Calle 13

The days leading up the Calle 13 concert were an absolute roller coaster of emotions for everybody. Monday we learned that the trip we had all been looking forward to was canceled because of earthquakes in Santiago, which we couldn’t seem to fathom being anybody but the director of our program’s fault. After a series of back and forth fighting phone calls with Frank, our 65 year old ailing director, it was established that we officially would not be reimbursed for our plane tickets, ever get to Baracoa, nor would we have much say in the new, downgraded Spring break trip. Although the day was lightened up quite a bit by news of Emily winning her Fulbright, there was still plenty of reason to let loose and celebrate.

The day started around 3pm, with a typically Cuban experience of Emily, Anna, Hannah and Ben’s Cuban Pensamiento class being canceled due to the concert. This meant the rum and cola started pouring pretty early in the day. We arrived at the Malecon at around 4:30, half an hour before the show started, and were immediately immersed into a mob of nearly half a million fans. For Emily, the sea of people stretched for tens of blocks- but of course not being able to see over the people next to me, I might as well have been in an overly packed elevator. The next couple hours passed mostly without incident, except for fighting with Cubans to keep from being trampled, passing around drinks and trying to find a way to keep dry from all the sweat. By the time Calle 13 came on, the day took a drastic turn.

The rest of the concert was definitely a different experience for everyone, the two major variables being height and amount of drinks consumed. The buddy system previously established went right out the window when the sweat and heat became too much for Kait to handle. Being the only link between me and the rest of the group, I was left lost in a sea of hundreds of thousands of screaming, sweaty, drunken Cubans. After circling around what felt like peoples feet for almost an hour trying to make my way back to the group, losing my flip flops and almost bursting from having to pee, I eventually started heading for home. On my way I somehow managed to hook up with a young, nice looking Cuban girl and ended up making it all the way back to the hostel with her. I invited her up for water and a CUC, and promptly left her to sit alone in Emily’s and my room while I peed and washed my face. This is the scariest moment of my Cuban life, but thank god all the money and laptops were still there the next morning. I guess the CUC sufficed. I can’t say exactly what the rest of the group was doing during this time, but I later found out that Kait had made it back safely, showered and went to bed. Emily, Anna, Ben and Prisca enjoyed the end of the set and Hannah and Hannah C went to a nice dinner, avoiding the mess altogether. Our full hotel reunion at around 9 was more than welcome, and we all enjoyed a few beers, laughs and illegally cooked food by the lady next door. Because the Puerto Rican’s are from the same country as Calle 13, they were invited to an after party where they met him and the rest of his posse. I was disappointed to hear that he was so rude, arrogant and intolerable after spending an hour the night before watching a documentary about how he was such a man of the people. I don’t know why we expect anything to make sense anymore, especially after the week that led up to the concert. Overall the night was a roaring success, hiccups and all, and it gives us just another reason to thank god for the location of our hostel. If we lived more than 3 blocks from the Malecon, half of us would surely be dead.

Guest Author: Gloria Hatcher

Catch Up

It’s been a while since the last post. Oops. We are into April (yikes) and I believe (whether it’s true or just an excuse, I don’t know) that the reason I have not been blogging is because I’m more comfortable here. We have more or less settled into a routine. The things that were once new are now common and the new things we do see no longer faze us quite as much.

Last Tuesday was an awful day. No one had class, our week long trip to the east was cancelled due to earthquakes, in the morning there was 150% humidity, in the afternoon it poured for hours, I had a cold, and everyone in the group was a little on edge with one another (we do basically spend every waking hour with one another) and missing home. Because we are here for the entire semester and not just a week there is no need to squeeze activities into every second of every day. Albeit a bit dreary, it was nice to realize that I am spending enough time here to have the luxury of having a bad day.

