Cuba - A Country Trapped in Time

Cuba: A Country Trapped in Time / Hablemos Press, Eduardo Herrera Duran
Posted on September 4, 2015

Hablemos Press, Eduardo Herrera Duran, Havana, 3 September 2015 –
Following the announcement of the reestablishment of relations between
Cuba and the US on 17 December of last year, there was increased
interest throughout the world in visiting Cuba. A great number of those
who come are much attracted by a country that seems to be trapped in time.

Antique cars; a glamorous city stuck in the 1950s and now practically in
ruins; the absence of means to connect to the Internet; the widespread
use of propaganda billboards highlighting the consumerism of other
countries that is absent in Cuba…. All of this is a curiosity to those
who do not know, or perhaps are not interested in, how Cubans really live.

In recent months, famous models such as Naomi Campbell and Paris Hilton
– and, more recently, the Barbadian singer Rihanna – visited the Island.
Other famous artists came, as well, including Enrique Iglesias and Marc
Anthony. In their photos and videos, they showed the contrast between
the supposed happiness of the people against a backdrop of poverty.

Similar to how locations are chosen that denote poverty in African
countries such as Sierra Leone, and Haiti in the Americas, it would seem
that Cuba is a new "poverty chic" destination – the only difference,
perhaps, is that Cubans tend to be more educated and extremely friendly
towards foreigners.

The contrast between glamour and poverty is clearly seen in the video,
Bailando [see below], by Enrique Iglesias with Gente D' Zona, probably
one of the ten most-viewed videos in the world. Seeing the background
behind the starring performers, it is easy to confirm that the intent
was to contrast them to the filthy Havana buildings and the miserable
appearance of the people who are acting as extras.

As if this were not enough, during his recent visit to Cuba, US
Secretary of State John Kerry used as decoration some of the antique
cars that abound on the Island. These vehicles exist today not because
of some official or private interest in preserving or collecting them,
but rather because after 1959, there were no more sales of new
automobiles to private parties; therefore the people had to make do with
those that were already in circulation.

At that time in our country, the average number of vehicles of this type
was one per every 39 inhabitants. It should be noted that there were not
that many new vehicles then in the world. From a quick comparison of
data we can say that in Russia during that period, the average was one
per every 400 inhabitants.

Some media outlets highlighted the recent visits by celebrities as a way
to encourage more tourists to visit the Island. And many of them will
heed that call. However, they will not consider that this isolation,
this unchanging landscape, this trip back in time – or whatever they are
seeking is called – comes at the price of a people suffering a
totalitarian regime in power for more than half century. It is not by
choice that the Cuban people can decide to access the Internet or not,
to be pedestrians or automobile owners, to live in buildings that are
ruins, to survive on whatever foodstuffs they can manage to obtain – in
short, to live not as they desire to live.

Source: Cuba: A Country Trapped in Time / Hablemos Press, Eduardo
Herrera Duran | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/cuba-a-country-trapped-in-time-hablemos-press-eduardo-herrera-duran/