“I am not a has-been. I am a will be.”–Lauren Becall
I am writing this newsletter at the airport in Havana, Cuba. We spent one week here on the “People to People cultural exchange trip” organized by The Santa Fe Photographic Workshops. I’ve taken classes with them before, but this was a different experience.
A group of about 25 Americans, amateur photographers, traveled to Cuba to meet local people, experience life in a country which has a U.S. embargo since 1960, and to interact with local photographers. Usually after any trip, travelers asked if they would come back.
For me, the answer is a definite “YES”.
We met some of the participants who’ve been back every year. One woman in the group was there on her sixth trip to Cuba. Because of the embargo, American visitors can only visit in organized groups under a special one-year license issued by the Treasury department; unless one wants to violate laws and sneak in through Mexico or Canada. Because each airline has to report each passenger, the fines can become costly if one gets caught. Because the rest of the world does not have any restrictions for travels to Cuba, our hotel was filled with tourists from all over the world.
I can write a book about my impressions, thoughts, and feelings about Cuba, and share photos out of about 4500 images that I took there. But for the sake of the brevity of this email, I will just stick to a few stories, which I will spread out in some of my next week’s writing.
Before going on the trip, we received a letter describing what we can bring along. We were also advised to have presents to give away on the streets while taking photos, and to leave some old clothing in the hotel after our departure. We collected soaps brought from other trips; tooth brushes received from visits to the dentist, bought crayons, and grabbed extra lollipops from the neighborhood bank.Phil Wiseman contributed over 20 pens left over from his clients. At the end, we had a substantial bag with the stuff.
Our first story started in the San Francisco airport. My suitcase was two pounds overweight, which would have cost an extra $100 to check on, in addition to the $25 charge. So, I took the gift bag out and stuffed it into my camera bag, which thankfully solved the problem.
The group met and stayed in Miami for one night before our trip, where we received an overview of our itinerary and some instructions on how to manage our stay. This is where we heard the words of wisdom from our trip leader.
Remember he said, “It is Cuba. It is complicated.”
After only a few days in Havana, while encountering a glimpse of local life, it suddenly dawned on me. The only way to explain what is going on in my business is just to say, “It is the Mortgage business. It is complicated.” It also seems that the complication is due to the fact that the government for “the benefit” of the people controls Cuba as well as the Mortgage business. Cubans do not have a choice…do we?
At the end of our trip, a group of us got together to talk about what was the biggest impression from the trip, and everyone had the same answer–the people: friendly, beautiful, and very poor. Some asked for a dollar after posing for a photograph and after receiving a small gift, were very grateful. Many spoke in English and after finding out that we were from San Francisco, California, would happily exclaim, “America!” and showed thumbs up. They would add “We love you!”
Cuba’s history is full of complicated events. From 1790 to 1880, it was a distribution center for the slave trade to America. Havana was a cultural center and has a lot of beautiful buildings, most of which are now dilapidated.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, which according to our travel guide was “breast feeding” Cubans, by subsidizing the sugar cane trade, there was literally a famine for four years. Today, Cuba’s economy depends on tourism and help from Venezuela. Cuba has oil refineries, which process Venezuelan oil, Canadians built an airport in Havana, with high-end hotels and restaurants owned jointly by the Cuban government and business men from Spain. China supplies Cuba with many products, including cars and there are 2500 Chinese who study Spanish in Cuba. Cuba and the United States are only 90 miles and a 45-minute flight apart. Through the years, many Cubans have managed to cross over. I believe that soon more people from the United States will be able to go the other direction without restrictions.
P.S.
Next week, I will share with you more of my encounters in Cuba and why there are so many old American cars over there. At the end of our trip, I had to choose four of my images for the group show. It was challenging to choose from all of the snaps that I took. Here they are. You be the judge, and please let me know your impressions.
P.P.S.
While I was travelling, my office staff was finding solutions and closing loans for my clients. Upon my return, I was very happy to set up an appointment with a new client the first day back in the office.
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