Cuba | Hole In The Donut Cultural Travel

Help Open Cuba To Travel for U.S. Citizens

Published June 10, 2010 | By Barbara Weibel

Today I received an email from a staffer at the Washington Office on Latin America, informing me about HR 4645, a bill that would eliminate the travel ban to Cuba for U.S. citizens and increase U.S. agricultural sales to Cuba. The bill is currently in committee in the U.S. House of Representatives but is expected to go to the floor for a vote within two weeks.

One-page summary of Bill to open Cuba to travel for U.S. citizens

Normally, I don’t discuss politics on this blog, but this subject is extremely timely for me, so I’m making an exception. Why is it timely? I’m currently in the Yucatan of Mexico and I discovered that I could go to Cuba for 4-5 days for as little as $500, including airfare, hotel, and all meals. I salivated at the prospect; going to Cuba has long been at the top of my travel wish list. Cuban immigration officials don’t stamp the passports of U.S. citizens entering or leaving the country, so there would be no way for the U.S. government to know I’d been there, since I would have flown in and out of Cancun. But in the end I decided against going because I couldn’t have written about my experience in Cuba and that would have killed me. So, like thousands of others, I decided to wait until the ban was lifted.

This could happen soon if the bill is successful, but our help is needed. If you agree with lifting the ban, please contact your State Representatives, tell them you support HR 4645, and ask them to vote for the bill. I’ve provided a one-page overview of the bill above. Click on the image to download it in a PDF format.

Posted in Caribbean travel |

Tagged bill, blogsherpa, Cuba, cultural, culture, House of Representatives, HR 4645, Travel, us citizens |

32 Comments

Ybor City’s Cuban Heart Beats Strongest After Dark

Published December 12, 2009 | By Barbara Weibel

The young Latina leaned against the door jamb, disinterestedly watching tourists stream past. Her four-inch stilettos, strapless bustier, and leather hotpants suggested the oldest profession on earth, yet she stood in the doorway of a family-owned bodega where Ybor City’s residents gather each day to sip strong espresso, share gossip, and slam dominoes. Unlike Miami Beach, where I was disappointed by the lack of Latin flavor, Ybor City is the real deal: an historic Cuban district in Florida’s Tampa Bay area.

A lady of the night or just waiting for the party to start?

Some years ago I had lunched at Ybor City’s Columbia Restaurant, famous for their authentic Spanish cuisine. In the light of day, empty storefronts, peeling paint, and wind-blown trash suggested despair and decay. I checked the neighborhood off my list of places to see, never intending to return. But as fate would have it, I was unexpectedly detained in Tampa this past Halloween eve. As the last rays of daylight slowly faded I searched for a hotel along unfamiliar streets and suddenly found myself in Ybor City.

This was not the Ybor City I remembered! Curvy metal trellises decorated with white lights arched over the main street as far as I could see. Vivid neon signs threw reflections into the street and the aroma of strong coffee mingled with rich Cuban cigar smoke. Under cover of darkness, neglect melted away, replaced by pools of golden light spilling from bars and cafes and throbbing Latin beats. Buildings that had once seemed dilapidated suddenly oozed charm.

Ybor City owes its existence to the cigar industry. In 1884, Henry B. Plant completed his railroad to Tampa and was in the process of improving the port facilities at Port Tampa. Realizing that Cuban leaf tobacco, the best in the world, and the finished tobacco products could easily be imported and exported, Vicente Martinez Ybor founded Ybor City as a cigar manufacturing center in 1886. He quickly attracted experienced cigar workers from Spain, Cuba and Italy, establishing Tampa as the “Cigar Capital of the World.”

Ybor City at night is a fun cultural travel destination

Life in those early years revolved around social clubs that were organized to serve specific ethnic groups (L’unione Italiana for Italians, El Circulo Cubano for Cubans, Club Marti-Maceo for Afro-Cubans, among others). Not only did these clubs preserve the cultural heritage from one generation to the next, members could also subscribe Continue reading →

Posted in Florida travel |

Tagged cigars, Cuba, Cuban, cultural, cultural travel, culture, escapism, Florida, Food, Guavaween, historic, neighborhood, nightlife, parties, tampa, Travel, USA, west coast, Ybor City |

11 Comments

Giant Buoy Marks Southernmost Point In U.S.

Published May 2, 2009 | By Barbara Weibel

Giant buoy marks the suthernmost spot in the U.S.