So… here, in no particular order, are some of the fun things that have been going on because in reality this is an awesome experience and Cuba is crazy and I love crazy:

Ocean Kayaking – I FINALLY GOT TO GO KAYAKING. It was nothing compared to what I have been dreaming about, but I’ll take what I can get. Fun fun fun in the sun!

Life – Let’s face it, I am a science nerd. Every Sunday at 8PM I am perched in front of the TV watching the Discovery channel / BBC series “Life” slack jawed occasionally telling people to quite down to make sure I can hear every word. For all of yinz who have not watched it… do.

Calle 13 – For those who don’t know, Calle 13 is a very popular Puerto Rican music group. Between living with a group of Puerto Rican students and reggaeton being the music of choice for all young Cubans, the concert along the malecon was a big deal and “too much fun.” (see guest post for more details)

Baseball – The Cuban baseball championship concluded yesterday. Los Industriales (woooooooooo) and Villa Clara (boooooooooo) were tied three games apiece going into the final game. After battling back and forth and back and forth, the Industriales pulled through in the 9th inning making them this year’s winner. The streets erupted at 2:20AM after the last out with horns, shouting, running mobs, and the entire city singing the favorite local song “INDUSTRIALES CAMPEON.” The final two games of the series were away so we had to watch them on TV, but last weekend our group went to one of the games in Havana. Again, we paid 1MN ($0.04USD) to get in. Can you imagine going to see a Yankees game, or even a Pirates game for that matter, for $0.04USD? The stadium was PACKED and everyone was getting into it. We watched as the Lion (Industriales) drank the Orange Juice (Villa Clara… odd mascot I know) and then drag it off the field in a coffin. We also decided to add to the collection of floating condom balloons. The Industriales won in the 7th inning 11-1 because of the mercy rule… INDUSTRIALES CAMPEON!

Soccer – All of my years of playing soccer have come in handy once again. I have been playing in a soccer league (I am a member of the philosophy department team) at the University of Havana. We made it all the way to the finals but lost 1-0 to the law students. Lucky goal. It felt like the entire school was crowded around the 10 players on two small concrete basketball courts we used as our field yelling and screaming and cheering. I think this will be one of my favorite memories from Cuba. I love soccer and everyone on my team is so fun to hang with. Now starts the second round of soccer. From each of the departmental teams they pick the best players to represent the University of Havana and compete against other universities in Cuba… we had our first practice yesterday. YAY!

Cuerda Viva – A friend asked if I wanted to go to a concert, I had no other plans so I said sure. A bus ride and a short walk later we were at what I assume to be the Cuban version of the Grammys. It was an award show complete with performances, acceptance speeches, and obviously scripted dialogs between presenters. It was a great chance for me to see a bunch of Cuban music across a bunch of different genres all in one night.

March Madness – As any good college students who attend a school in the NCAA tournament should, we have a March Madness pool going. Hanging on my wall are 15 brackets next to an every changing ordered list of names each vying for the top spot. We get a variation of Spanish ESPN here, but they don’t play the games so we must rely on the “Bottom Line” or as we call it “The Ticker” for score updates. It’s pathetic. What is even more pathetic is that the top three spots are going to be held by two Puerto Ricans and a Cuban. Us Americans had a poor showing… but at least my bracket is pretty.

Music Videos – Along with the Discovery channel and Spanish ESPN, we also get VH1. It has become a morning ritual to watch the “Jump Start Videos” after out 7:30AM breakfast. We all know almost every word to every video now. I can’t tell if the songs I like are actually good or if I like them because they are in English (I think the latter). I do know, however, that Lady Gaga is a genius.

Artisan Fair – We have all made frequent trips to a warehouse along the bay in Havana Vieja. It is full of vendors selling jewelry, dresses, hats, dominoes, carvings, paintings, coasters, and any other type of souvenir (classy or tacky) that you can imagine. If you want something… let me know. I have gotten quite good at bargaining prices down.

Good News

To all of you who crossed your fingers for me, thanks!

