Journal 5: Tourist Beach Towns

The tourism based beach towns of Cienfuegos and Trinidad gave a glimpse into yet another Cuban way of living. Even though we only spent a night in Cienfuegos, the town left a lasting impression. The colonial style architecture was beautiful, as was the scenery (pictured below). Trinidad was by far my favorite town we stayed…

Journal 4: Cuban Countryside

The more rural areas of Cuba at first felt like a culture shock compared to Havana. It was refreshing to be places with a slower pace after the jam packed days in Havana. One of the rural places that gave me the biggest culture shock was the disco we went to in San Diego de…

Journal 3: Colorful Cuba and its Art

Cuban art and an culture was alive with vivid colors and reflected on the colorful personalities of the Cuban people. One of the most colorful places in Cuba, and one of my favorite parts of the trip was Callejon de Hamel. This alleyway featured Afro-Cuban culture and art. When we arrived at Callejon de Hamel,…

Journal 2: Opposing Views

Journalism in Cuba was a topic I was particularly interested in, and the journalists we met did not disappoint. Meeting with journalist, Marta Rojas is an experience I won’t soon forget. She was kind, confident, and has some extraordinary stories to tell about her time as a journalist during the revolution. My favorite story in…

Journal 1: First Impressions

Arriving in Cuba was a slight culture shock to say the least. After stepping off of the plane, the first thing I noticed was the crumbling infrastructure. I knew it wouldn’t be in great shape, but I didn’t expect to see a literal hole in ground in the airport. I was amazed at how the…

Education

I grew interested in Cuban education as a whole after speaking with my pen pal about woman and their access to education. Education in an important topic to me because of how valuable it is. In the United States, education is kind of sold to us as a means of upward mobility. For example, were…

Censorship in Cuba

I grew interested in censorship in Cuba after speaking with my pen pals, who are both journalists. Neither of them mentioned the subject, but I plan on asking.  Freedom of press is guaranteed in the Cuban constitution, however, it is made clear that there is to be no private ownership of press. I find this…

Roots of Revolution

“I think that I’ve tried many times to get Cuba in my writings, especially Havana, which was once a great and fascinating city” – Guillermo Cabrera Infante I was always fascinated with pre-revolution Cuba. I loved reading about the glamour and opulence of Havana in Hemingway books. Cuba was described as a beautiful, hopeful place.…

Gender Equality in Cuba

I read an article by the New York Times that detailed gender equality in Cuba and found it very interesting. It detailed how Castro made equality for women a priority, which is very admirable to me. There were laws put in place and enforced that protected women’s rights and promoted gender equality. After reading this,…

US Cuba Relations

I’m surprised that Cubans don’t hold more animosity towards the United State of America after learning about the Platt Amendment. That law pretty much embodies the unfair idea that the United States is superior to all other countries (which it isn’t). Although the people in the United State thought that was what’s best for Cuba,…