Havana Part II

Today is some more pictures and some more 'about Cuba' stuff I wrote for the last post that ended up getting too long. Skip the paragraphs if you're not interested in the details of Cuban economy/society. This was a fun day of wandering the city.

First off we went to a HUGE (130 acre) cemetary which dated back (I think) to the mid 1800's. Lots of marble and beautiful crypts, statues, and gravesites.

Next we were off the Callejon de Hammel which is an awesome little street full of Afro-Cuban murals, sculptures, music and dance. I have some videos of the music/dance I will upload later but here's some pics for now.

Next we were off to an old fortress complex at the entrance to the Havana harbor to explore and watch the sunset.  

A wee bit more Havana to follow hopefully tomorrow.

Cuba has two currencies, one for the Cubans, and one for the tourists. The currency for the locals can be spent only at state run stores on highly subsidized products like basic goods. It is the money that Cubans are paid in by the state (who they all work for) and from our understanding they receive about $20 a month. They are given free housing, medical care, and education, though the quantity and quality of all of these vary widely and often are lacking. They spend the rest of the $20 on highly subsidized ‘basic goods’ like food and soap which are rationed and of lacking. Tourists can exchange their money only for CUCs (Cuban Convertible Pesos) which is the only currency taken at restaurants, hotels, etc.

Since education is free, it’s just as easy to become a doctor as a street cleaner, but you don’t make any more money either way. The primary (and practically only) way for Cubans to earn extra money is by working in the tourist industry and receiving convertible pesos as tips. We hear that frequently people trained as doctors will become taxi drivers simply because they can earn so much more money that way. No one is homeless (since housing is provided) and everyone gets at least some food rations but almost the entire population struggles for anything beyond that basic housing and very minimal food. There is not the striking kind of poverty that you see in many third world countries but there is none of the striking richness either, everyone is struggling.