Active Stocks
Thu Mar 28 2024 14:09:24
  1. Tata Steel share price
  2. 155.95 2.03%
  1. HDFC Bank share price
  2. 1,456.40 1.09%
  1. ITC share price
  2. 431.00 0.70%
  1. Power Grid Corporation Of India share price
  2. 277.70 2.45%
  1. State Bank Of India share price
  2. 756.35 3.04%
Business News/ Mint-lounge / Features/  Cuba: Now open for business
BackBack

Cuba: Now open for business

Havana is buzzing with food, art and music as Cuba comes out of the shadow of 50 years of cold war with the US

Student travellers enjoying a day out in Havana. Photo: Adalberto Roque/AFPPremium
Student travellers enjoying a day out in Havana. Photo: Adalberto Roque/AFP

Know this. Nothing really prepares you for Cuba. Not the fiction of Graham Greene, nor the dissidence of gay writer Reinaldo Arenas. Not the postcard clichés of 1950 Chevys, nor the stereotypes of wrinkled men meditating over cigars. Not the rumba mishmash of countless cheesy films, nor the ubiquitous Ernesto “Che" Guevara T-shirts with Hasta La Victoria Siempre (until victory, always) scrawled on them.

Yet, Cuba is caliente, hot, and everyone seems to be scrambling to get here now that the US has declared the end of a cold war that lasted for more than five decades. On 29 May, when the US finally removed the island nation from its list of rogue nations, Carlos Slim, among the three richest men in the world, was said to be buying art at the Havana Biennale and singer Rihanna was cruising down the Malecón—Havana’s famous sea face—in, what else, but a classic American convertible.

It isn’t all warm and fuzzy yet. Decades of government propaganda have targeted the US as Cuba’s public enemy No.1. A forest of flagpoles is placed strategically, and defiantly, in front of the US Interests Section office in Havana, in the unsubtly named Anti-Imperialist Plaza. “The embargo was nothing short of a genocide in terms of how many people died because of it and the influence that the US exerted on its allies to shun trade with us," says Ariel Ricardo Amores, a former Cuban diplomat who now works as a consultant. Elsewhere, at the Museo de la Revolución, the former presidential palace of dictator Fulgencio Batista, overthrown by Fidel Castro, there is a plaque next to caricatures of three US presidents—Ronald Reagan and the two George Bushes—that reads: “Thank you cretins for helping us to strengthen the revolution." You can’t say that Cubans lack a sense of humour.

But things pass and in Cuba traditional American antipathy is wearing thin. There is pragmatism, particularly since the collapse of former No.1 ally, the Soviet Union and the resultant “special period" of hardship that followed the withdrawal of friendly subsidies. Simply put: in a unipolar world, Cuba can no longer afford its animosity with the US. After all it is the gringos (Americans) that emerge from Chinese-made buses on “cultural exchange tours"—the only official way for Americans to travel—who bring in the dollars. It is the gringos who faithfully follow the Ernest Hemingway trail and pay 125 Cuban pesos (around 300) to enter his house, Finca Vigia, and go to his favourite bars, La Floridita and Bodeguita del Medio, to down over-priced mojitos. And it is the gringos who lounge on the wicker chairs at Hotel Nacional, hoping perhaps to catch a whiff of an era when the hotel was owned by mobster Meyer Lansky and became, in 1946, the venue of the largest-ever meeting of the American mafia, under the pretext of attending a Frank Sinatra concert.

All this—and the 1950s Plymouths, Buicks and Impalas, alongside the inevitable pre-Perestroika Ladas that own the road; the Internet that connects intermittently; the crumbling baroque buildings that once stood testimony to a thriving economy in sugar and slaves; and the neat lines of washed laundry that include plastic bags to be used again—might lead you to believe that Cuba is a country frozen in time.

Nothing can be farther from the truth. You can smell change in the sea breeze, see it on the streets. Like an ostrich with its head buried for too long in the sand, private enterprise that now employs close to 500,000 people is lifting its tenuous head, sniffing opportunity, stretching its feet as once strict rules slowly dissolve.

The first paladares (private restaurants) were governed by strict rules—only in your own house, only family to be employed, restrictions on the number of people who could dine. By the time Raúl Castro took over from his brother Fidel in 2008, even these restrictions were lifted. Alain, chef at the year-old El Litoral, the Malecón-facing restaurant in a once private house, dishes up world cuisine with fish in tangerine teriyaki and even a garam masala risotto. It is packed with tourists and reservations are recommended.

The Cuban economy runs on two currencies—the convertible peso or CUC ($1 gets you around 0.87), which is used by tourists, and the Cuban peso (about 25 Cuban pesos make around 1 CUC). With a salary that ranges from 10-40 CUCs a month, the paladares are beyond the reach of most locals who continue to depend on ration books, remittances from relatives abroad or the black market.

“The average salary of Cubans does not give us a lot of opportunity to go out, so we wanted to make this place accessible to them. But already, we are running out of space and need to expand," says Eme Alfonso, X’s sister, who handles communications at FAC.

There is a stoicism to the Cubans, their days filled with waiting: waiting for a ride as they stand along the highway clutching a handful of pesos and a fistful of hope, waiting in line to buy rations, waiting for the tourists to arrive, waiting for the economy to change. The rise of private enterprise has made Cubans conscious of the kind of economy they will inevitably have to embrace. Will it be patterned on the American model of private enterprise or something quite different? They will have to wait some more to find out.

TRIP PLANNER

Go

There are no direct flights between New Delhi and Havana. You can fly via Amsterdam on KLM (total flight time: just over 21 hours, and this is one of the fastest connections), or via Moscow on Aeroflot, or via Toronto on Air Canada and Air India. There are no direct commercial flights to Havana from the US.

Stay

You can try Meliá Cohiba (tel. 53-7-8333636; www.melia.com) right on the Malecón, Havana’s famous sea face. Rooms start at $191 (around 12,000) for double occupancy for a night. Or try Hotel Saratoga (tel. 53-7-8681000; Hotel-saratoga.com) in central Havana. Rooms start at $392 for a night. You can also opt for rooms in ‘casa particulars’ (private homes) for $20-50.

Eat

Mama Ines in the old town of Havana serves traditional Cuban cuisine such as pork and ‘ropa vieja’ (pulled beef). Divino, on the outskirts of Havana, dishes out wood-fired pizza. Or try an all-inclusive buffet at El Litoral, opposite the Malecón, in central Havana.

Namita Bhandare is gender editor, Mint.

Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!

Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
More Less
Published: 26 Jun 2015, 03:19 PM IST
Next Story footLogo
Recommended For You
Switch to the Mint app for fast and personalized news - Get App