 Matanzas
has a number of attractions. It is Pedro's favorite town, but he
is partial to it because he lives there. Even so, it is big enough to
have a variety of cultural venues and a night life, yet small enough
so people seem to recognize every other person as they walk down the street and
there are a variety of attractions for the visitor, but it is not overrun
by tourists, an understatement. These included:
 In the center of town is a hand made book workshop handmade
books, with illustrations, graphics, unique bindings and covers.
The hand a variety of books for children and adults and also publishes
a literary
magazine.
Not
far away is the Catholic Cathedral. Its points of
interest includes glass art, paintings and fine woodwork. When we
were there local people filed in and out, generally crossing
themselves and saying some prayers during their visit. It is generally
an older crowd.
Our next stop was the old hotel. Clearly it had seen more
elegant times. While the interior is a period piece, our purpose
for visiting was to climb to the roof and survey the town and harbor. Cuba has had an off again, on again policy
towards the farmers markets. For now the markets are on again
and they seem to be filled with plenty of variety and plenty of
quantity of produce. Here is where you can get your tomatoes,
bananas, melons, garlic, cabbage and the whole range of tubers that
are part of the Cuban cuisine.
For contrast to the small rural
school we visited earlier, we visited a larger urban school in
Matanzas. Overall it had the same relaxed and organized
environment. The students projected self-confidence and cheerfulness.
As they went about their studies they seemed energetic and
disciplined. Looking over their shoulders and reading some of
the materials in the room, they seemed to be working at a high academic
 level. This of course would be consistence
with Cuba's ability to develop its own biotech industry and produce
professionals in all fields. Watching the staff, they seemed to
genuinely enjoy each other and the students. It was a very warm
and friendly environment.
One of the more interesting hours of
the program was one spent with a man, in his 60's, who had gone to the Sierra Maestra in
1957, in response to a
call to come join the revolution. He has his medals to prove it. Prior to joining the revolution he was one Cuba's
of hundreds of thousands poor peasant farmer. As he tells his story,
around him
people who opposed the Batista dictatorship, and some whose only crime was being a
peasant, were being terrorized by the state's security apparatus. (Batista's government is
report to have killed 20,000 people in the years prior to the uprising.) To this day, and
despite the hardships and challenges of Cuba, he feels that he has been, is and will
be better off, than if there had not been a revolution.
Asked
about the legacy of Che, he gives an impassioned response in full voice. Che was the personification of the pure revolutionary soul.
He gave every ounce of himself to building the new socialism in
Cuba. He worked and volunteered day and night, week and weekend to
lead by example, to show Cubans the way.
This
could have turned into a revolutionary lovefest, but it would not have
been true to our impartial, non-political makeup. Members of the group asked
tough, direct questions: How will Cuba be able to compete in the new world
markets? What promise and opportunity does Cuba have to offer its youth in
the coming years. What restrictions does Cuba put on emigration and tourist visas and
why? And so on.
Our host held firm. The revolution did not need dismantling. It needed
to be consolidated. He had been born rural peasants, with
no hope of ever learning to read. The
revolution had given them the opportunity to live with dignity like it had
for millions of others. The
State needed to find ways of improving health-care, education and social
services for good of all the people. These were things that Batista had
cruelly denied the people, and the revolution should not compromise them.
Batista murdered people who dared object, just like his handlers,
the American Mafia. He had witnessed these things, he said. In order to
build the new phases of the revolution, highly trained
young people would be needed, in the new biotechnology sectors, in
computer technology, in the new agriculture. Travel and relocation to places
like Canada was more a matter of expense. People were free to travel,
even to emigrate, but given the present situation with the embargo, most
people could simply not afford to do so.
Many
other things were said in this hour-long conversation. But finally, as
when our host said, “I am confident that the embargo will end because it
is such a stupid policy”, the group applauded, in admiration of his
determination, and to affirm the honest dialogue we had.
As
he bade us a final farewell in the street, he said what we had heard others
say throughout Cuba. Cubans, he said, did not hate Americans. He
did not believe that the American people wanted the embargo. They had no
reason to want it. The American government, he said, driven by Castro’s
enemies in Miami, was to blame.
We could not help but be impressed that Cubans seemed to have such a
sophisticated understanding of the relations between our countries. I
wondered if Americans could be so discerning, so forgiving.
In the hills just south of town are the Bellemar Caves.
From a small entrance, one descends below the surface to see those impressive
series of rooms and passages filled with stalagtites and stalagmites. The
cave is big. Only part of it is lighted and open to
visitors. |
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