We had some homework while reading Carlos Eire's Waiting for
Snow in Havana. We were all to bring questions for discussion. If you read the
book, you'll enjoy these questions; and if you didn't, they might convince you
to read it. Pam first gave us some historical perspective, which illuminated
how Castro managed his revolution. Then we began our questions. The first was
fun! Dennis listed some experiences that he had in common with Carlos Eire and
asked for a show of hands from anyone who had similar experience. These
included running after a truck spraying DDT, getting shot at, seeing dead
bodies outside of funerals, body surfing, and having one's life threatened. The
hands were going up and down. I wanted to see who had done what, but I missed
most of it, because I was busy writing down the life experiences Dennis was
mentioning. Great minds think alike: I had an idea for a question similar to what
Dennis asked. I had begun a list of Eire's childhood experiences and was
thinking of asking whether our group had had childhoods similar to Eire's. I
was thinking more of the lifestyle; the parties, the pools, the beach trips,
the friends getting into mischief, the hired help, the movies and ice cream
parlors... Eire's childhood as a privileged Cuban under Batista's command was similar to the 1950s childhoods of many in the American middle class.
More questions? Carla asked whether Eire exaggerated, in the
way that a child has memories that can be bigger than the reality. Cindy
suggested that because so many newsworthy events were happening around Eire and
to him that much of what he said about these was probably true. Meredith noted
that for young Eire, it seemed that the revolution created a new reality
without Eire noticing the process; Meredith asked whether that could happen
here and now. Pat suggested an analogy between the polio epidemic here and the
Cuban Revolution. When polio was a danger, cities closed such public places as
theaters and swimming pools, and the entire population was on alert, ie, a new
reality. I suggested that 9-11 was similar to the revolution in the suddenness
and pervasiveness of its impact on society. Janice asked whether Eire's fears
eased after his move to the United States. Pam said that the fears do reappear
in Eire's second book, which covers his assimilation into American life.
Lydia asked why Eire thought/wrote of his parents as Louis XIV and Marie
Antoinette. Pam mentioned that Eire made light of some of his fears through
humor, such as naming the "Eye Jesus" and the "Candlestick Lady". His fantasy names
for his parents might have helped him cope or might have been a literary tool
to convey the family dynamics.
Frank asked what we thought would happen after the Castro
brothers are gone. This inspired discussion about Cuba after the revolution. Jay
mentioned reading a book by Valarie Hemingway, who had married one of Ernest
Hemingway's sons, in which she said that Hemingway had a vacation home in Cuba;
he fled after the revolution, supposedly leaving unfinished manuscripts there
on the desk. There are probably other famous and wealthy Americans who enjoyed
Cuban holidays before the revolution and had homes there.
Two of my friends visited Cuba via "Cultural
Exchange" trips during 2012. I asked them to tell me about Cuba now. Here
are some interesting factoids they told me: The only way Americans are allowed
to go to Cuba now is through one of these group trips. The USA is the only country
whose citizens are discouraged from visiting Cuba as tourists. The tourist
business is one of very few ways Cubans can profit, because the money comes from
outside the Cuban government. All other businesses are regulated by the
government. Thus, the jobs we consider as "professional" have
government-controlled salaries, such as approximately $15/month for physicians
and lawyers - that's $15, not a typo! Those in the tourist industry
can squirrel away tips and can gather goods for the black market. A bartender
can skim alcohol from each drink and...not drink it! That would be such a
waste! They collect it to sell. Tourists bring goods to share with the Cubans: denim
jeans, knit shirts, soap, religious artifacts, toothpaste, bandaids, aspirin,
pens... Tourists give these treasured things to maids, beggars, guides, etc.
(When I was in Jamaica many years ago, everyone there wanted athletic shoes. I
gave mine to a maid.)
Cuba has beautiful beaches and greenery but garbage in the
streams and broken sidewalks in the city. The neighborhoods with the big homes
that used to be examples of grandeur have been transformed into multiple-family
housing. This may be good for many people, but the government has not been able
to keep up with the maintenance. The overall impression in Cuba is one of
things falling apart. A concept I find amusing is that after the
Revolution, no one brought any automobile industry to Cuba, and no one could
afford to import cars, so the same big old cars from the 1950s and 1960s are
everywhere. It looks like a set for an old movie! Car owners make some
extra cash by allowing tourists to stand near the cars for photos.
The successes of the Cuban Revolution are the education and
the health care. Everyone has access to quality and low-cost health care, and
everyone is educated and can continue through higher education.
Thanks to Elisabeth and Amy for the insights! Of course,
there is a lot more going on in Cuba than I can relate or than my friends saw. And
we come full circle to the fact that the Castro brothers are aging. There are
changes in the wind. Hopefully, they will incorporate past progress and solve
current problems.
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