The photo gallery below shows that music is everywhere in Havana…free to enjoy. Street scenes are fascinating and we stumbled upon a very charming little hotel in the historic district that I’d like to stay in next time we go to Cuba. It’s the Hostal Valencia…photos in gallery below.
As mentioned in another post, the communist society in Cuba is very alien to Americans because EVERYTHING is owned by the government. Citizens are given ration books to buy food and household items. For example, each citizen gets 4 pounds of rice a month. They shop at little stores like the one shown in the slide gallery below. They can choose from just a few bars of soap, cooking oil, rice, etc. ALL of the seafood goes to tourists and no Cuban ever gets seafood…..fishing off of the Havana side of the island is very far out to sea where locals cannot get in their ponga boats. On the other side of the island fishing is closer in, but as I said, the catch goes to the tourist trade. By contrast, you will see a photo of a Michael Kors store…there are a few upscale shops but you’ve got to wonder what the locals think when they see these goods and prices that are so far removed from their life style. As you can see in the gallery, some Cubans somehow afford to eat in good restaurants, but at an average salary of $50 a month, it’s rare to see.
We attended a Flamenco Show at the National Theater. This magnificent building was built during the time of the Imperialist Spanish reign. It was a very difficult time for the peasants, but the upper class had a very good life. Buildings like this are no longer “approved” or built by the government. Nothing new has been built in the last 50 years.
Penny In Paradise 