People fascinate me.

How they look. How they talk. How they smell (bem, not all people smell “fascinating”). But the local people are definitely one of the major things that I observe and analyze while traveling.

Interacting with the local people & discovering how they live life forms an integral part of the travel experience. Não demorou muito tempo para me perceber que a Povo cubano era certamente um dos destaques do país.

Andando pelas ruas de Cuba você pode ver qualquer coisa: a blonde-haired women with brown eyes, a black man with blue eyes, ou um mulatta com olhos verdes. Years of interracial mixing have resulted in a rainbow-spectrum of Cubano.

Mas não é apenas a sua beleza física que “chamar sua atenção” (chama a sua atenção), é também sua alegria contagiante & resiliently optimistic attitudes, apesar da luta cotidiana cubano. Tenha em mente que a maioria destes povos’ oficial monthly salary is between $15-25 USD, meaning they must find some other way to earn money & colocar comida na mesa.

I was inspired, so I decided to start a project called Faces of Cuba. I took pictures of various people, e tentou atender mais & discover a little bit about them. These people left an impression on me, e espero que através destas imagens & brief descriptions you can begin to use your imagination & juntar o que eles podem realmente ser como como uma pessoa, ou que tipo de vida que pode levar.

Faces of Cuba

Dailin was the next door neighbor of a friend who I spent a lot of time with in Santiago. One day I was really tired & queria um pouco de café, so my friend told me to go over to Dailín’s house to ask for some. “Não importa” (Não importa) is what my friend dismissively replied when I told her that I felt a little weird asking people I don’t know for coffee.

Dailin & her mother brewed some coffee up for me right away when I reluctantly asked for them, & invited me into their home. We talked & café bebeu um pouco, então eu deixei. Over the next few days, I couldn’t even walk past Dailín’s house without them inviting me in for more coffee. A few times they even prepared food for me, e cada vez que teve conversas interessantes. By the time I left Santiago, they had redefined what it was for me to be a “bom vizinho.”

Pedro. 24 years old. cozinhar. Santiago de Cuba, Cuba.

Margarita was a waitress at a restaurant where I sat down to kill time waiting on the bus. She wasn’t my waitress, just another waitress on shift, but that didn’t stop us from talking for quite some time.

When I asked for her name, age, and occupation (the standard Faces of Cuba bit) she also wrote down her entire address for me, making me promise her that I would come back someday to meet her family. She had never met an American before, and wanted her family to see that just because the schools & government taught them to view Americans a certain way, didn’t necessarily mean that it was true.

Charuto velho homem de fumo em sua porta da frente. Havana, Cuba.

I met Norma in line at the same restaurant where I met Ruben from Faces of Cuba 1. Eu não entendi quando Norma primeiro me disse que ela era uma vaca milker.

“Em seguida, Você é um camponês?”

“assim, você é um fazendeiro?” eu perguntei a ela.

She reassured me that she was only a cow milker, and then proceeded to tell me about the delicate situation regarding cattle in the country. In Cuba, only the government or authorized personnel are allowed to kill cattle, e, de facto, abate não autorizado de uma vaca pode pousar alguém na prisão até 10 anos. This is due to an extreme cattle shortage on the island because of the US trade embargo & seca. Each & O leite de cada vaca, & eventual beef production must be carefully calculated & racionada entre as pessoas. Many Cuban children have not been consuming enough milk, levando à desnutrição, physical underdevelopment, & dano cerebral. Regra, junto com milhares de outros cubanos, have been tasked with maximizing milk production in order to combat this very real problem facing childhood in Cuba. Norma treats her job with the utmost seriousness & justamente por isso.

Luis estava saindo com seus amigos na varanda de alguém um dia, em Santiago de Cuba. They called out to me as I walked past because they could see that I was a tourist with my camera hanging around my neck like a good gringo. I surprised them when I answered with,“¿Que bola aseres?” a typical Cuban greeting which means the equivalent of “What’s up dudes?” They invited me up on the porch for a Cuba Libre (rum & coke). When I told them that I was traveling alone, they insisted that I come back later that night to go out on the town with them, and that’s exactly what I did.