I GOT THE FULBRIGHT TO CHILE… PATAGONIA HERE I COME :)

Zapata

The Zapata Peninsula is a huge swamp next to the Bay of Pigs on the south coast of the Island. It is a National Park and the least densely populated area in Cuba. As soon as I read that I started planning a trip there and the more I started reading, the more excited I became… endemic birds, orchids, guajiros, crocodiles, zunzuncitos, SCUBA diving, beaches, caves, the biggest swamp in the Caribbean, and anti-American propaganda. What’s not to love?

My alarm went off at 6:30 AM on Friday morning and we were off. When we arrived at the bus station we were informed that the road was closed south of Playa Giron (our second destination) so the bus was re-routed and no longer stops at Playa Larga (our first destination). We got on anyway and after a few hours hopped off at Jaguey Grande, the closest we could get to where we wanted to be. The bus dropped us (no one else got off) on the side of the highway next to a Cuban equivalent to a rest area along the PA turnpike. After an hour and some intense negotiations we found a nice man named Pepe who drove us to Playa Larga.

Playa Larga is not a busy place. The dusty streets are full of bicycles, horse-carts, old American cars, and beat up trucks. There are pick-up baseball games, stray dogs, and people relaxing on their front porches. Once we had a place to stay (we settled on all six of us in a single, cheap, hotel room) and had stashed our stuff, we went on a hunt for food. We walked to “downtown” Playa Larga and stuffed our faces with delicious egg sandwiches for 2MN ($0.08USD) each. Hoping to do a last minute afternoon trip into the swamp, we found the Park Office and inquired about options. We talked a while with Mario a Park Guide about the different trips available. He called around to find us transportation, hung up one of the calls, and informed us “a yellow bus will pick you up at 8AM tomorrow.” Good thing we didn’t have any plans for the morning.

Now it was time to find something else to do for the afternoon. Roughly 28km away from Playa Larga is Cueva de las Pecas. The Cueva is a 70 meter deep cenote (fault line) next to the beach filled in with water. As we walked past the guard house at the entrance to the hotel I asked if the cueva was to the right or to the left. We turned right, started walking down the road, and stuck out our thumbs. After a while a caminone pulled over. Yay! We rode a few kilometers standing in the bed of the truck which huge ceramic rain barrels and a Cuban who just kept laughing at us extranjeros. It was wonderful. After a little more walking and a lot of rejections, we flagged an antique teal Chevy. It took some convincing and a few sad puppy faces, but he dropped us off at the cueva. We swam in the ocean, jumped in the cueva, chilled in the hammocks, and then asked around to see how to get back to the hotel. We waited for a broken bus for two hours in some rain and a swarm of mosquitoes, got dropped off a few kilometers away, and walked back from there.

8 AM the next morning we were ready to go and eagerly waiting for the mysterious yellow bus to pick us up. Mario strolled up and said the bus would be coming at 9 AM. Around 9:30 AM an old French yellow school bus pulled in the driveway and off we went. This was all very typically Cuban. We drove 20 kilometers along a dirt road into the swamp to Las Salinas. We saw lots and lots of birds: ibis, pelicans, cormorants, herons, flamingos (my favorite), the Batista hawk, and some more I can’t remember. Mario was a great guide. There were mangroves, lowland forest, lagoons, and swamp… not much vibrant color (except for the flamingos), but it is beautiful nonetheless.

Our trip ended, but we decided that we loved the random school bus and Chichi (the driver) so much that we re-hired him to take us to Playa Giron. Squeezing six people into a small hotel room with two single beds worked out so why not do it again? We ran into a bit of a problem when two of us went to check in. The only hotel in Playa Giron is all-inclusive, requiring guests to wear a florescent yellow wrist band. Some more quick thinking and fast talking and we managed to pay for four people but get six wristbands. Success.

