25 a night waiters. Although the US dollar has not been officially criminalised again (I don't think so anyway) , it cannot be used in Cuba and the surcharge on exchanging it is penal when compared to Euros or Canadian dollars or pounds sterling. There does not seem to be any black market and I have not seen an American dollar in anyone's hand, Cuban or tourist. All foreign currency has to be changed into Cuban Convertible Pesos each of which is worth 25 times the Cuban peso whch is used by Cubans. However the shadow of the American dollar still hovers---it just so happens (pure co-incidence, you understand) that the exchange rate for all other foreign currency such as euros and pounds sterling into Convertibles is exactly the same as the US dollar rate.
But there are two prices for everything as well. For example today I bought a ticket for the ballet for 25 Convertibles whereas the Cubans were paying 8 Cuban pesos for the same ticket--in other words the Cubans were paying less than one fiftieth of what I paid. Hence the Convertible has become the new "dollar" and is very desirable for Cubans to have since they can convert it so favourably into pesos or they can use it to buy goods in the stores that sell desirable things only in Convertibles. The result is a pressure on tourists to tip everyone for everything so the Cubans can get their hands on Convertibles.
There is a growing problem of "jinterismo"--male and female hustlers who prey on tourists. While not threatening they are very annoying and off-putting, a problem that has apparently been recognised by the authorities. There is even a certain amount of begging by children for convertibles, but that seems quite rare thank goodness. Given the pitifully low salaries paid by the government to doctors and teachers and others in "respectable" jobs and the disincentives in the form of high taxes on private enterprise, I suppose it is only a wonder that the problems created by the dual economy are not a great deal worse.
And yet I have not so far seen any signs that the US embargo (which I understand is really driven by the Cuban Americans who were the middle and upper class who left Cuba in droves after the revolution and throughout the 1990s) is going to make Cuba bow down. The 1990s are referred to euphemistically as the "special period" after the fall of the iron curtain and the loss of the support of the Soviet Union which Cuba had enjoyed for thirty years. It sounds as though this was a period of real deprivation when all basic necessities were scarce or non-existent. Now however everyone seems well fed and dressed and confident and there are plenty of cars on the street. Despite the heavy taxes on free enterprise you see sweet shops and nail salons and barber shops in people's front rooms or on their balconies. Everyone seems to be coping. In fact the Cubans even have special words for it "conseguir" (to get, to manage) and "resolver" (to resolve, to work out).
And that brings me to the final complexity for the day! Has the "revolution" run its course and is the real effect of the US embargo to prop up the Castro regime which would otherwise have collapsed as the Soviet Union did? Certainly I see the signs of calcified bureaucracy and jobsworthy-ness. This has always seemed to me to be the great failing of socialism and communism: despite all the good and worthy ideas of socialism and even communism, bureaucracy and inefficiency always bogs things down after a while when people's initial idealism and energy fades and they recognise that there is really no incentive for them to do anything more than the bare minimum. Perhaps if the US were to begin a Gorbachev-style "perestroika" with Cuba they might achieve their objective of seeing the regime collapse under its own weight as happened in the former Soviet Union. However without that I cannot see the Cubans letting themselves be broken down--I wouldn't.
I am going to try to add a few of my photos but the internet connection is not strong. Anyway, look out for Cuba Part 2 on Sunday
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