When you think of Cuba, what immediately comes to mind? I must confess that before visiting last week, I had a rather limited knowledge of the country beyond the obvious. Classic American cars, crumbling colonial architecture, colors, textures, cigars, coffee, music and white sand beaches all converge to create a certain version of Cuba in our imaginations, which as outsiders we assume to be its reality. Perhaps we’ve heard of that one pesky dictator who had a little run-in with JFK over some missiles, or maybe we’re aware that there’s an embargo which has made traveling there tricky for US citizens over the last few decades. The truth is that we probably don’t know much about our close Caribbean neighbor, just an hour’s flight from Miami. Continue reading
