When one mentions traveling to Cuba, one receives a myriad of responses. Some ask if you are indeed Cuban, with the assumed intent to visit family. Others change the subject quickly, not knowing much about Cuba and in fear of asking why someone would visit there. Others are more curious and ask the infamous question of why.

My answer to why I travel anywhere is generally the same. In the words Robert Louis Stevenson, “I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move”. The destination, for me, is not a place but rather a new understanding. For this reason, I prefer to travel to countries much different than our own. So, why Cuba? The answer is simple: So near and yet so foreign.

Some of my other more specific reasons for choosing Cuba include the following:

• Cuba is one of the few Communist Countries left
• Fidel Castro is sure to die soon and drastic change to the Cuban infrastructure may follow
• Cuba has a history directly involving the United Stat es and much of this history is still being written
• Cuba is the only country the United States govern ment forbids it’s citizens to travel
• Photography, photography, photography

Willy and traveled to Cuba legally by obtaining a Humanitarian License. A company in Florida sent us several medical supplies that we brought over and delivered to a ministry in Havana. This was not a simple task. It involved quite a bit of legwork, not to mention a fee. The license also came with specific instructions. We were to carry the license with us while traveling through the US, then destroy the license upon arrival in Cuba. If the US inquires about our travel intentions, we are to declare ourselves “Humanitarians” with a license to travel. If Cuba, on the other hand, inquires about our travel intentions, we are nothing more than tourists. This is because while it is legal for Americans to travel to Cuba under Cuban law, it is illegal under US law. If Cuba knows of your hu

manitarian intentions, this supposedly raises red flags and may subject you to deportation. Because Cuba understands Americans are forbidden to travel by their government, they do not stamp US passports as you go through customs. In fact, they are known to stamp a ridiculous penguin or half moon on the very last page instead. I want to reiterate, because I feel that it is commonly misunderstood, that it is America that forbids it’s citizens to travel to Cuba. Funny when you consider we are the “land of the free”.

We arrived in Cancun with a sealed envelope of cash with further instructions to obtain our airline tickets to Cuba. They read: When you arrive in Cancun, tell the driver you are going to Cuba. He will leave you at the proper door. When you get there you will see a coffee shop on your left and small counters. In front of the counters, look for a man named Saul. He is around 40 years old, curly hair, obviously Mexican, and usually in a cream colored shirt. You must give him the sealed envelope of cash. He will in-turn give you your visas and your tickets. We managed to find Saul, who actually appeared 60 years old, had skim-to-none amount of hair even left on his head, and was in a red shirt. Either way, it worked out.

Cuba does not have any hostels, which is our typical accommodation choice. Instead, Cubans rent out rooms in their homes to tourists. These homes are called Casa Particulares and the government strictly controls them. In fact, within the first 24-48 hours, a government official arrives to verify their occupancy. Seventy percent of the $25/per night charge is turned over to the government. When considering that Cubans only make a mere equivalency of $12-20 US a month, those that own Casa Particulares make out like bandits. In order to rent out a room, it must first be inspected and approved by the government. As a result, all rooms offer a standard of clean rooms with warm water, bath towels, clean sheets and pillows (mostly stuffed with cotton balls), private bathroom, air conditioning, and refrigerators. Standards like these sure beat sleeping with bed bugs in India or rats in the Dominican Republic. Staying in the Casa Particulares also allows for a closer connection with the Cuban people. To be invited into their home allows you to directly observe their life. It also allows you to see what the homes look and feel like behind the decapitated facade they stand behind.

(We stayed with the man in the right of this photo while in Havana)

Because Cuba is a communist country, its citizens do not pay for things like housing, education, medicine, food is rationed, etc. Even things like sporting events and cinema are considered a right to the people. Considering the current state of the American economy, sounds dreamy right? Not so. The Cuban people receive far less than what they need. The buildings are ill maintain

ed. Several were built in the early 1900’s.

I’ve seen Michael Moore’s documentary film,“Sicko”. For those who have not seen this film, it discusses the current state of America’s healthcare system and compares it to other countries such as Canada and Cuba. Toward the end of the film, Michael Moore brings a handful of US citizens to Cuba to obtain medical care and

medications that these individuals have been unable to obtain or afford in the US. In Cuba, they obtain these services and medications at a much cheaper rate and without any difficulty. After visiting Cuba, this documentary makes me laugh… and then it just makes me angry. For starters, why are we bringing foley catheters and vitamins to a country that is supposedly in more abundance than the US?

We stayed with a man named Julio in Trinidad. While most Cubans are not willing to discuss politics and the way of life in Cuba, Julio did express disgust with the healthcare system. He goes for regular check-ups for some s

ort of thyroid problem. If he were to go to the local physician in his town, he states he’d probably die waiting. Fortunately, his brothers are both doctors and are able to get him appointments with a specialist in a town an hour and a half away. He says he’d rather pay for medical care than die waiting for government provided care.

