Festival del Habano XXV: Final Thoughts

[JohnS]

An excellent article from Halfwheel by Brooks Whittington summing up the Habanos Festival and more...

Festival del Habano XXV: Final Thoughts

March 3, 2025 - Brooks Whittington

Eleven hours after leaving Havana on Saturday and traveling to Houston before taking another flight to Dallas, I arrived home.

As always, I am thankful for the long travel day after an extended trip, as it gives me some uninterrupted time to reflect on everything that has happened. Compared to past excursions, there was quite a bit to take in this trip, and it has taken me a bit longer to organize my thoughts.

While I have been to the island 10 times in the past decade, I have never pretended to be an expert on Cuba. This is mostly because the vast majority of the time I have spent on the island, I have stayed in the city of Havana out of necessity for what I was there to cover but also because most of the things I have seen in the country are so far beyond the scope of my personal upbringing and history.

Before I get into that, some quick notes to those wondering about traveling to Cuba that might be helpful. As always,  With that said, please be aware that many situations in Cuba constantly change, so make sure to confirm any information before you take action on it.

The Blackouts
Cuba is in the midst of an energy crisis, one that appears to be worsening. Only a few years ago, nationwide blackouts were typically only the results of storms, now, they’ve become a part of daily life.

Out of the seven days I spent in Cuba, I experienced at least one blackout on six of those days. Some days, a blackout lasted more than four hours; some days, there were multiple blackouts that lasted a few minutes each. As far as I could tell, there was no way to predict when a blackout was coming, how many there would be or how long they would last. As such, they have more or less become part of the normal cycle of life, at least in Havana.

People go about their daily lives, deal with the blackouts as best they can when they happen, and then move on after the power is turned back on. For a lot of people, this means watching something on their phone while they wait for power to be restored, playing sports outside, or the like. Having said that, most larger businesses, like hotels and restaurants, have generators that they turn on when the lights go out.

The Internet Access
Internet access has actually become more problematic, at least compared to last year. There were multiple times throughout the week that the internet at the Festival’s main hub, the convention center, was either turned on noticeably later than normal—i.e., well after the events had started for the day—or in some cases, was never actually turned on at all.

The issue is only made more difficult by the blackouts, but in general, the internet is barely functional for most of the time I was in the country. There are some bright points: the hotel where the Festival is held seemed to have fewer internet issues, and while I had to pay by the hour, it was well worth it to be able to get work done and photographs uploaded.

The Money Situation
Unlike last year, I did not take any currency with me other than American dollars, and I had no issues paying for the vast majority of things I needed with U.S. dollars. There was only one time that I had to use Cuban CUCs—specifically, to pay for my Cuban press credentials from the Cuban government—but it was a fairly easy process to change U.S. dollars into CUCs at the Festival hotel for that purpose.

The Transportation Options
Taxi prices continue to increase, to the point where it has actually become significantly better—from both a financial and convenience viewpoint—to hire a driver for the entire trip, something I would absolutely recommend if you are planning on staying longer than a few days. That said, this could be the result of the Festival, likely the best week for deep-pocketed tourists on the island.

The Restaurants
There are a number of places to eat out in Havana—some of them extremely nice—but make sure to call before you go if possible. There are always possible issues with having enough food to serve or electricity. Again, this is probably worse—or maybe better—during the Festival.

Attending the Festival del Habano
The festival usually begins in late February and officially runs from Monday through Friday night. Attendees must register for the event on the Habanos S.A. website after registration opens, but please be aware that there have been years when tickets sold out very, very quickly, so I would not delay if I wanted some. If you’d like to go:

• If you aren’t an American — You should contact a local shop to have them put you in contact with the distributor. In theory, that’s the simplest way to go to the Festival.
• If you are American — I go to Cuba legally on a press visa. There are other Americans who attend, people who I don’t think would qualify for a press visa. It’s possible, but you are going to have to ask someone else how best to go.

The country is suffering.