We started off the night by putting a speaker in the middle of the road in front of Luis’s house and blasting Cuban reggaeton & salsa at full volume. Eles me ensinaram alguns passos de dança que eu pudesse ser “more Cuban” and then we went out. Durante todo o decorrer da noite, they took me to a festival, and to a few local, Cubano-somente bares onde normalmente extranjeros (foreigners) aren’t allowed. Era bom para sair com um grupo de moradores depois de ter viajado sozinho por um tempo. They instantly accepted me into their group, and I felt like I had been one of the “aseres” for years.

Gabriela. 35 years old. Vende roupas na rua. No ônibus entre Holguin & Guardalavaca, Cuba.

casa privada são as casas designadas de determinadas famílias cubanas que tenham obtido uma autorização do governo para hospedar estrangeiros durante a noite. É considerado um privilégio valioso dinheiro ganho para ter essa autorização, de modo que essas famílias cubanas estão em seu melhor comportamento para garantir turistas desfrutar de sua estadia. Señora Inés Maria went above and beyond with her hospitality, and was probably my favorite señora de la casa (woman of the house) in all of Cuba. Ela não era apenas uma alegria para rir & converse with, mas ela também sempre fui acima e além com ela desayunos (café-da-).

Having big breakfasts in casa particulares throughout Cuba is nothing rare, but usually breakfast quality & tamanho são a primeira coisa a sofrer quando os viajantes conseguem negociar quartos para muito barato. Nós conseguimos pechinchar Inés para US $ 16 / noite para um quarto que dividido entre 4 viajantes. Eu estava esperando o café da manhã para ser uma banana & a “that’s-what-you-get” look from Inés every morning. Instead, nós sempre surgiu a mais de frutas, café extra, e chunkier tortillas (Cuban for egg omelets) than the day before, all dished out on the table in front of us with a beaming smile on her face.

Christopher deu-nos muitas horas de entretenimento, being the baby king of the house. Watching Inés spoil her first grandson at any time of the day was heart-warming, and it was impossible not to take part. For me, there was no better way to digest one of Inés’ hearty breakfasts than by getting down on the floor and rumbling with the big guy himself!

Highly recommended to stay here if you travel to Baracoa, Cuba. Other Casa Particulares in Baracoa may have the big breakfasts, but no one else has Christopher!

Casa Inés María Hernandez Hernan. Direción (address): Flor Crombe 110 entre Frank País y Marabi. Baracoa, Cuba. Teléfono: (+53) 21645698. Correo (email): yurimafabre@correodecuba.cu

Observando a vida nas ruas de sua porta da frente. Martí Praça, Cienfuegos, Cuba.

Sejamos honestos, from the first time I saw Adrian beebopping through the streets of Santiago, I knew he had to be a part of Faces of Cuba. Como você pode não perceber esse cara? But it wasn’t just the largest dread of all time, folded back in forth on top of his head like a giant pile of spaghetti noodles on a fork, but also his infectious smile that effortlessly reflects his worry-free lifestyle.

Normalmente as pessoas que eu parar aleatoriamente na rua quer concordar ou discordar deixar-me tomar sua imagem, educadamente responder às minhas perguntas, e depois ir em seu caminho - mas não Adriano.

“¡Claro hermano! ¿Pues, para eu não vou mostrar todas as minhas coisas no meu quarto também?”

“Claro irmão! Well, por que não posso mostrar-lhe todas as minhas coisas no meu quarto, bem?”

