Sept 17 to 23, 2016, Miami to Havana and Cienfuegas.

Natural portwith long narrow defendable channel

Key to the Americas, to the gulf.  Curtural crossroads and place for exchanges. Three fortresses, most fortified in Americas.  Ships went twice a year in convoy back to Spain. In 1620, Mayflower, Havana was 100 years ahead.  Now we are 100 years ahead of Havana.

Map of Havana in 19th century.

Urban development in this time.  Expansion.  Port related culture.  China town, Greek town, Black, Jewish, they say they are "Jewbans".

Our Hotel was built and designed by Americans.

1960 The Urban Reform Law passes.  Havana became a frozen in time city its heritage survived, but...

Everyone became an owner of their apartment at that time.  But... You had to pay a rent to the government who then paid the former owner.  No eviction, so most did not pay rent.  This became no sense of ownership, no realestate market.  Just a shelter.  No common organization.  No one to take care of roof, water, etc.  Roof leaks, guy on top is responsible.  Bottom floods, that guy is responsible. Buildings falling apart now due to wrong urban mamagement.  1995 people starving.  Huge baby boom after revolution.  Now not very many babies.  In 20 years, elders will be the largest population, but who will take care of them.

An emerging private sector in Havana:  restaurants, realestate, bar, etc. Allowing restoration slowly.

They are now cleaning out Havana seafront and moving the actual sea port in another area.

No homeless.  Sheltered by the old Russian built concrete apartments.  People will wear American flag on clothes.  They know it is the flag of the people, not the government.  They accept many flags.  No burning of american flag.  Respected just as their own flag.

Cuba is a transitional model.  Always learn, maybe not understand, but learn.

Religion influenced by African roots like santaria.  Not considered a Catholic country.  Pope Paul III, Frances, and Benedict all have visited Cuba.

Lachi has a boy and a wife but is not officiallly married.

We visited a church wich is also an adult daycare center.  Lunches are served and there are programs, like our group.  We brought some of our gifts to the group.  A lady who sang for us opera, liked my Hawaiian bone necklace which looks like a music staff.  I gave it to her and got a big smile.

This woman sang opera to David

National hero

They love books.  Large book fairs in parks yearly.

Wall mural

I bought this doll for Aurora.  You flip it upside down and there is a black doll underneath.

This statue is of a famous dancer.

We visited a printing shop.  They used 100 year old presses.

Cigar storage room at a cigar store.  We watched a woman roll a cuban cigar.  It is quite an art.

Some of the art at the neighborhood art community center where we spent the evening seeing the art for sale, the musicians and a delicious dinner prepared by them and served on top of the water tank that they restored and use for their meeting center.

Here I am with the lead singer/dancer with whom I danced La Bamba!

This dancer was outside the tank community center.

Hotel National de Cuba.  Very impressive positioned on a promontory overlooking the bay and the wall which is along the waterfront where everyone hangs out at night.

Tuesday we visited a daycare center run by 3 nuns for 150 poor, adorable 2,3 and 4 year old children.

We got there by pedicab.  Beforehand, the cabs brought us to an outdoor market where we bought food to bring to the center for the children.  We had to buy 1 cuc's worth of cebolla.  That translated to about 12 small onions.  Everyone was given 1 cuc and a paper with a Spanish word.

We eat a lot of this squash

David also bought apple bananas

Pork is the main meat.

A boy playing ball in the park near the school

Classroom where the kids were watching Nemo

 4 year classroom using puzzles

Living statue giving me a hand in the ____ square

This guy went around giving away things to the people.  It is considered lucky to touch his beard and finger, which I did, but his eyes were so penetrating I had to take a photo up close

 This building is the example of how crazy architecture is.  the bottom floors are govt offices.  The top floors, all decorated differently and in various states of repair are privately owned with no coop rules.

  A gallery of a young modern Cuban artist.  He works in colored clay like you played with as a child.  His tiles are actually this clay pressed in various patterns and designs inside an empty CD case.

  This is an art piece carved from a large piece of styrofoam