A decade ago, we could not have
filmed in Cuba.
Now, we can visit the country
and take in its African roots
and the prominent role of Cuban
women,
the peculiar and intriguing
role of athletics,
the widespread artistic
expression and burgeoning
economic opportunities.
An island and its society
formerly closed to people
from my country.
Ah-hah, yes.
Funding for In the
Americas with David Yetman
was provided by
Agnese Haury
♪
Funding for In the Americas
with David Yetman
was also provided by
the Guilford Fund.
♪
♪
In the Americas with
David Yetman theme
From Miami, it's about a
half hour flight to Havana.
It's only 90 miles from Key West
Havana is Cuba's capitol and by
far its largest city: a little
over 2 million people.
For us in the United States,
Cuba is a different and until
recently, forbidden world,
but that's changing.
Havana is alive with restoration
and reconstruction,
full tour buses, and taxis.
New business opportunities are
everywhere awaiting government
approval and new rules
and regulations.
But Cuba has a seemingly
endless supply of cultural and
natural treasure and the
invasion of tourists
has just begun.
♪
♪
♪
My friend, Myra García Rodríguez
is a Havanera
as Havana women are known.
She is immersed in Cuba's
culture and has seemingly
endless connections into a world
of Cuba, unknown to most
outsiders.
This place where we are now
exemplifies that which is a
fantastical reality as our
Cuban writer, Alejo Carpentier
would say.
An imaginative world that
emerged from one of the great
Cuban creators and artists
our country has produced.
His name is Fuster. Fuster
emerged in the 1990's when we
were going through a special
period.
In the early 1990's, Cuba
experienced what Cubans
now call "the special period."
Almost overnight all foreign
aid was cut off from the Eastern
block, which sent the Cuban
economy into an immediate
tailspin.
It is estimated that during that
five years the Cuban population
lost 30% of its overall weight
due to the privation brought on
by the US blockade and the end
of funding from international
sources.
People were experiencing an
extreme privation within the
community and Fuster wanted
to improve their living
conditions, to improve
their surroundings.
Since we had no material goods,
he sought instead to provide
spiritual wealth, and in that
way, improve people's lives.
Fuster creations are laden with
symbolism and what we might
call Cubanism.
If we start here on top, it
looks like a cross but it's
actually a peasant, a Cuban
peasant, symbolizing being on
the top but also the suffering
the peasants have undergone.
If we look at these various
representations, here is a whole
group of Cuban symbols.
We have the peasant and the
peasant woman exchanging
flowers, a symbol of equality.
We have the royal palm, the
symbol of Cuba, and the royal
palm on the tail of a caiman, a
member of the alligator-crocodie
family.
If you look at the island of
Cuba on a map, it looks just
like a caiman or an alligator.
The rooster standing on the
top of the caiman which is a
dangerous thing to do, is
calling everyone get up in
the morning and get to work.
We've got work to do,
let's get it done.
All of these put together is
a striking symbol of Cuba,
the work to be done and the
equality and representation
of a whole country.
Cuba has gone to great lengths
to stress its cultural roots
derived from Africa.
Our next stop is in a museum
in the heart of downtown Havana.
This is the only female
folkloric performance
company in Cuba.
It was formed with the
international folkloric group
in 1991.
And in 1994, it became an
indipendent group set by the
first women who dared
to play the bata drums.
They accompany songs and
dances of the Yoruba region
or Santeria as it is known
here in Cuba.
Yoruba, a religion, forbids
women to play the bata drums
but because of the importance
of these drums in the
development of our popular
and traditional music and
because it gives Cuban music
international significance.
We believe the role of the
drums needed to go beyond
the boundaries of the
religious practice.
The challenge was to get people
to understand the difference
between the drum playing
for religious rites and the
secular drum that is played
in orchestras.
Play almost anywhere.
What we would like is for the
world to understand that
women here are always
moving forward.
And we are ready to demonstrate
all of our potential if that is
in performance art, better still
In Cuban history, women have
been largely invisible
Cubans have tried to change
this.
One sign is a startup
transportation business,
begun, owned and operated
by women.
As in many, many countries
of the world, the bicycle is
more than a neat invention.
Here it█s a basic form of
transportation and many, many
people require bicycles to get
to work or to the store or
wherever they need to go.
This bicycle shop is private
ownership but the private
ownership is a cooperative
run by women.
We came up with the idea for
business because there are no
bike shops in Havana and I
believe this is the same for all
of Cuba.
We offer bike maintenance
and repairs.
Students and retirees pay 30%
less for services provided.
For children, their bicycles are
repaired at a 50% discount.
Others who need something
done sometimes aren't charged
anything.
We are satisfied just by
helping others.
The state sells bicycles but we
have customers who do not
want their bikes anymore and
we will help them sell their
bike.
It will be almost two years now
since we opened and it has been
very good, very productive.
Yes, we have many customers
and some of these bikes are
rental.
