(written in January '97:)

I've had a strong connection to Cuba ever since I first started learning about it in middle school. Cuba's people, politics, leader (Fidel Castro), history, economy, culture, and relations with the U.S. and former Soviet Union are all extremely interesting to me. I'm always hungry to learn more about any of these elements, and I will certainly get an opportunity this spring. The Peace Studies Mission, a tri-college program with Swarthmore, Haverford and Bryn Mawr is going to Cuba this year. When I found out, it thrilled my socks off, so I applied to be one of the 12 students involved. My passion payed off, for I got accepted! This means that I'll be taking a seminar class with the eleven other students to do intense research on Cuba before we take our 10-day trip there in March. I will be posting more on what we learn throughout the semester (such as my mid-semester reflections), so stay tuned. Cuba is an incredible country, and I'm overjoyed to get the chance to become more involved in what it's all about. For now, here's some stuff to check out:

• Check out a letter Alice Walker wrote to President Clinton concerning his enforcement of the U.S. embargo. It's powerful and worth reading. (Thanks to dear Mimi for discovering it on the web and for telling me about it.)

• Read my paper, "A Historical Look at Cuba's Nationalism," written for my Nations & Nationalisms class this semester.

• My Mid-Semester Project Reflections explain how my views on Cuba have changed from the beginning of the semester, what I got out of the group's trip to Washington D.C. (where we met with economic experts, authors, the State Department, lawyers, congressional representatives' heads, the Cuban Ambassador and others), and what experiences have been critical to my individual research project thus far.

• Links:
  
  • Cuba Solidarity Home Page which offers valuable information regarding various projects, news in Cuba and international efforts to end the U.S.'s blockade.
  • Cuba Poster Project (CPP) looks at the poster art of postrevolutionary Cuba.
  • Generation n, a Miami-based web page version of a printed magazine for the first generation of Cuban-Americans, offering pieces on art, film, culture, poetry, etc.
  • Steve Cagan -- Photography and Activism shows a photographer's interest in using his work for social action, focusing on Cuba.
  • Piet den Blanken: Cuba As It Is, a Dutch photographer who frequents Cuba, showing his documentation of the island and its people.
  • Cuba: photos and commentary with striking pictures and good links.
  • an archive of Fidel Castro speeches
  • Fidel Page
  • The Washington Post reference page on Cuba with news articles and other links
  • Lonely Planet's guide to Cuba filled with facts about its history, economy, events, environment, etc.
  • Cuba: The Real Story representing some valid anti-embargo views
  • Pastors for Peace (my family hosted a member of one of the caravans at our house a couple years ago on their way down to Cuba)
  • Paul Klee's list of Cuba Internet Resources
  • Cuba Reference Desk
  • Cuba Museum Guide giving a taste of art
  • background information put together by the U.S. State Department
  • CubaWeb the national website for the Republic of Cuba
  • Helms-Burton Act, giving the full document.

• Even though the presidential elections are over, check out who could have been our best option: Castro, of course! If you're doubtful, go see The Top Ten Reasons to Draft Fidel.

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"An old woman who gave me water and told me about the revolution and why she supported it."


--John

My dad, John, visited Cuba a couple years ago on a bicycle trip. His goal was to see the people and talk to them in person, experiencing the country as it really is. John went with friends Liam and Jenny. He took a number of incredibly striking photos. Take a look:

• a photograph "that was taken of Liam, Jenny and me on one of the big streets in Havana by a photographer using a homemade box camera that looked like it was as old as photography itself," according to John.
• here you can see the above-mentioned man and his camera (in a photo taken by Jen)
• an old man who had worked rolling cigars all his life -- taken in the cigar factory
• scene from a road in Pinal Del Rio
• Havana street scene
• John, Liam & Jenny getting ready to ride their bikes
• a woman who sold John a mango
• a family along the road that invited John in and ended up feeding him lunch even though they had very little.
• another scene from the road

Full country name: Republic of Cuba
Area: 110,860 sq km
Population: 11 million
Capital city: Havana (pop 2,200,000)
People: 60% Spanish descent, 22% mulatto, 11% African descent, 1% Chinese
Language: Spanish
Religion: 47% Catholic, 4% Protestant, 2% Afro-American Spiritist
Government: Communist republic
Head of State: Fidel Castro

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