Cubanomics

Cuba is undoubtedly an incredible place to visit as it is like nowhere on earth. That said, it’s not easy for the budget-conscious traveller to get around, stay or eat cheaply and it is easy to get fleeced for a few units of hard currency, but for us it was completely worth it to come and visit this land of contrasts and contradictions.

In some ways Cuba is a land full of joy and good humour – the friendliness and laid-back nature of its people, the beautiful sound of its music and its stunning landscapes, from idyllic beaches to rust-red tobacco fields and emerald mountains. 

Commie propaganda slogans are everywhere

But everywhere you look there is stagnation and the feeling that this island nation is missing its chance to be a part of the world. Everything is rustic, cracking and broken, cars, trucks and machinery are outdated, factories idle, freeways unfinished and hurricane-damaged buildings unrepaired. That said it is charming to see horse-and-carts, 1950s cars, bicycle taxis and steam trains.

Whether you point the finger at the US embargo, diplomatic immaturity of Cuba’s communist regime, its silly economic policies or over-reliance on the Soviet Union that led to its 1991 economic crash, there is still hardship aplenty in Cuba. I’ve heard the days of food shortages and rationing are over, but walking the streets its quickly apparent that many are doing it tough in a land where much is subsidised but wages still disgustingly low.

Cuba’s move to a dual currency system in the 1990s, with its moneda nacional and internationally accepted Cuban convertible pesos has created a two-track economy rife with inequalities. People are paid in moneda, yet many consumer products, entertainment and restaurant meals are priced in the more valuable CUC. Tourists must pay for most things – accommodation, bus fares and activities - in CUC, which is stronger than the US dollar and so makes Cuba a relatively expensive place to visit.

State-run monopolies, the embargoes and restrictions on just about everything have resulted in some pretty bizarre contradictions in this centrally planned economy. For many, its cheaper to own (and feed) a horse and cart than to buy a second hand car. Barely any new cars are imported, and to own a car you need to pay a very expensive licensing fee. 

Another bizarre feature is the cost of consumer products. State-regulated rum and beer is super cheap, while water, soft drinks and juice are expensive. You can get a 700ml bottle of Havana Club for under $4, while in some places a 1.5L water will set you back $3!

People

An upside to Cuba’s time warp is that people actually interact with each other in the streets, the old fashioned way. Instead of hiding indoors, hooked on the internet and playstations, kids actually play outdoors here and roam the streets, throwing baseballs and kicking around soccer balls.

Havana’s parks and plazas are permanently full of groups of ladies chatting away while watching their kids play, and men casually lounging on park benches and front porches shooting the breeze.

Havana's "hot corner" where people argue about baseball

A corner of Havana’s Parque Central is permanently home to a crowd of men who convene to discuss the ins and outs of the national baseball league. They crowd around in small groups, fiercely debating match statistics and the merits of players, teams and upcoming fixtures. Some of the conversations looked rather heated, with men bellowing loudly at each other and frantically waving their arms around.

Aside from being bothered incessantly by taxi drivers looking for their next fare, most locals have been really friendly and often inquisitive, stopping to chat to us in the street or in cafeterias. Compared to Mexico we have met a lot more people just walking the streets, although admittedly some were trying to wrangle a few dollars out of us by selling us cigars or playing songs for us.

Clothes were, until recently, strictly rationed, so it’s not surprising to see many 70s and 80s fashion on show in Havana. The most striking thing about the way people dress is their obsession with lycra. The outfits are so…tight. Halter tops, short shorts and super minis… I’ve never seen so much flesh on display, and not just on the part of teenage schoolgirls. Middle aged ladies are also in on the act, proudly displaying thighs and cleavages. Muscle singlets appear popular on guys, many of whom appear to work out regularly.

T-shirts with hilarious English language slogans are also popular here. We have spotted girls sporting tops with things like “single,” “I love my hubby” and “baby doll” written on them. One guy wore a shirt that read “someday they’ll make a movie about me,” while another had one that read “single..wanna mingle?”

The tight clothes may explain some of the audacious behaviour of men toward women here. We have seen Cuban men openly grabbing women in public, although they are usually told where to go pretty quickly. Cuban guys make this creepy kissy, slurpy noise when they walk past girls they like the look of, and many a neck is craned to check out the hindquarters of ladies walking past.