An hour after our crafty check-in I was in the gear room of the International SCUBA Center getting fitted for a BC and a wetsuit andloading tanks into the truck. SCUBA DIVING WAS SO MUCH FUN. The Caribbean is a much better place to dive than a zero viability catfish infested coal fire power plant coolant lake in West Virginia. All during the 45 minuet dive I was having trouble keeping my regulator in because I kept smiling too much. I was on sensory overload. Everywhere I looked… colorful fish, coral, crabs, a ray, more tropical fish, more coral, four squid swimming in a line, sponges…

There was a little anxiety about the whole wrist band situation so after a brief retreat into town and regrouping in the local baseball dugout, we had a relaxed night of lounging by the pool, beach volleyball with a group a Germans, and dinner.
I did two more dives in the morning. Both were equally amazing as the first. I plan on doing at least three more dives during the rest of my time in Cuba. I’m 100% hooked on yet another wallet draining hobby. Oh well… SO FUN! The rest of the group came along this time and snorkeled. Minus the hordes of jelly fish which freaked some people out (they didn’t sting) we had a great day in the sun. I could go on and on and on and on about SCUBA, but for now enjoy the pictures and prepare yourself to hear hours upon hours of diving stories when I am home.

After lunch, check-out, and coffee we lucked out and snagged seats on a bus that left right from the hotel in Playa Giron to Havana. It dropped us only a few blocks from home. We even made it home in time for dinner. Zapata was yet another very successful trip out of the city. I love it. Every time I travel I realize how lucky I am. This world is absolutely amazing.

Pinar del Rio

If I were to stay in Cuba forever I would live in Pinar del Rio in the Valley of Vinales. It’s no big secret that I like to play outside, and Vinales is the perfect place to do just that. This particular trip was a planned excursion through the Pitt in Cuba program. I hate tour buses with a passion so the hop on - drive - hop off - take pictures - hop back on itinerary got old before it even started, but the location and much needed break from the city made up for it.

The first stop was the eco-village Las Terrazas. Back in the day the hardwood resources of the area were exploited leaving nothing but barren mountains until after the revolution when Castro initiated a reforestation program. The model was extremely successful and lead to the creation of the self sustainable community of Las Terrazas. After a phenomenal ranchon style lunch of local food and of course ice cream, we stopped for coffee at the house of a darling lady named Maria. She was all of 4 feet 6 inches tall (naturally we snapped a picture together) and served the best coffee I have had in Cuba thus far.

The next stop on the tour (literally) was Soroa, a quite “mountain town.” A short hike and we were at the top of the Mirador, a lookout. The perpetual frentes frios made the weather perfect for hiking. The views were a bit obstructed by clouds but beautiful nonetheless.

The next day we finished off the town attractions. We went to an orchid garden and walked to a nice waterfall. Despite the fact that there were roughly three species of orchids the property and other flowers were gorgeous. Before getting on the bus again we walked down the road and along a short trail to see a waterfall. This is the closest thing to a river with whitewater that I am going to find in Cuba.

On the way to Vinales we stopped at a tobacco plantation. Pinar del Rio is where the best tobacco in Cuba is grown, and since the best cigars in the world are from Cuba, a plantation like this one is on the itinerary of every trip to the province so people can buy, smoke, and learn about the famous cigars. There were rows of shoulder high plants, big drying houses, harvested rows of hanging leaves, smiling sombrero wearing guajiros, and of course cigars… I wish we could have stayed longer.

Our final stop was the town of Vinales. The town itself is comprised of houses with rocking chair laden porches, tree lined streets, and more friendly guajiros. Surrounding the town is the Valley of Vinales home to beautiful magotes and world class climbing (something obviously not on the tour schedule). Magotes are rounded limestone mountains that were formed when the roofs of underground rivers collapsed. Almost all of them are a mix of sheer cliffs and vegetation. We stopped at the Mural de la Prehistoria, a humongous psychedelic portrayal of the origin of life painted on one of the cliffs. We also took a tour by foot and by boat of one of the many cave systems in the area.