No começo eu estava um pouco relutante em aceitar um convite para o quarto de alguém que eu acabara de conhecer, mas depois de procurar o rosto de Adriano por algum traço de sketchiness, Eu poderia encontrar nada mais do que "um amor" olhando para mim. After introducing me to his family who were all huddled around a 20″ TV in the living room, ele me levou para o quarto dele na parte de trás, and swept aside the doorway curtain with a look of pride.

“¡Bienvenidos!”

He proceeded to show me a bedroom that looked more like a shrine to Bob Marley than a place to sleep.

 

Ele trabalhou seu caminho através da sala, explicando o significado de letras de música em suas paredes pintadas, his artwork, os conceitos básicos de sua visão de mundo, etc.

You see, Santiago de Cuba is actually closer to Jamaica than to Havana, meaning that rastafarian culture is deeply entrenched in various Cubans’ lives there. Adriano told me that there is an extensive brotherhood of rastafaris throughout Cuba. Even though Jamaica is just right off the southeastern shores of Cuba, he had never been, but fiercely longed to visit his “homeland.”

Adriano gave me one of his painted gourds to remember him by, let me take as many photos as I pleased, and gave me the biggest hug when I bid farewell. I didn’t leave a converted rastafari, but I can’t deny there was something powerful in his beliefs & convictions.

And for all those wondering, the answer is yes, Adriano did let his hair down for me:

After catching the one bus out of town to El Castillo de Morro & spending hours climbing all over the UNESCO fortress, Eu tive 45 minutes to kill before the return leg looped back around. I really craved a cold beer, and popped into the only real restaurant around.

Namibia was immediately recognizable by her exotic look and forward presence, no doubt assisted by her being the only person in the portside bar not wearing an establishment uniform (see: bikini). My motives were never compromised, mas não posso negar que foi uma conversa interessante. I sat down with my Bucanero beer, comida pedidos, e, em seguida, educadamente desviando seus avanços para a próxima meia hora. Plus it made for great Spanish practice. She wanted to take me swimming at first, em seguida, sentou-se à mesa comigo & a 2 outras garçonetes para ganhar a ponta.

“E sua namorada, O que? ¿Dónde está ahorita? Como sabras con quien está y que está haciendo? Hay que vivir en el momento, papi.”

“E o que acontece com sua namorada? Where is she now? How do you know who she’s with & o que está fazendo? Você tem que viver o momento, papi” she kept whispering in my ear.

“É que tu me encantas, tu me encantas. Solo quiero probar tus labios, apenas um beijo, un recuerdo de Cuba para tí.”

“I really like you, I really like you. I just wanna try your lips, só 1 beijo, a memory of Cuba for you.”

Quando eu olhar para as garçonetes que sentam-se sobre a mesa para obter ajuda, eles tinham acabado de rolar seus olhos e dão de ombros, ansioso para reiniciar nosso bate-papo. When she finally got the picture that I was only paying for fried fish, plátanos & Bucanero she gravitated over towards a new table of young guys, e eu tenho que saber Margarita & Uberlinda melhor.

Eu sempre esperar até o fim da minha viagem para carregar em lembranças & presentes para outros, então eu aproveitei meus últimos dias em Havana & passou-a-hagglin.

Wandering in & fora das lojas em Habana Vieja, you can usually tell how much selection a store will have based on the size of the Che Guevara painting out front. This store didn’t have any Che paintings, or much of a selection at all for that matter. Whether business was bad, or they were just awaiting a new shipment of products, I’m not sure. But the shopping experience there involved the entire, friendly family helping me, and for $10 I walked away with 4 chaveiros, a traditional Cuban fedora, e 2 bracelets.

 

Dayanis. 21 years old. Fique em casa mãe. Enquanto isso Isabella. 1 ano de idade. Fique em casa o bebê. Baracoa, Cuba.

