“In the the last 16 years, what do you think has been the moment of greatest change for Cuba?” I asked Jesús, our seasoned, straight-shooting Cuban guide. “Now” was his instant response.
I felt it too. From a revitalized Havana Vieja to the mushrooming number of creative paladares (small, private home-based restaurants) signs of convulsive change were everywhere, more so than at any other time since my first visit to the island in 1996.
Digging deeper, Jesús shared with me that the buying and selling of homes between Cubans has recently been made legal and that, on the day I was scheduled to arrive back home, a new policy lowering the restrictions on Cubans traveling abroad was to be signed into law. Could it be that Cuba was genuinely reforming so quickly?
Of course the reality is more nuanced. For each sign of progress there was equal evidence of institutional obstacles, entrenched resistance, funding shortfalls and above all, the looming threat of unintended consequences. While marquee restorations shine a bright spotlight in touristy Old Havana, working class homes throughout the wider city are collapsing at an alarming rate of three per day. And even as private enterprise and hard currency earnings are expanding for some Cubans, most struggle to find steady footing in this slippery, fluid dual economy. Social and economic stratification is also growing.
It was precisely this fascinating dance of duality that made the air electric with promise and tension throughout my most recent journey.
As this seismic moment unfolds, I remain a believer that Cubans will find a way to make things work, just as they always have. Indeed, so many of the Cuban people I met — from the disarming founder of an organic farming coop, to our multi-talented driver, who I discovered was also a skilled mason, carpenter, amateur musician and occasional cake baker — had removed the word “can’t” from their minds and their vocabulary.
If I’m at all nervous as I begin crafting our inaugural journeys to Cuba scheduled for early 2014, it’s because I feel driven to create a trip every bit as vibrant, complex and vital as the indefatigable Cuban people themselves.
