A recurring joke throughout the semester has been the creation of a Cuba Yelp page with reviews of restaurants, paladares, bars, venues and clubs. Usually our hypothetical ratings are low in the category of consistency, but high in ambiance. Cuba’s capital has only recently become a bustling city of privately-owned businesses; only a few years […]
Havana Style
Tyler and I spend a lot of time admiring the unique fashion trends in Havana and pondering how Cubans get their cool clothes. Walking around the city, it’s rare to see clothing and shoe stores, and many of those around seem pretty steep for the average Cuban’s budget. For this week’s blog, we decided to […]
Central Planning
I’m normally not one for organization or planning, but occasionally events in Cuba can push my limits in those areas. One example- on our most recent trip to Santiago and Baracoa, we decided to travel both ways by plane. All domestic and international flights are controlled by the few existing state airlines, and we chose […]
Yo También Exigo
Tania Bruguera is known for her controversial performance piece that was to involve Cubans standing up in the Plaza de la Revolución last December to speak for one minute about whatever they wished, under the title Yo también exigo (I also demand). The symbolic nature of this gesture (and her reputation as a dissident activist) […]
Excursión
Fewer times have I felt more Yuma than our last weekend in Viñales, Pinar del Río. We arrived on Friday afternoon and stayed for two days of exciting activities in this small town in the Valle de Silencio. Although we looked strange horseback riding through town and struggling to salsa at the casa cultural, my […]