Not a week goes by without someone writing to me asking if it’s risky to go on vacation to Cuba, if there are shortages in all-inclusive hotels or special cases (homestay). So much concern is not a coincidence, it is the result of a well-oiled rumor machine that is trying to undermine the efforts of the Cuban tourism industry, hard hit since the pandemic and which is trying to recover slope with the best will in the world.
Each time, I tell them that there is no risk, no problem in having a happy vacation in Cuba. But going on vacation to Cuba is not going to a Club Med, it’s accepting the change of scenery, it’s agreeing to live new experiences. When I lived in France, I remember French people complaining about not being able to eat their traditional “steak fries” during their stay in Turkey!
So, in Cuba, you will take leave of McDonald’s, Burger King and the King of Poutine to discover something else, like fried plantains (chicharritas Or tostones), beans (frijoles) colorados (brown) or black, the first served as a soup, the second with rice (arroz moro Or congri), the manioc (yuca) served with a little olive oil and crushed garlic, hormone-free pork prepared in different ways, not to mention fish and seafood, such as pargo (snapper), lobster and octopus.
This does not mean that all is well in Cuba. No, Cuba is still struggling and it is suffering, like almost everywhere in the world, the repercussions of the global recession. Increases in production costs, in food among others, have a huge impact. It is in this context that, at the end of December, the Cuban Prime Minister announced a series of measures intended to somewhat redress the situation. We announced, among other things, an increase in the price of gasoline (the liter usually still sells for around one dollar!), an increase in electricity rates for large consumers and better tax control for new entrepreneurs. private.
Immediately, the rumor machine was set in motion from Florida to announce the worst scenarios, in order to arouse the population of the island and harm tourism, the second source of foreign currency inflows. However, what could be more natural for a government than to want to avoid tax evasion? Or make the largest electricity consumers pay more, especially in a context where fuel oil deliveries constitute a risky game for companies that agree to deliver oil to a country that the United States still classifies in the list of countries that encourage terrorism?
The death of a friend from Cuba
My friend Elvis (real name: Daniel Côté) left us. A big fan of Elvis Presley, he displayed many flags (every July 26, he hung the Cuban flag on the front of his store; the same thing on June 24 with the flag of Quebec, or on May 23 with the flag of the patriots) the corner of avenue Papineau and rue Marie-Anne for many years, aboard its legendary flagship, Ameublement Elvis. His store, a veritable Ali Baba’s cave decorated with photos and busts of his favorite singer, even appeared in tourist guides and people came from far and wide to photograph this unusual place.
Daniel was a good and generous man. Generous with his time, because he could spend hours looking for the small missing part in your old fridge or your old washer or dryer, while taking advantage of this moment to have a chat about the spirit of the times, the Canadian from Montreal or the imbecility of certain municipal regulations. Generous because he helped those who really needed it – crippled by life, left behind, alcoholics or junkies in withdrawal – by offering them work and teaching them how to make something new out of something old.
What united us, among other things, was the fact that we were both married to a Cuban woman. Daniel had been a pioneer in trade relations with Cuba. He sold and also donated several school buses to Cuba, these yellow buses that we still see on the streets of the socialist island, even offering after-sales service on site. Same thing with used or simply “poached” refrigerators. Also united us was our unwavering love for Cuba, where he dreamed of going to end his days, warm, sipping a mojito facing the sea.
Many of us are orphans today. You leave a big void in our lives, Daniel-Elvis, but we are not about to forget you.