Please Stop Saying You Want to Go to Cuba Before It’s Ruined


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Thank you! I went this past January and stayed in casa particulars. Took people out for dinner and other snacks and meals. I bought cigars from farmers and people on the street. Loved everyone there! It was a fantastic adventure for me traveling solo, always wanted to go. I will return next year and bring all kinds of stuff with me for the families I will stay with. I hope to watch over the years as this beautiful country changes for the better. I wish for good things for the people of Cuba. I am currently reading Che and am intrigued by all of the history. May there be good things to come for all Cuban natives still living in this beautiful land. God bless.

oh, and by the way... I will not wear a Che t-shirt.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

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Thanks for posting this. I'm sick of seeing the selfish comments and generalizations. Change is part of life and progression. It can never take place in ways that 100% please everyone on the world, especially for those with extremist views. If an entire country of people can break free from oppression, obtain a better quality of life, and feel a true sense of freedom... then cigar prices, availability of double banded sticks, being able to vacation there for "cheap" prices, etc. doesn't really matter...

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Great read. Thanks for posting. peace.gif

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This reminded me of a story Stephen Fry tells of a New York cab driver he met in the USA. The driver was from Romania and was able to get his mother out their home country during the Ceaucescu era.

As he drove his mother away from JFK airport and through lower Manhattan, the driver expected his mother to be amazed at the sights of New York City. But she seemed completely unimpressed.

It wasn't until the next day, when he took his mother to the grocery store...that she finally reacted to being in the USA. At one point, he lost track of his mother in the grocery aisles. He went back an aisle, and he saw his mother, sitting on the floor, sobbing.

He went to her and asked her what was wrong. "They lied! Oh, they lied to us!" she said. "All those years, they told us that Americans were poor, that only a few people were rich!"

"But here, even my son, who is just a driver, can afford all the things we could never dream of having back home! They lied to us, all my life, they lied to us!"

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Agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment of the article. I don't think anyone takes pleasure in the suffering and poverty of the Cuban people, and many may not understand how that is tied in with the "stuck in time" theme. But I think a lot of people, myself included, would like to get to Cuba before the deluge of American chain restaurants arrives. No doubt that's a cynical and selfish view. But it's the idea of a western nation seemingly untouched by the excesses of American capitalism that appeals to most tourists, I'd think, and not to gawk at poverty.

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But I think a lot of people, myself included, would like to get to Cuba before the deluge of American chain restaurants arrives.

Inevitable, really.

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No matter what the changes coming to Cuba , it will always be Cuba and a great place to spend time. More importantly though , let's hope for the Cuban folks to benefit from all this and lend ease to their daily struggles.

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Still not sure exactly how the embargo being there or not will change things, at least in the short to medium term, for the Cuban people. Still a communist country where pretty much everything is owned by the state right?

So if macky d's move in, is it a state owned franchise, or does the state act as a recruitment agency, taking the money from the golden arches and still paying a pittance to the workers? And can Cubans afford to eat there?

Isn't it like that, or was, in some parts of Russia and/or the Czech Republic, eating in mc Donalds as a special treat as opposed to cheap junk food here?

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Thank you for the article... It is refreshing to hear some rational thoughts on the subject as opposed to the Sunshine and Rainbows that the President's Comrades seem to talk about when on the subject of Cuba.

I understand the authors visceral response to hearing "before it is ruined"... but I think it might be a case of imprecise language? At least that is what I hope is going on.

I hope people mean that they want to go so that they can go experience Cuba before the inevitable changes, without implying the change is a bad thing. In my case, I hope to be a part of that change and spread some of my hard earned cash around to some nice folks along the way.

Hopefully, most people understand that Michael Moore and his ilk have a political ax to grind when he tries to demonstrate that socialism is superior to capitalism, and he wouldn't be able to make his point if he showed the suffering of the people as explained by the author.

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Great article.

To me Cuba is already in ruins: communism simply doesn't work - especially when your Soviet friends start thinking that capitalism is the way to go ;-) The whole infrastructure of the country needs to be rebuilt (contractors will have a ball when Cuba opens up), industries are so inefficient it's not even funny, the health system is crappy for the average Cuban.

The Cuban people is sooo resilient, ingenious, friendly and generous... that's why I went so many times and probably go another time before it's "ruined". That's what I find appealing: a strong people that's able to keep smiling despite the fact that they are being beaten up daily by a senseless system.

That said I am one who believes that once Americans (hotel & restaurant chains, tourists) will start invading the island it will lose some of its charm. Don't get me wrong: I love Americans and go to the USA as often as I can, but the island will change forever - which will be great for the people.

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Great read. Spot on. I think I take for granted the gifts I have living in a "free" society. Yes I want to see Cuba as many of you have but not at the expense of the Cuban people. I will go there with freedom in my heart and love for the Cuban people someday.

Thanks to you MPS for bringing this to light. My attitude has changed.

Mike

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Still not sure exactly how the embargo being there or not will change things, at least in the short to medium term, for the Cuban people. Still a communist country where pretty much everything is owned by the state right?

When the embargo comes down, the current regime no longer will have an excuse for things being the way they are. Every Cuban knows this.

There's a saying, "the embargo has been Castro's greatest ally."

The Castros have spent the last 55 years rallying Cuban support around denouncing the embargo as the cause of all their woes.

When that goes, no more excuses. Something will have to give.

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Great read. I love Havana, its people, the sights, the sounds, the restaurants, the culture. I can only hope that they can benefit and thrive from an emargo free land, and hopefully the fall of communism. I pray they stay true to who they are, I really do. Only the future will tell.

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When the embargo comes down, the current regime no longer will have an excuse for things being the way they are. Every Cuban knows this.

There's a saying, "the embargo has been Castro's greatest ally."

The Castros have spent the last 55 years rallying Cuban support around denouncing the embargo as the cause of all their woes.

When that goes, no more excuses. Something will have to give.

Precisely. Did you see Fidel griping in the paper? He knows the day is coming ...

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It would be great if when the embargo is lift Cuba becomes a first world country.

Forget about that.

Anyone who has gone to small cities in South/Central America knows that all the wealthy goes just to few cities.

It will improve people lives? Sure.

But the price to be paid is having problems that they never had before popping up.

95% (I think is more than that) of FOH members were born and raised in rich countries. I envy you but you don't know the problems people in 3rd world have, maximum just a glimpse idea.

I have gone to Cuba just twice so I am still a sofmore but they don't have problems that most of the other poor countries have.

The writer of the article is an actress. Maybe she thinks that Havana will transform into Los Angeles and Cuba into California.

She couldnt be more wrong and naif.

Dont get me wrong: I want people in Cuba having more rights and opportunities but things are not that easy.

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It makes one feel a little guilty when lighting up a Cuban cigar

I was actually thinking about this the other day. If a roller is paid $30 a month and has a quota of 100 cigars a day, they are paid little over 1 cent per cigar. When it arrives in LCDHs/B&M stores and you pay upwards of $20 per cigar it does not seem fair.

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