I'm the only one here with
bicycle experience, but the
girl who work here like the
bikes and have learned a lot.
Well, I started cycling at
12 years of age.
I became a professional cyclist.
In Cuba, being professional
means being a member of the
national team of the country.
During the special period,
there was insufficient means
Now we see cooperative ventures
between the state and
indivuduals, people who earn a
living by providing expanded
transportation services like
taxis, buses, and thee are also
classic cars cooperatives.
we, in this shop, promote
bicycles as a healthier means
of transportation.
Well to give you an example,
from Cerro, they call us by
phone and we go to their homes
to fix it on site or to bring it
back here for service.
70% of workers here are
women and 30% are men.
Traveling anywhere in Cuba,
visitors are overwhelmed by
the vintage automobiles
that serve as taxis.
It's a result of the 50-year
blockade of Cuba by the
United States.
Cubans have made the most
of a virtually complete embargo.
For many years, Cubanos have
had to be the mechanics of
our own cars.
We have not had a chance to
bring in parts from the US.
Therefore, we have had to
restore the old cars with our
own resources to keep them
running which is why they're
so valuable.
This car was a family car; it
was my uncle's, a guy who
lived on the outskirts
of the city.
He gave it to my mother in very
poor conditions and I began to
restore it six years ago.
It took me about a year to
finish the restoration.
And because of opportunities
created by the government to
open up the private sector in
Cuba, I started working as a
taxi driver with this car. And
all of the Chevy cars that I own
are from 1955 to 60.
Our company, Nostalgic Car
is divided into two parts.
The garage is operated by my
husband, Julio, and I am the
one who manages the rental
business with the state travel
agencies.
We have a group of drivers,
22 drivers also very passionate
about classic car restoration
and they keep them in good
condition.
And I give them employment
to all of them.
And each car up to four
passengers will fit and we'll
handle groups of 40, 50 people.
Sometimes, they ask me to find
up to 25 classic cars for large
groups or for individuals with a
tour guide or sometimes without
tour guides. And the drivers tae
tourists around the city and evn
to places outside of Havana, to
the most important tourist
places in the country.
You know, during the special
period we had fewer problems
than we have now because
during that time many car parts
still came from the Soviet Union
when it was still the
Soviet Union.
And many parts of those
Russian cars will work on
these cars.
At that time, there were still
things available in Cuba and
the cars had no major
problems yet.
Then we started to see more
problems that began when modern
cars arrived with more
sophisticated technology,
making it more difficult
to fix them.
Everything is original on this
restored with uh-what a treasur!
They don't make them
they like they used to.
Julio was able, has been able
to go to the US and get some
parts and bring them back
for restoration.
This mirror isn█t original but
he was able to go to the US
and find one and bring
it back and put it on.
That's the opening piece.
So, this is uh, actually a
Toyota motor, the same one
that's in a Toyota Four
Runner.
Uh, it gets much, much better
mileage; it's much more
powerful.
And the parts now are such
you don't need a computer
to work on this vehicle.
A good mechanic can work on
every single part of the
whole car.
This is a 59 Chevy Impala
convertible. There are very
few of these.
Uh but he has gotten a hold
of it and he is beginning
restoration from the bottom
very much to the top.
This seeming mess then will
be restored to a gleaming beauty
So he's got another six,
seven months of work.
The steering is not in good
condition so everything here
goes and the result
will be otro tesoro.
This is a 58 Chevy Bel Air,
90% of it is original.
Ah, ha Yes!
Uh! What a marvelous machine.
El sonido Chevrolet.
Chevrolet, yes!
So, this is the last car he
bought. It's a 60 Chevy and that
was the last time you could
import any kind of car into Cuba
from the United States or
virtually anywhere.
These are the original windows.
The guy had it in a garage
so it's in very good shape and
he agreed to sell it to Julio.
It's the original radio, 1960,
works. It's an old time radio.
They have tubes and when it
goes inside a garage, you can't
get good reception.
Here it goes. The oil light
goes off. You're ready to cruise
Cuba's intervention into
the economy extends to sports.
Just down the street from the
car shop is a very Cuban
training camp.
For over a century, boxing
has been big in Cuba.
The Olympic games are often
dominated by Cuban boxers.
The tradition continues but
what is really different is now
women boxers are
appearing in Cuba.
Since I was a child I watched
boxing on TV and I loved it.
And boxing for Cuba is to say,
well many say it's like baseball
But to me, boxing is
going for the gold.
It's like the king of sports
here in Cuba.
And when women's boxing
gets certified, it will be more
pleasurable.
I think the Cuban people will
accept women's boxing with
devotion and tremendous pride.
In fact, when I was walking down
the street like right now on the
way here, a neighbor told me
that we will approve women's
boxing, and you know, I say
of course, that will be
something fantastic.
Boxing for Cuba is everything.
We've been training female
boxers here for several months,
waiting for official approval.