After lunch I was in much need of some time away from the bus, so I took a solo walk along a very rural road outside of town. Everything was so tranquil. No car horns, no cat calls, no hurry. Along the way I saw the national Cuban bird, the Tocoro. As a budding birder, I was excited. It is the national Cuban bird because its coloring matches the Cuban flag, it does not survive in captivity, and it regularly shakes its tail feathers.

I love the countryside. I plan on going back... probably hitchhiking in camiones to Vinales for some more hiking, birding, and rock climbing. There are no maps published of the area so I snapped some pictures of the maps hanging on the walls at the park visitor center to go off of. Sorry mom and dad… I guess these are the types of adventures you like me to tell you after they occur. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine :)

Events of Last Few Days

Friday:
After class I decided that I didn’t want to hang around our house or neighborhood so Celine, Anna, and I walked to the bus stop to catch the P-1 to Miramar. After waiting almost an hour and having two full buses passed us, we decided to try our luck at catching a fixed route peso taxi.

Ok… here is a quick rundown of the transportation system as I know it here in Cuba. There are 7 (probably more) public transportation options, the bus (guaguas), fixed route peso taxis (boteros), peso taxies, CUC taxis, coco taxis, horse drawn carriage, and the bed of a utility pickup truck. The buses are Chinese hand-me-downs that cost $0.40 pesos (about $0.02 USD). Riding the bus is always a trip since they fit as many people as possible onto the buses. When a bus arrives at the stop everyone runs to the entrance to secure a spot. Usually it pulls away with people literally hanging out the still open doors. I like the bus. Fixed route peso taxis are the old American cars everyone associates with Cuba that run along designated streets. They pull over, you ask the driver where they are headed, then if it’s headed to where you want and there is room you jump in with other people and pay $10 pesos. When I looked down at the clutch in the fixed route taxi we took to Miramar, I could see the road moving below us. Another time, the car continued to run when the driver took the key out of the ignition. Peso taxis are just taxis that you take where you pay in pesos not CUC. They are usually difficult to find and we have to fight to be allowed in because they are legally only for Cubans. With our University of Havana student ID cards, we are allowed to ride in peso taxis. CUC taxis are the same as peso taxis, but you have to pay in CUC. Coco taxis are these very odd three wheeled egg shaped vehicles that fit two or three in the open back seat. These are also in CUC and are for tourist. I don’t know much about the horse drawn carriages, but they are also for tourists. Riding in the back of a pickup truck I assume is in pesos but I will report back on that later since it is on my list of things to do in Cuba.

I suppose I should also say something about the money system. There are two currencies, Cuban pesos and CUC. The exchange rate between USD and CUC is technically 1:1 but the government takes out a %20 tax. The exchange rate between CUC and pesos is 1:24. Any and all things related to tourism are priced in CUC. Most museums have a CUC and student peso price which is why having University IDs is so wonderful. Pesos are so much cheaper. For the most part street food and all other “Cuban things” are priced in pesos. The dual currency system makes no sense to me at all. When there are actually things to buy, they seem to be priced completely haphazardly.

Now back to Miramar… there was nothing on our agenda except for exploring. After randomly picking a corner to get out of the taxi, we found the National Aquarium of Cuba. The combination of the cloudy dark weather, the lack of visitors, and the fact that half the tanks were empty made it seem like we had entered the twilight zone. This was one of those instances where being able to pay the peso price made a huge difference. I paid $7 pesos instead of $10 CUC. The ticket price included the sea lion show and dolphin show. Both were very entertaining. Yet another testament to Cubas passion for dancing, the sea lions could salsa and move to the always present reggaeton beats. Despite it feeling like a ghost town, the aquarium was quite professional. They had educational information scattered about, and it seemed like the animals were kept in good condition. There was one exception… in the exhibit with the pelicans and turtles, there were stray cats just chillin next to them. There are cats everywhere here. I love it.