That is what ran through my head on a sort of loop for the week I was in Cuba. Everywhere I look, the infrastructure that the population depends on seems to be slowly but constantly decaying: there are almost daily blackouts that seem to affect large swaths of the country at a time, gas is always hard to find, and almost every part of daily life is harder than it should be.

Every time I visit Cuba, things seem to get a little worse. Not always the same things, of course: while the availability of gas is an ever-present issue, sometimes there is a lack of bottled water or basic food items. Attending the Festival del Habano in Cuba has always felt like I am in a giant bubble: there are parties, glamorous locations and abundant amounts of just about everything else you might want. But on this trip, the situation on the ground for most of the people outside that bubble who I saw, met and talked to—and I talked to a lot of people, albeit in a combination of my extremely limited Spanish and their much better English—seemed to be worse than what I saw last year around this time.

With all of that said, I find it impossible not to be impressed by the resilience of the Cuban people. Their lives get more difficult day after day, yet they continue to persevere day after day. Amazingly, the vast majority of people I talked to continue to be optimistic—albeit in an extremely realistic way—that their situations will eventually improve, although asking about specifics on how that may actually happen always got me nowhere. The artists are still painting, the dancers are still dancing, the cooks are still cooking. As always, I strive to capture a small amount of the daily life that I see while I am performing my official duties to show you, the faithful reader, a small slice of reality in this final post.

There is always hope to be had, especially when looking at the number of small businesses that have begun to flourish despite the harsh conditions, not unlike a flower that has sprouted between the cracks of concrete in the middle of an abandoned parking lot. In fact, there are multiple restaurants we visit every year like clockwork due to the wonderful experience we receive every time: for example, try the steak at Costa Vino, which is always a favorite of mine when I am on the island.

Gaining a new perspective is almost never a negative thing, but increasingly, it seems that every trip I make to Cuba ends with me being equal parts depressed by the situation and frustrated by my inability to do anything meaningful or lasting about it. Sure, I can help individual people in small ways, and I take advantage of that fact to help people whenever and however I can, whether it is by bringing hard-to-find items to give out or by tipping more than I usually would. But I know that the sad reality is that the actions I take, no matter how well-intentioned, are literal drops of water in a situation that is the size of the ocean that surrounds the island.

And so, after a week of splashy events and extravagant parties, the vast majority of the people who attend the Festival—the cigar lovers, the business people, the journalists, even the members of Earth, Wind & Fire—will return to their lives of plenty, where they once again don’t have to worry about the internet not working, or experience the electricity going out for hours at a time multiple times a week, or not knowing if they will be able to find or afford gas for their cars. But the people of Cuba will remain, stuck in a situation they want no part of but are virtually powerless to fix on their own, continuing to hope and pray for changes in their lives that may never come.

Source: https://halfwheel.com/festival-del-habano-xxv-final-thoughts/447953/

 

[El Presidente]

Excellent article Brooks 

 

I spoke to a good friend last night who just arrived back. Two takeaways. 

1. Great festival. 

2. The country is falling apart. 

 

The Festival was the most glamorous yet. Serious fanfare and buzz. Habanos is kicking arse. 

Power was out for roughly 6 hours a day in their house. The population right now is estimated to be 8 million, down from 11 million in 2019. 

[ATGroom]

I was in Havana for 10 days for the festival. Just my observations.

The Blackouts: I was in a cheap hotel for the first five days. Most of the time I would leave the hotel at 9am at return at 3am. I wasn't ever aware of a blackout.

After five days I moved into a private apartment in Vedado, sharing with Rob Fox. Again, I didn't notice any blackouts, however, Rob complained about them a few times. I think the main reason he noticed them and I didn't was because I had a Cuban SIM in my phone and Rob was relying on wifi.

There was one occasion when I was in a rooftop bar overlooking the suburbs of Havana at night, and everything except the hotels went dark for about ten minutes. In the bar things were unaffected. That said, I can't imagine the disruption that any duration of blackout would cause in the west.