Standing at the end of Whitehead Street in Key West, I lean against the giant buoy that marks the southernmost spot in the United States and gaze across a blue-green Atlantic. I squint in the late afternoon sunshine, searching the pale pink haze at the horizon for any sign of land. Cuba is just 90 miles away. I wonder; is it visible on a clear day? Probably not, but I imagine I can see it anyway. What is it like, that exotic isle?

I turn around and pose for an accommodating tourist who offers to take my photo, willing Cuba’s distant shoreline to show up in the photo. But of course, it doesn’t. Just 90 short miles. So close, yet so far away. Soon, I hope. Very, very soon I will be able to bite into that forbidden fruit.

Posted in Florida travel |

Tagged 90 miles, blogsherpa, buoy, Cuba, Florida, forida keys, Havana, Key West, photos, southernmost point, Travel, USA, woman |

1 Comment

Senator Mel Martinez of Florida Opposes Easing Travel To Cuba

Published April 18, 2009 | By Barbara Weibel

I just finished watching a 26 minute video where Senator Mel Martinez of Florida sets forth the reasons he opposes easing travel to Cuba. He provides an interesting historical overview, explaining that President Eisenhower was the first to place trade sanctions on Cuba, banning the selling of sugar, oil, and guns in response to Castro’s horrific human rights violations. When barrels of Soviet oil began to arriving on the island, U.S. oil companies in Cuba refused to continue refining, resulting in Cuba’s nationalization of the refineries without ever paying a dime of compensation to the companies.

Notwithstanding the whole discussion of whether the U.S. actually fired the first salvo by imposing trade sanctions on critical commodities, forcing Cuba to look to other sources, I believe there is a much greater issue at hand. The best way to fight communism is for people who live in a free and democratic society to interact with those who suffer under communism. Although Castro has been able to maintain power through violence and control, his most effective tool may be the policies of the U.S. government. The prohibition on travel assures that Cubans are not exposed to capitalist thought and ideology.

Additionally, our policy is not consistent. The U.S. government bans travel to Cuba, yet we are allowed to freely travel to Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and a plethora other countries around the world that either have communist governments or strong communist leanings (Colombia or Angola, anyone?). Myanmar is a case in point. For years the government successfully suppressed Continue reading →

Posted in Caribbean travel |

Tagged ban, Cuba, Florida, opposition, Senator Mel Martinez, Travel, videos |

2 Comments

Traveling to Cuba Legally In My Lifetime

Published March 21, 2009 | By Barbara Weibel

Interesting old building in Cuba. Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/rudiheim/65098327.

For years I have dreamed of traveling to Cuba. My desire may have originated with the movie Havana, which starred Robert Redford, but since then I have become even more intrigued upon seeing photos of streets filled with 1950′s and 1960′s era cars and hearing stories of the wonderful music that emanates from bars and cafes on every street.

I have seriously considered entering Cuba via Mexico, the Bahamas, or Canada, as Americans have been doing for years, but just never pulled that together. Three years ago, I even booked a tour through a firm that had obtained legal permission to travel to Cuba under the auspices of a “cultural exchange program” but then had to cancel that trip for personal reasons. So when I read that the rules regarding Cuba travel had been eased, I was excited. Continue reading →

Posted in Caribbean travel |

Tagged beaches, Cuba, Havana, Music, new rules, old cars, Travel, Treasury Department, woman |

10 Comments

Sony Releases “A Night In” World Music Collection

Published December 20, 2008 | By Barbara Weibel

Music is one of the joys of traveling. In SE Asia I discovered Cambodian wedding songs. Hindu legends set to music charmed me in Bali. And music in Tanzania and Zanzibar was an amazing melange of drums, rhythm, and harmonizing voices. In years past, the only way to sample music around the world was to travel to these places. Fortunately, this genre of music has become very popular over the past few years, thus collections are more readily available in the U.S.

worldmusic One example is Sony’s new “A Night In” World Music Collection. Each of the collection’s ten CD’s features the music of a different country. “A Night in Cuba” features the outstanding singers and songwriters of Salsa, Son, and other Latin rhythms, while “A Night In Italy” presents the most exquisite voices of opera. Tango is the focus of “A Night In Argentina” and “A Night In Puerto Rico” encompasses the Afro-Carribbean rhythms of the Salsa, Plena, and Bomba styles. Romantic melodies and quirky jazz are the basis for “A Night In France” and “A Night In Spain” showcases artists who have Continue reading →