Saturday:
Our entire group of nine extranjeros went to the Feria Internacional del Libro. Two buses later we were across the Bay of Havana in El Morro at the book fair with what seemed like every other person in Havana. The book fair is an annual event that brings in exhibits from countries around the world (I even found a Merck Manual in Spanish). It’s a big deal. Being in the sun all day and constantly elbowing people for position in line was all part of the experience. Everyone bought a few books and I managed to secure (semi-steal) an awesome (free) poster of the fair that was hanging in an unoccupied booth.

After a nap and dinner we all headed out to the Union of Writers and Artists. Before leaving for Cuba I had in my head that nights would be spent in classy summer dresses, sitting outside on an ornate patio surrounded by palm trees, sipping mojitos, and listening to a handsome Cuban man sing son and bolero. That exact scene went down Saturday night.

Sunday:
To continue to educate myself about traditional Cuban music, I took a stroll to Callejon de Hamel. This is a community of artists and musicians in an awesome ally decorated with colorful murals, statues, poems, and other art. It’s based around Santeria (a religion that combines traditional African beliefs and Catholicism) and is known as one of ‘the’ places to go for Rumba. Despite the heat and humidity intense chanting, drumming, and dancing ensued. Very fun. Very sweaty.

Monday:
Spanish class was full of laughing at funny situations based on cultural and language confusion... as usual. There is a group of Puerto Ricans living with us. They are also here studying at the University of Havana. Gina, one of the Puerto Ricans, joined a soccer team and extended the invitation to us. Of course I’m now on the team. This is the club sports equivalent. Each faculty in the university have a team and they compete against one another. Right now I am double booked, playing for the philosophy team and the biology team. This is Cuba… I don’t think anyone will care. Monday afternoon we (the Philosophy team) had practice. Our “coach,” a grad student, was a little ADD and had us switch drills about every 2 minutes but the scrimmage for the second half of practice had me huffing and puffing. It was great to play. Soccer is such a wonderful sport. The facilities were a little lacking… ruts, puddles, dry grass, no nets, a single duck-taped soccer ball, and fashion sneakers instead of cleats. This is a perfect example of Cuba. Here, they use what they have, work (in this case play) hard, and are always in good spirits. I am lucky to be a part of the team.

Tuesday:
My only class of the day was canceled so…BEACH! The above picture is proof I have been wearing sunscreen (mom and dad). I am so pale. Ha!

Sorry for the diary style entry… I am getting lazy (I know… my life is so hard). This weekend the group is off to Pinar del Rio, the province to the west of Havana. I’m so excited to get out of the city again… especially because this time there is mountains and rock climbing!

Classes

I have been here for almost three weeks now, and my class schedule is finally finished. I am taking four classes. Three classes are at the University of Havana and all are in Spanish.

Spanish – Thank god for formal Spanish lecture and review! So far my accent and vocabulary have improved drastically, but I doubt I will ever sound Cuban... they talk so fast.

Film – Every Wednesday I head to the Cuban Chapter of the Fundacion del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano located in a gorgeous complex in La Lissa, Mirimar (the next neighborhood over from where I live in Vedado). We watch Cuban films and chat about it. I love this class.

Cuban Society – This is a “core class” that surveys a series of overarching themes in the context of the history of Cuba and contemporary Cuba. We have specialists from different departments within the University come to class each week and lecture. Our grade in this class is based on an independent project of our choosing. I’ll be doing something concerning the environment : )

Cuban Political Thought – This is the elective class I chose. I just had the first class today, since the professor is in Guatemala. For now there is a different professor standing in. I don’t have much to say about this class after only one meeting with a substitute professor, but it should be interesting.

The process of registering for classes follows no logical system at all. Really, almost all things here seem illogical to me. I tend to be a very logical person and like to puzzle things out… I can’t do that here. I suppose in some ways that’s a good thing since it forces me to practice my Spanish because I need to ask people questions constantly.