Now we currently have four
women boxers training here.
We only have one that is
training today but we have
four in total.
As you can see, there is a
girl who is 56 kilos and we
have other girls competing at
41, 60 and 52 kilos.
In my opinion these girls, when
they open up boxing to women,
they have the talent to be
national champions and maybe
world and Olympic champions.
Just as we have Cuban
champions in the men's sport.
Boxers from this training camp
have been world champions
and Olympic champions.
We have a pyramid structure
here where the boys are
selected from the base,
the basic training centers.
The quality ones move upward,
hopefully arriving at the top of
the pyramid, the national team
as they get older.
Here right now, we have a world
champion, Daniel Matellón,
a world champion.
Daniel has been a student
here since childhood.
Many other champions
began their careers here.
I have never laced up a boxer's
gloves before but I think I am
pretty good at it. They
could probably hire me.
These boxers are not
professionals but they're
professionals. They're actually
government employees, it's what
they do.
Since 1957, Fidel Castro ended
professional sports here in Cuba
He wanted every Cuban to take
part in sports and the best to
become government employees
and receive their success in th█
Olympics and other places.
Oh, my gosh! These folks work
six days a week, all day
that's what they do.
So they have to be really fit.
I'm not going to take any of
them on.
Are you sure you don't want
to go out and just spend five
minutes training?
The number one sport in Cuba
is baseball but boxing is the
number two in popularity.
It's always been the case since
about 1900, there have been
these great professional Cuban
boxers before 1957 and
afterwards there have been
these remarkable amateurs.
It will be really interesting to
see what happens now with the
changes taking place.
I began boxing as a hobby.
I was the only woman who
came here to train in the gym.
But since sports in Cuba are
free, you can practice the
sport of your choice.
I was accepted here to
start my training.
To be a female boxer in a gym
where all are male, everyone
around you are guys, it is super
fantastic because you're the
center of attention.
Everyone loves you.
Everyone supports you.
Each boxer tries to teach me
a little of his technique, try
to help me, try to teach me
his style, the boxing technique.
And now more girls are starting
to box and I serve as an
inspiration to them because
I have a higher technical level,
intense desire and a graceful
style as a female boxer.
And despite my age, the young
female boxers watch me and
are inspired.
From boxing, Myra takes us
to a street gathering unlike
anything we would see in
the United States.
It's an impromptu celebration
of Cuba's African roots
through music.
We're here in the streets,
an alley called Hamels.
This is the place where the
Afro-Cuban culture breathes.
We come here to see the rumba.
The rumba is a genre of music
that is born spontaneously.
As a matter of fact, every
Sunday has become a meeting
place for rumberos.
Every Sunday, a rumba group
performs here.
The musical rhythms, chants,
themes, expressions emerge
spontaneously.
It is a meeting place for
Cubans and a way to have fun.
Along with that, we had a
chance to see incredible call
and response singing
and dancing taking place.
And drumming that is associated
with Santeria religions, popular
culture and Catholic faith.
A mixture?
A mixture, absolutely.
One thing that strikes me here
is that Cubans everywhere
acknowledge the huge importance
of African-Cuban culture
in the society.
Everywhere, they brag and
brag as they should.
But one of the last things that
Fidel Castro said when he was
leaving the presidency, he
regretted he was never able to
incorporate African-Cubans into
the higher echelons of
government and the
Communist party.
Well, it's easy to outlaw
prejudice in society but
you know there's nothing you
can do, uh, about people's
attitudes. That takes education,
it takes longer even than the
fifty years of the
Cuban revolution.
It will come, I have no doubt
about it. That there will be
a growing sense of equality
of all Cubans.
It's safe to say that in terms
of advances of people of color
in the society, Cubans could
teach the United States
a huge amount.
As the situation becomes
normalized, we are both gonna be
enriched by the opportunities
to share those values together.
Join us next time In the Americs
with me , David Yetman
Ecuador is mostly
jungle.
That's not well known by
the casual traveler
or even most Ecuadorians
since the bulk of them
live in the Western...
The Amazon has few roads
and until recently few
people besides the
Indians
who have lived there
for eons.
Things are changing.
With the influx of tourists, the
Cuban government has realized
they need to accommodate the
culinary needs of these hordes
of people now coming into Cuba.
One of the ways they have done
it is to allow for semi-private
enterprises, families to operate
semi-private restaurants. And
these restaurants are ordering
it to attract certain clientele.
This particular place is the
first place in Havana to
offer sushi.
Funding for In the
Americas with David Yetman
was provided by
Agnese Haury
Funding for In the Americas
with David Yetman
was also provided by
the Guilford Fund.
Copies of this and
other episodes
of In the Americas
with David Yetman
are available from
the Southwest Center
to order call
1-800-937-8632
Please mention the episode
number and program title
Please be sure to
visit us at intheamericas.com
or at intheamericas.org