Uberlinda era a única pessoa no restaurante onde eu matei o tempo de espera em um ônibus (the same place I met Namibia the prostitute & Margarita) que eu realmente deveria ter falado com em uma base consistente. She played an odd, dual role of waiting on me & falando comigo, while somehow taking Namibia under her wing in a motherly type of way. I’m not sure if this was because Namibia was a “regular” who helped “entertain” restaurant clients, or if it was just some sort of social dynamic of the accepted & widespread prostitution in Cuban society that I didn’t understand. Ela fez um bom trabalho de espera em mim, but a fantastic job of keeping me entertained with jokes & stories.

Lianne has the most decorated Couchsurfing profile I’ve ever seen (based on number of positive reviews). This is especially impressive because the basic idea upon which Couchsurfing is built, providing free accommodation for travelers at your house, is illegal in Cuba. Not to mention Cuba is one of the few countries left without widespread internet access.

Lianne, or “Mama Chicken” as she’s affectionately known on Couchsurfing, has found 101 other ways to help travelers: connecting backpackers with cheap & trustworthy casas particulares, picking up travelers from the central bus terminal, helping partially or completely plan itineraries for others, taking people out to the best salsa clubs, etc.

She does it all out of the goodness of her heart, a desire to meet people from all over the world, and a desire for people all over the world to fall in love with Cuba. Considering I fell hard for Cuba, and the city of Santiago de Cuba in general, I’d say she’s done a pretty good job. I hope that in the future, the Cuban government will relax their restrictions on letting citizens leave the country. Then she can maybe have the freedom to travel to the US one day where I will return the favor. If you ever travel to Santiago de Cuba, don’t hesitate in contacting Mama Chicken.

 

Qualquer viagem para Cuba não é completa sem uma visita ao furo molhando favorito do falecido Earnest Hemingway & criador do mojito, La Bodeguita del Medio. But when you finally round the corner out of Plaza de la Catedral and see the sign, a primeira coisa que você vai ser saudado por uma voz de tenor bonita que flutua através do ar, a voz de Rodovaldo.

Rodovaldo is a blind musician who makes his living playing acoustic guitar right outside La Bodeguita. Considering there’s usually a mob of people spilling out onto the street in front of the bar with everyone waiting their turn to go in and try a mojito, Rodovaldo escolhido um lugar bastante decente. The 2 vezes que visitei La Bodeguita, I saw numerous people put tips in Rodovaldo’s hat in appreciation for making their wait more enjoyable.

La Bodeguita will always hold a special place in my memory – for the Hemingway signature behind the bar, a banda de salsa ao vivo, the picture of Hemingway and Castro shaking hands hanging on the back wall, os mojitos as mas deliciosos, but also for Rodovaldo’s captivating talent on display right outside on the sidewalk.

O povo cubano – Interior bonito & Fora

Um tempo atrás, National Geographic publicou um artigo sobre O que os americanos será semelhante em 2050. Well, isso é o que os cubanos parecer, right agora.

Mas os cubanos não são só fisicamente impressionante. Cubans are, apesar de todas as adversidades da vida em Cuba, algumas das pessoas mais felizes que eu já conheci. Sadly, muitos estrangeiros nunca chegar a saber cubanos, porque eles são intimidados pela franqueza de jineteros (hustlers) Na rua. Se eles só tinha cavado um pouco mais profundo…

“Não é fácil” (Não é fácil) é um ditado popular que diz que você vai ouvir os cubanos dizem diária, e descreve a vida em Cuba perfeitamente. Com produtos limitados devido a um embargo comercial, liberdades limitadas devido a seu governo, & praticamente sem luxos nem rendimento disponível, que poderia ser fácil pensar que os cubanos seriam amargo & pessoas ressentidas. Instead, Eu conheci um alegre & pessoa conteúdo após a outra.

Viajando através Cuba lembra-lhe para ser feliz com o que você tem & a apreciar as coisas simples da vida. It’s a stark contrast with the dangerous cycle of consumerism which characterizes many other countries.

You don’t need a lot of things to be happy – just look at the Faces of Cuba.

 

Click here to visit Faces of Cuba (Parte 1)