The US “wet foot, dry foot” immigration policy for Cuba came to an 10 days ago as President Obama changed regulations. It seems odd that this would be one of his acts as he is practically walking out the door. I always thought this was a horrible policy that encouraged people to make the perilous trip from … Read More
New Year without Fidel is Unchanged-Cuban Dissidents Arrested Cuban dissidents arrested on New Years day. January 1st in Cuba not only marks the New Year but is also the anniversary of the Revolution, when Fidel Castro and his small group of revolutionaries overthrew Fulgencio Batista’s corrupt government. This is the first celebration since Fidel’s death back … Read More
Americans Help Push Cuba Travel up 13% Well, there is good news and bad: the good news is that American and European travel pushed Cuba travel to over 4 million visitors last year; up 13% over 2015. This was a record for tourism. Tourism is the second largest source of cash for Cuba, so this … Read More
Private Fidel Castro Funeral Nine days of public mourning came to an end last Sunday in Santiago de Cuba at Fidel Castro’s funeral. His ashes were interred in a large, nondescript granite block. Crowds were kept back for a semi-private ceremony with family members and select officials. Fidel’s brother, Raul, placed the ashes into the … Read More
The NY Times just published the most poignant piece on the Fidel Castro funeral and the country’s mourning. Emotion-filled images show the procession coming back to Santiago de Cuba; the place that was the birth of the Revolution and is now the final resting place of the father of that revolution. Read the full article with … Read More
Fidel Castro Death as Reported in Cuba and World The Fidel Castro death brings emotions to the forefront.To me Fidel Castro was a man who pulled off an amazing revolution, against all odds. He seemed to be backed into corners and made bad deals out of necessity. He was kept under pressure by US backed attempts … Read More
The incredibly detailed model of Old Havana (Habana Vieja) just turned 17 years old. It was finished in 1999, after 3 years work. The 1:500 scale model of the old part of the city has extreme detail of the facades, the columns, windows…every detail of every building. It just seems unbelievable that this could be done. … Read More
Cuban Ingenuity-Condoms in Fishing Cuban ingenuity shows up everywhere. Cuban fishermen are blowing up a bunches of condoms and using them for fishing floats. The highly subsidized state-supplied condoms are only a penny apiece, whereas fishing floats, or even simple balloons are much more than that, if they can be found. “It’s efficient and everyone … Read More
Cuba Internet Service Improving? Plainly Not I have written about how Cuba internet service sucks. (See 12 Things to Know Before You Go) Their service has antiquated technology, few access points, slow speed and low bandwidth. Add to this mix the fact that the Republic of Cuba does not want its citizens to have access. … Read More
US Embargo (Blockade to Cubans) Continues to Hurt Economy An article in Cuban newspaper Granma quotes a yearly loss of over $30M USD. I am not going to summarize it or try to put my perspective on it.I am just reprinting it. I obviously don’t know if the figures are accurate, but there is no … Read More