 

The Internet Access: The wifi in the convention centre and at the festival events was unreliable for sure. Sometimes the network wasn't transmitting, other times it wouldn't accept the password that Habanos had advertised. I guess Brooks was relying on wifi. If you're going to Havana, get a local SIM. Cost was very low (I think around $5 for the week and I still had credit left over). Speed was perfectly adequate and no issues with coverage, even out into the countryside.

 

The Money Situation: You can pay everywhere in USD (or Euro at 1:1 exchange rate) no issue. You're crazy if you do that in the government hotels, because they'll give you a USD price that is 3x what you would pay in pesos. Anywhere private they will take dollars or pesos at the market rate (~340:1), but they prefer dollars. You need a mix of both. You can probably even rely on your credit card in most places, but again, you'll get the official exchange rate at any government place.

 

The Transportation Options: One difference from last year is that the taxi drivers seem to try and push you a lot more. Ie, there are certain expected prices like $10 from Old Havana to Vedado, $15 to Miramar. Every driver will ask you for $20 or $30. If you push back they cave immediately. But last year they would just give you the 'correct' price up front. Even at the expected prices, they're close to 2x what you would pay for an Uber in Australia for the same distance.

A driver is $30 per day, so if you're making multiple trips to the convention centre and back, it's worth getting a driver, albeit less convenient than just grabbing the nearest taxi as you have to text them and wait.

A worthwhile thing is getting the Cuban equivalent of Uber, an app called La Navi. You need a Cuban SIM and good enough Spanish. You will pay in pesos at less than 30% of the taxi rate.

If you speak fluent Spanish and look Cuban then even more worthwhile than that is catching the local car services (basically there are cars that regularly drive a system of routes around the city, similar to a bus). People hop in and out like a bus. Miramar to old Havana in one of those will cost 200 pesos (60c).

I discussed gas prices with my driver at one point, and he told me that gas was 120 pesos per litre if you wait in line for three days, or 500 pesos if you buy it black market. The black market price is about 20% higher than you would pay in Australia. The official rate obviously much lower.

 

The Restaurants: expect every restaurant to have half their menu unavailable at any given time, but you won't starve.  

 

Attending the Festival: I didn't have any problem getting a ticket in December through one of the distributors. Others did. Full ride was about $3300. If you consider the cigars we got - 10 BHKs of various sizes, 3 GRs, various new releases, more regular cigars than anyone could smoke, as much Isla de Tesoro rum as we could drink in one session, a few drams of Havana Club Maximo, other high end booze etc etc etc, there is an argument to be made that it's great value. On the flip side, every event had problems of one kind or another. I had a great time. Others didn't. You need to have a certain level of "go with the flow" to make it at the festival.

 

The Country is Suffering: I hate to imagine the number of people that are killed by building collapse each year in Havana. So many buildings have many chunks of concrete missing, exposed rusting rebar, and very sketchy looking everything. Piles of rubble are very common. The sidewalks in many places are akin to walking on rough rocks at the beach. The roads have potholes as big as cars.

One thing I was really aware of in the back streets was the piles of garbage everywhere that I think is new since last year, or at least noticeably increased. I saw multiple people overturning dumpsters and picking through them. They leave aluminium cans and plastic bottles though, so not sure what they're looking for.

Some people were saying that the city is empty: not really true in my experience. There are always people around at all hours listing to music, kids playing stickball etc.

There were always touts and hustlers in Old Havana, even on my first visit in 2006, but they seem more aggressive these days.. Every three meters "hello, where you from? You want taxi? Cigars? Restaurant? Girls?" Annoying enough that I would avoid Old Havana because of them. Very few actual beggars. You do see them once in a while, but about 10x less than I see walking around the downtown in Melbourne. 

Of my Cuban friends, one has migrated (but says he's coming back), one is talking about migrating, and two are very adamant that they will never leave (one is delighted by the cheap house prices).

In general the people on the streets have clean clothes, neat haircuts, and look healthy. It's not the hellscape that many articles you see on FoH portray. But it is definitely a poor country with significant issues, and it's hard to see a pathway for things to improve.