One final day in Havana, and a full one it was! It was cultural immersion from start to finish.

We started by exploring San Jose Handicraft Market, a huge two-story marketplace. Upstairs was dedicated to paintings and downstairs to handicrafts. From there we went to Callejon de Hamel, an impressive community project aimed at promoting Afro-Cuban pride through traditional music, dance, crafts, and entrepreneurship. Three enthusiastic drummers and two spirited dancers in traditional costumes performed lively numbers for us.

It was interesting to visit Hotel National, THE place to be pre-embargo. It was designed by a New York architect; built in the 1930s; is on the list of national monuments; was favored by the American mafia as well as the who’s who in politics, entertainment, and sports; and blacklisted by the U.S. (meaning Americans cannot stay there). The hotel and grounds are gorgeous.

Today’s noon meal was a little different in that we had a charming guest speaker: 84-year-old Rolando Macias, reputed to be Cuba’s best pitcher ever. When not selling charcoal or peanuts as a child he was playing baseball. When he was 16, scouts came from the United States, and the Cincinnati Reds offered him a contract. He declined for four reasons: he was illiterate; he did not want to leave his mom and grandmother who had raised him; his skin color; and contracts then are not what they have morphed into. He had a second chance in 1967 when the New York Giants offered him a contract and in 1969 when the Brooklyn Dodgers did the same. Although Macias was literate by then (thanks to Castro’s literacy program), Castro’s regime forbade Cuban players from signing major league baseball contracts, and Macias did not want to defect. He continued to play at home and led Cuba to gold medals in the Pan American Games in 1963, 1971, and 1975. Did I mention his 21-game winning streak? He retired in 1978 and devoted the next 22 years to coaching youth teams that earned four world championships.

After lunch we popped by Floridita, a bar and restaurant favored by Hemmingway, and took turns having our picture taken with a life-size bronze Hemmingway situated in a corner of the bar.

One of our favorite activities of the whole trip was a lecture and discussion with charismatic Camilo Garcia Lopez-Trigo, a 20-year diplomat who served in the United States, Canada, Europe, and the United Nations. He is currently a political science professor with a few side hustles including meeting with groups like ours. He discussed the current political policies between the U.S. and Cuba, the history behind those policies, and the devastating impact they have had and continue to have on Cuba. He explained that the embargo of 1962 was bad enough, but two other acts were devastating. 1992’s Cuban Democracy Act prohibits vessels visiting Cuba from entering a U.S. harbor for six months and 1996’s Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act lays out consequences for countries that do business with Cuba. The net result of all this is that the ordinary citizen lacks things as run of the mill as soap, food, and basic medications. Fuel shortages limit mobility and antiquated utilities’ infrastructure necessitates blackouts.

Our final activity of the trip was a little more uplifting: touring around town in classic American cars. Our little parade of six vehicles drove through iconic neighborhoods, through former Chinatown (all the Chinese left in the early 1960s), and past the fort, gorgeous capitol building, monuments, Bacardi Rum headquarters, and streets in dire need of a major facelift. Dan, Cyd, and I shared a 1958 Buick that had been converted from an automatic on the column to a standard transmission on the floor. Our driver, the owner, has a couple other oldies-but-goodies at home to include a 1948 Dodge that his wife drives. Our tour ended at a lovely restaurant for our farewell dinner.

Most nationalities have been able to travel freely in Cuba, but Americans have had to read the shifting sands over the years. Between 1962 and 2015 travel was mostly limited to Cuban Americans visiting family. Commercial flights to and from the U.S. resumed in 2015-2016. Cruise travel was banned in 2019. In 2021 group educational travel was sanctioned as were flights beyond Havana. All said and done we are grateful to have had the chance to visit this beautiful, historic, struggling island republic. We leave confused by the U.S. sanctions against Cuba and fearful that the current administration will tighten the screws even more.

Everyone will scatterer in different directions tomorrow morning, happy to have had this unique opportunity. Sandy and Alan are off to Charleston for a week; Walter, Cleone, and Barb are headed home; and Cyd, Dan, and I are off to Tampa to impose on Cyd’s daughter and her family for a few days.