Anyone who has been to Cuba

[BayCityProgressive]

So have any DUers been to Cuba? I would like to learn more about it but that is hard with American media. What were your impressions of the country? How is it similar to the US? How is it different?

[MuseRider]

1. My son went there

the summer of 2003 and he loved it. He was there for an intensive Latin percussion study and spent most every night roaming around Havana. No problems, made friends, partied in the streets with some of the nicest people he had ever met and some of the best music he had ever been exposed to. He was ony there for two weeks and is dying to go back.

[pick_a_dilly]

2. my girlfriend is from CU BA ... here for four years . . .

she is the sweetest, smartest, loveliest, most honest etc . . .

all the cubanos i have met have been exceptional.

her descriptions are dreamy . . . i will visit someday!!!

by all means go ---- through Mexico --- and get no pass port stamp....

[elehhhhna]

3. A couple from the US is being fined for it now--can't remember where I

saw it but they were charged.

[blueknight]

4. my dad was career military,

spent a lot of time in cuba. he told me it was beautiful.

[elehhhhna]

9. I'd LOVE to go. I've sailed past it & flown over it & Yes,it's beautiful

[Quakerfriend]

5. Some of my family are from Cuba

I know that it is shockingly poor (and I've been to Colombia!). Still have many cars from 50s and 60s on the streets.
Beautiful architecture, but in sad need of repair.
Some of the most beautiful white beaches in the world.
They people party a lot!
Watch out tho. The FBI has been arresting Americans for going to Cuba...sometimes up to two years after they return!!
You can go Thur Brazil or Canada. But, they get you on re-entry to US either way by checking your Passport!

[Menshevik]

6. can you ask the Cuban officials not to stamp your passport?

[pick_a_dilly]

10. yes --- upon leaving cu ba you can request no stamp . ..

and if you get one ---- 'lose you pass port' before re-entering the FATHERLAND ---- * don't like no fidel!

[BayCityProgressive]

7. I was more interested in their political structure

than anything actually. I had heard that they do have elections and I was wondering if this is true. I have also heard the people do not run on any party line ticket. If they dont let capitalists into their parliament that would be somewhat similar to Americans in the early through late 1900s not allowing socialists/communists in congress. They probably still wouldn't. Not excusing it, that is just the way it seems to be. Also, I know people who have been there and they said Cuba is much more tolerant of gays...the government has been teaching cops about gay tolerance supposedly. Also, I heard that many religious restrictions were gradually done away with. The pope visited the country and people are now free to practice their native Santeria again. These are just things I have heard.

[pick_a_dilly]

11. i think they have elections where, just like here . . .

the LEADER is always the winner...

shhhh --- big brother is watching!!!

oh yea --- duck you asscroft!

[arwalden]

8. So Any American Who Admits To Visiting Cuba...

... is admitting to breaking the law? Is that correct?

Should we expect visits from the American Gestapo?

[guajira]

12. Someone I know very well went several times

and found Cuba very beautiful, friendly and fascinating. We Americans are being sold a bill of goods by the Miami "exiles" when they say that tourists can't associate with the locals.

Just the opposite is true. Visitors can rent cars, drive anywhere, stay in residents homes, etc. It's disgusting that Americans allow our freedom to travel be denied us. Unfortunately we (most Americans) are too busy watching TV and going to Nascar races to care.

[VioletLake]

13. If you want to get a candid glimpse of Cuba,

check out a documentary called "Buena Vista Social Club."

http://www.wim-wenders.com/movies/movies_spec/buenavistasocialclub/buenavistasocialclub.htm

[Lydia Leftcoast]

18. Or see the movie "Honey for Oshun"

which is fiction but gives a great overview of the island and how people live. It's quite frank about the problems, but you also get positive impressions.

Some people from my church are going on an approved work trip to Cuba (hurricane relief) in January. I wanted to go, but by the time I had the money for the deposit, the trip was full. :-(

[infusionman]

14. This question could be a trap!!!

It is illegal to go to Cuba. Anyone admitting to doing so is risking King George and his Merry band of G-men raining down upon you to take you to task for it.

[Disturbed]

15. Other so-called Communist Nations...

can be visited but not Cuba? Why?

[geomon666]

16. Cause...

They dare to give us the finger and there's nothing King George can do about it.

[Disturbed]

17. Uh..but...

hasn't this been a law for years, not just a recent situation?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

19. But the law has been tightened

I was surprised that my church's group was being allowed to go, but they finessed it somehow. We're part of international (sshh!) peace and reconciliation network called The Cross of Nails, headquartered in Coventry, England and established after the firebombing of the city during World War II. My church's group is going to be hosted by a Cross of Nails group in Cuba.

[eridani]

23. Right. There are good communists and bad communists

Good communists, like the Chinese, let their political prisoners make toys and baseball caps for big corporations. Bad communists, like the Cubans, don't.

[moggie]

26. The land of the free and the home of the brave, eh?

Guess your govertment doesn't trust you, and your public seems content with that.

[IndianaGreen]

24. Cuba? Never heard of it!

And you are also right! Anyone that admits to travel to Cuba can be prosecuted.

[indigobusiness]

20. Americans can visit Cuba. But Bush has made it more difficult..

Fewer are allowed to now, but there is a proviso.

[KharmaTrain]

21. A Friend Came Back Recently

He transited through Jamaica...flew direct from Kingston to Havana without as much as his passport being looked at...it was obvious he was an American and he had Dollars...and that's all that matters.

He said he had a great time touring the island...it's pretty much open and the people are extremely friendly. Most tourists (Canadians & lots of Spaniards) stay in the resorts...but it's no different than what goes on in other Carribbean islands...the rich stay with the rich in the 5-star hotels and rare see the country.

The purpose of his trip (and I'd love to follow) is to see what the country is like in anticipation of what will happen once Castro passes. He was amazed at, despite the American embargo, how modernized the country is. While it's far from what most are used to here...TVs are everywhere as are phones and even a fair number of computers. The cities are old and services like water & electricity are poor or non-existant in some areas, but he said in many cases what he saw was no different that conditions he saw in the lower middle-class neigborhoods of most American cities.

I'm hoping to do the same trip sometime soon, and I hear that excursions from Kingston and the Bahamas is not that expensive and well worth the effort.

[pantouflard]

22. Cuba seems a surprising place

There are elections. There is a complete hierarchy of local --> national government; village councils, regional councils, etc.

Also, because they can't afford to buy much on the global market, they make alot of the things they use themselves in small factories.

When they lost their main supply of fuel (the Soviet Union) they began to convert the country to solar power. Apparently the project is growing nicely.

Every school, even if there are only 2 or 3 students, has a VCR and a computer.

It has it's problems. But it's not the wacko place it's made out to be.

[durutti]

25. There's a good article here...

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=40&ItemID=6197