The True Faces of Cuba

Contrast Sharply With Fictional Portrayals of the Island
{A Pictorial Essay refurbished on July 23rd, 2013}

        It has always amazed me how little Americans know about Cuba, especially the Americans who have heard and read so much about the island south of Florida that dominates the Caribbean. Most of what Americans hear and read about Cuba is scripted by two generations of self-serving Cuban exiles booted off the island, with reason, by the Cuban Revolution way back in 1959. Those of us who have been to Cuba and studied non-exile images of it have observed and discovered a fascinating island quite different from what we are supposed to know about it. I reckon that is why the vast and lucrative American cottage industry created by a handful of two generations of exiles dictate that Cuba is the one destination in the world that Americans cannot freely visit. Routinely accepting what we are told about Cuba is not conducive to supporting our democracy because Cuba is not what a few self-indulgent exiles or dissidents say it is. Cuba is what everyday Cubans on the island say it is. With that in mind, here is a reflection of the Cuba I saw...what I consider the true images of an island often hidden behind a veil of secrecy and deceit.

I have visited everyday Cubans from Pinar del Rio in the West to Santiago de Cuba in the East.

Ernest Hemingway's favorite bar, La Bodeguita del Medio, still serves the best mojitos.

Cubans love outdoor murals.

Santiago de Cuba, the former capital and second largest city, remains a Spanish and Caribbean gem.

The edge of Santiago de Cuba on the southeastern end of the island.

Cuban musicians are ubiquitous from one end of the island to the other.

Cuban beaches, like Cayo Largo, are among the world's most pristine.

This tiny, beautiful bird -- the Tody -- is found only on the island of Cuba.

Everyday Cubans are perhaps the happiest people you'll ever meet.

Cuban girls relax on the wall that fronts Havana's famed Malecon Boulevard. 

Cuba devotes an amazing amount of resources to such things as ballet schools.

Calm, turquoise waters near Varadero, Cayo Coco, and Cayo Largo are breathtaking.

A young Cuban woman dives into the ocean.

Havana's famed Hotel Nacional has been refurbished.

Cuban girls enjoying ice cream in Florida, Cuba {correct} after a long bike ride.

The south-central colonial coastal city of Trinidad was my favorite historical spot.

This tree separates the city of Trinidad from the ocean.

Paladars, the restaurants in homes, serve the best food in Cuba.

The World Bank says that Cuba's literacy rate is a world-class 98.6%.

All Cubans are guaranteed free shelter on the island, often in pre-revolutionary mansions.

A poster inside a school in Bayamo proclaims free educations, free health care, etc., for all children.

Cuban schoolchildren posing with their two teachers for a photo.

Even young schoolchildren in Cuba are veterans when it comes to posing for tourist photos.

Cubans young and old love to relax in spirited dominoes competitions.

A Cuban lady sweeps her stoop near a "Long Live the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution" sign.

Cuban children ride a carousel free in the seaside town of Gibara.

A Ramon Espinoso/AP photo shows a Cuban mother watching her little girl yawn at the start of a school day.

Tourists enjoy one of Cuba's beaches.

A Cuban man in Gibara just paid a truck vendor 15 pesos for a large jar of beer.

Cuban schoolgirls walk past murals honoring 19th century independence fighters against Spain.

A Cuban mother fawning over her two daughters on the way to a wedding.

Cubans following a hearse on the way to a funeral.

Even during pre-game warm-ups Cubans cheer wildly for their favorite baseball teams.

A view of the Caribbean Sea from Santiago de Cuba's old Morro Fortress built in the 1600s.

In the 1950s the U. S. trained and armed Cuban soldiers to support the Batista/Mafia dictatorship.

But the Cuban Revolution on Jan. 1-1959 booted the Batistianos and the Mafiosos off the island.

Since 1959 the exiled Batistianos and Mafiosos have yearned to feast on the island again!

The Cuban Godfathers of the 1950s are gone but they have spawned two generations of rich, eager exiles.

Ros-Lehtinen/Rubio/Menendez now lead the Cuban government within the U. S. government.

Cuban-Americans who dictate America's Cuban policy make super-heroes out of Cuban dissidents.
Therefore.................

....today's views and opinions of Cuba can best be honed and shaped by actually visiting the island.

But that's why Americans are restricted from doing so.
For decades lies and deceptions about Cuba have translated to wealth and power for an undeserving few.
And punishing innocent Cubans is a part of the equation.

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