Paris Hilton was just touring Havana, Cuba. Before you blow this off as a trivial care of American celebrity culture, hear me out: Celebrities like Paris Hilton and Beyonce Knowles, with their close proximity to powerful individuals and large fan bases, have the opportunity to make a political statement regarding the ineffective embargo against US-Cuba […]
Las Cuevas
Last weekend we went to an awesome little town called Viñales. The group chose to go in a bus, it was filled with tourists. The journey lasted four hours, we passed through varying scenes of Cuban countryside. As we got off the bus, we were greeted by a mob of women aggressively asking us if […]
La Locura
Each of us here are required to write an ethnography (or, un investigación) about something in Cuba. The topics are diverse, ranging from the culture surrounding car ownership, to renewable energy, to race and tourism. I have chosen to study the mental health care system, both because the health care system here is fascinating to […]
School begins
We have started classes at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana, Cuba. We take our classes in a pre-revolution country club turned school of art. Though unfinished and neglected due to financial limitations, the buildings are a beautiful and grand. On our first day upon arriving, our trip leader told us that in all […]
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 […]