Havana! Rosie and The Operator are out and about, ready to explore the city! What better way to see the city than from the back of a pink Cadillac Convertible!
Old American muscle cars line the streets everywhere, this was the modern fleet of the day when the Americans shut down imports to Cuba in the early 1960s….these old dinosaurs must have a million miles on their clocks.
Some are still in a state of good repair, many are rusting hulks held together by bog and duct tape. All belch carbon monoxide and proud owners always have a rag in their hands and are polishing some area of these beasts. All these cars are for rent and are open to negotiation for any length of journey you want to under take. Whether its a sunset cruise along the harbour side road called The Malecon, a tour of the city, or, an intercity ride. Nothing in Cuba is priced…everything is open to negotiation…oh, and did I mention hardly anyone speaks English.
We rented a car for $45 which gave us a one hour trip around the city…some of the tourist sites are quite a distance away and our bike taxi would not cut the mustard. Enrique was our man, in his cowboy hat….off we went in his pink Cadillac with the top down. He cranked up the radio after a battle with the gears to get rolling and off we went cruising The Prado. The cool breeze was in Rosie’s hair and Cuban sounds were pumping as Enrique pointed out all the sites….and we couldn’t understand a word he said….
We stopped in Revolution Square for a walk around. Being one of the biggest civic squares in the world, it is huge, this is certainly your space for public gatherings and celebrations. Bordering the square are government buildings where you feel Big Brother has an eye on you in the form of the giant revolutionary images of Guevara and Cienfuegos. Castro has delivered fiery speeches in this square to tens of thousands, the Pope has said Mass here to over a million people and this is where they hold Rock Concerts…for those that dare to come play Cuba.
The tall, 109 meter, star shaped monument representing freedom is dedicated to the Cuban national hero Jose Marti, a writer, philosopher and revolutionary, he paved the way for the Cuban peoples 150 years before the the revolution was achieved. This monument stands tall over the austere square and is the highest building in Cuba. There is a viewing platform at the top that looks out over the city, sometimes it is open…sometimes it is not…today was not.
We next cruised the Malecon, the seven km stretch of avenue that links the harbour to the Old Town, this has been described as the soul of Havana, Rosie thought it was a bit derelict, it is undergoing reconstruction and within a couple of years I bet it will be stunning. Rosie took some pics of the sea breaching the sea wall as we looked back to the city, it was a breezy fresh place to be and we can understand the allure of walking this stretch of freshness in the evening to get out of the stifling canyons of the city.
We next stopped in a small park and there sitting on a park bench was John Lennon…Hola John. Beatlemania was sweeping the world in the 60s and Castro banned their music in Cuba declaring them the epitome of vulgar consumerism.
Four decades later with ‘all you need is love’ playing in the background…Castro unveiled this statue…Castro’s change of tune resulted in him seeing Lennon as a political dissident hounded by the US government, in his unveiling speech he likened himself to Lennon saying he too was a dreamer who had turned his dreams into reality’. Go figure. There was an old lady in the park mooching in the bushes, she keeps his glasses clean every day and stops people from stealing them. Across the road from where we parked were the remains of what would have once been grand houses…totally obliterated…a mystery to us but half of this street was in this sorry state.
We drove through Havanas China Town…every city in the world has a China Town, right? Wrong, Havana used to have a thriving one. Then the Revolution happened, the country became Communist…no self respecting Chinaman wants to live in a Communist society, that’s why they left China, to become rich! Overnight they all left. Eduardo told the tale like this… Chinatown, Chinamen, greedy, revolution, gone…..Rosie filled in the blanks.
At the end of the ride Enrique man handled Gary proudly into the drivers seat for a photo…as Rosie struggled to get out of the back seat, the door handle and catch wasn’t in a great state of repair…It was a great ride around Havana, thanks Enrique.
CUBAN BACKSTORY – After the death of Fidel Castro and his brother Raoul had taken over the administration of Cuba….Raoul admitted that the country was basically broke, it could not support all of the folk in the country anymore. He then gave every Cuban an option to either live as they were with the government supporting them as they had done or, they could become self employed…..there was a catch. The government would not support them at all wage wise, they had to completely earn their own living. The government would own 51% of any business they started and take 51% of all profit earned from their new enterprises. What a prospect!
So for example Eduardo is self employed and rents out his Pink Cadillac for $45CUC an hour….he gives $23 CUC to the government and earns $22CUC, tourist dollars for an hours driving….in the National currency, that the government pays he has just earned $550. A win for the entrepreneurial Cuban and a win for the Cuban Government who collects a slice as well. On the street there are fruit vendors, bicycle taxi drivers, classic car renters, B&B owners and folk opening up private restaurants and bars. Ironic isnt it? A recipe for a huge wealth divide to become established again….sanctioned by the people who deplored and over threw it.
This is is where Rosie and The Operator are headed for our afternoonsie rums….the privately run bars and restaurants source better ingredients, have amazing menus and decor and are really world class! They are double the price of government run restaurants…but still a bargain for us. More on Havana tomorrow!
