Breathe: Stories from Cuba

Travel Guide

How does Cuba and its people see outsiders and visitors?

Cuba is somewhat of an enigma – it’s a country which has been shunned by America and isolated during the cold War. Sanctions have been placed on its people and goods. For a time, Cuba was not the country to visit – it was as if it were in a time warp – with it peeling paint, old fashioned American cars parked on the shabby street and the scent of cigars floating through the air.

This is Cuba  now where President Obama has visited and the Rolling Stones have played. A political event and a social one – combined, historical indeed.

On one side, this is the Cuba of Cuban charm to the outside world – the crumbling buildings, the Castro effect and the posters which have adorned student’s bedrooms for years of Che Guevara are the ultimate symbol of how much of the world still sees this remarkable country. Tourists flock to see this charming and quaint place and head to Havana with its colorful and ramshackle buildings, children playing in the streets, symbols of communism faded on the walls. The people seem happy though many live in poverty – they like the tourists who come to visit are truing to make a decent life for themselves and their children.

Many freedoms and expectations others have such as the internet and free trade are not allowed here. People survive rather than enjoy life. However as times change, and more tourists come, Cuba has to change to  benefit from them and to show the world who they truly are.