Scams

Ordinary Cubans have a knack for squeezing a few pesos out of the unsuspecting tourist. Charm is their weapon; they approach you with the standard cry of “where you from?” and engage you in conversation, before offering you something. The next thing you know, you’re shamed into forking over a couple of pesos.

We were caught out a few times. Strolling along the waterfront in Havana, we were confronted by a smiling man playing the guitar, who serenaded us with a few bars before asking for money. When we went at a rumba drumming performance in a laneway I was grabbed by an old guy who taught me a series of meringue dance steps in exchange for some pesos.

Perhaps the least benign, but most elaborate scheme was the guy who ran a beachside parking lot and offered to watch out bicycles while we swam. When we went to collect them he pointed out that one had a flat tyre, and then offered us a lift back to town on the back of his horse and cart for $10.

Others put less effort into their approaches. Many kids saw us, stuck their hands out and cried “one peso, one peso!” We were also approached for clothes and toiletries, which are expensive and not always available in Cuba. One lady asked me for a shirt because she only owned a single outfit and was sick of hand washing it all the time.

Home sweet home

Cuba has few accommodation options besides the big hotels, but fortunately its citizens open the doors of their homes to welcome travellers. It’s possible to stay in a room in someone’s casa around $20 per night, and enjoy delicious dinners and breakfasts for a few extra dollars.

For us though, the real value wasn’t in being able to avoid three stodgy meals of fried chicken and pizza per day, but in being able to interact with the owner of the house and their family. Usually they set you up with a room away from the rest of the house’s occupants and your own bathroom, so it isn’t too awkward.

In the houses where we have stayed people have been very keen to chat and very inquisitive about Australia. It has been great Spanish practice – although it took a few days to get used to the Cuban accent, which drops the ‘s’ off the end of most words, for example you hear gracia instead of gracias.

Some have been pretty open about life in Cuba, intelligence which is pretty hard for us to find out through official channels. People I have spoken to seem frustrated at the lack of freedom they enjoy – they are pretty much barred from having internet connections at home and they are not allowed to travel unless they are invited by someone living in another country and get special approval from the government.

When Fidel Castro comes up in conversation, most people we have spoken to roll their eyes and mutter something about a crazy old man. Complaints about broken services of lack of freedoms are usually attributed to “El Senor,” where they stroke their chin, as if to indicate Fidel’s beard.

Music

Sidewalk musicians in Trinidad

Thank god Cuba’s communist government didn’t ban music after the 1959 revolution. Music is like a religion here. It’s not just about paying big dollars to go and see big name acts play – music infects all aspects of daily life in Cuba. From guys practicing their trumpets and saxophones by the side of the road to music blaring out of every second house to people bursting spontaneously into song, music is everywhere and is clearly the engine that keeps this struggling nation going.

Dozens of musical and dancing styles originated in Cuba, with Afro-Caribbean and European influences, and in turn these sounds and moves have infected a wide range of styles in other countries from Latin American salsa to New Orleans Jazz.

Rumba, or African drum rhythms, are the backbone of the country’s musical history, responsible for spawning several music and dance styles including salsa, mambo, son (which mixes guitar music with drumming and percussion), hip hop and reggaeton.

It’s not hard to find bands playing the son sound made famous by the Buena Vista Social Club – musicians frequent just about every bar, café and nightclub in town, all day, every day. Havana also has a host of other musical entertainment including cabaret shows, salsa clubs and jazz bars. While I love this kind of music and already had several compilations before arriving in Cuba, it does get a bit repetitive hearing classics like Chan Chan, Guantanamera and Lagrimas Negras day in day out.

Most bands comprise at least six members – two guitarists (one playing a tres or three-pairs of strings instrument) a double or electric bass, singers who play claves and maracas and horns, usually trumpets.

Havana's excellent Jazz Cafe

In Havana we saw an impressive 10-piece latin jazz band crowded onto a tiny stage at the Jazz Café. The group included three different drummers playing bongos in all shapes and sizes, several different types of percussion, as well as singers, horns and a bass player. They played a mixture of straight-up Jazz favourites including Johnny Coltrane and Miles Davis, latin drum pieces and 70s funk tunes.

Trinidad was the best place to see live music. There are musicians playing in several of its open-air bars just about any time of day. In Havana, the music tends to be played in clubs that are tucked away from the street and don’t usually open until late at night, with the first act coming on well after 11pm.