On the upside, Cuban’s appear far better off in the medical arena than other countries I’ve visited. Canes, walkers, and crutches are provided for all who need them. Sure beats the walker made of PVC

piping this woman in Belize created:

BELIZE

Compared with the US, Cuba’s infant mortality is lower (5.1 per 1,000 compared to 6.3 per1,000). Life expectancy is 77.45 years, just under the US’s 78.11. According to the World Health Organization, Cuba provides a doctor for every 170 residents, making it the second highest doctor to patient ratio in the world after Italy. Because of the communist system, however, doctors make the same amount of money as everyone else.

Education is also free to Cubans. So while Havana may physically appear similar to other Caribbean

or Central American cities, its citizens are much more knowledgeable and business savvy. We met a young 20-something-year-old in Trinidad who spoke freely about the problem with free education. Many Venezuelans come over to Cuba to attend Law or Medical school, for free, and then return to their home countries to make a fortune compared to their Cuban classmates. Not only are they receiving free education, but they are also taking seats in classrooms that ought to be solely for Cubans. Ever since Hugo Chavez has become president of Venezuela, relations between the two countries have improved; “A characteristic of Cuba-Venezuela ties is that both nations are exchanging assets among each other which are inexpensive for the sending country but of high significance for the receiving country”. In exchange for oil from Venezuela, Cuba offers education and medical care to Venezuela citizens.

While this sounds attractive in theory, it’s the Cuban people that are left to suffer. Suddenly they are out of educational opportunities, have to wait longer in line behind Venezuelan citizens for needed medical care, and are still left hitchhiking on the side of the road because many do not even have a car to put oil from Venezuela in.

This same young man shared some of his personal struggles as well. His dad left Cuba one year ago on a small b

oat headed for Miami. Since his dad’s departure, he has suffered the consequences. Though he was in his second year of law school, he is no longer able to continue. His superiors at his work are giving him all kinds of trouble. And yet, he’s not able to leave. Cubans are not able to travel, not even for travels sake.

Transportation is free for Cubans also. Again, nice in theory. In reality, public transport in Cuba is sinonimous wi

th long lines, people shoving people, and being packed into some form of transport (tractor, pick up truck, dilapidated bus) like sardines. Tourists, on the other hand, have their own air-conditioned section in the bus station. We ride beautiful and modern Viazul buses. Tourists, in fact, are not even allowed to ride the local transportation. If a local bus is found to have a tourist aboard, it is assumed that the driver to taking more money for the ride. Here are a few pictures I found of a local bus and a tourist bus on google:

Needless to say, life in Cuba is difficult. Even when one has means to get what they need, one cannot always find what they need. We offered to bring the family we stayed with in Havana anything they might need from the US. The father was a Pediatrician and the mother ran the Casa Particular out of the house. Of all things, they needed a doorbell. Seems nowhere in Cuba sells doorbells. We traded for Cohiba cigars, which turned out to be fake.

Aside from the struggles and the suppression, there is something very magical about Cuba. And while the US has so much of what Cuba lacks, there is a great deal we can learn from the Cuban people. The comparison, in my opinion, is like an organic apple to a genetically enhanced apple.

While Cuba may appear a little rough around the edges and while you may expect the people to be moping around with their heads down, what the people possess on the inside is pure beauty and a spirit strengthened by survival. Though the streets are filled with potholes, dog shit, and dilapidated buildings, they are also full of life. As a photographer, you know you are in a special place when you can walk down the same street

ten times and each time photograph ten different scenes.

When I step outside my own door, I am chilled by the sterility:

Makes one question what it really means to live. Our street is full of empty cars and empty homes. Dogs and cats live behind fences. Walk down any street in Cuba and you’ll see people making ends meet. Many Cubans use a lever system, for example, to bring buckets of water or fruit up to their homes. The physical energy this takes is probably more than the majority many Americans exert in a day. You’ll find kids playing stickball because not only do they not have actual baseballs and bats, but they also do not have video games, iPods, or computers. While these kids know everyone on their block, I do not know the names of my own neighbors.

When you walk through a shopping center in the US, you are bombarded with advertisements attempting to sell you on a way some major corporation can profit on you living your life. Walk anywhere in Cuba and you will not find advertisements. Not even commercials on the TV. In fact, I’m told the commercials are instead educational tid-bits about how to breast-feed, for example. I walked through a local market and found nothing more than things sold to fix things: nuts and bolts, replacement roof tiles, and a watch repairman. Life in America is about consumption. Life in Cuba is about sustainability.

I feel that in America, we define ourselves by our possessions. People in Cuba, however, are too busy being, living, and surviving. An article in Adbusters addresses this notion, “social life becomes so completely dominated by accumulated products that it causes a shift from having to appearing, wherein all ‘having’ must now derive its immediate prestige from appearances”. We appear to have a lot, but in so many ways have nothing. Cubans, on the other hand, appear to have nothing, but in so many ways have more than we do. Not to say communism is the way or that Cuba is where this family will be re-locating… but there is something to be said for a country with no McDonalds.

For more photos from our journey, visit ashleyjennett.com