The Cuban Laugh

I do not like this country but I admire its resilience. The Cuban people do not warm my heart but they have my respect. Cubans laugh at their problems. Not the way a Mexican would; after a long disastrous day con algunos tragos de tequila. Cubans laugh because there is nothing else that can be done. They laugh because they are strong, like someone who chooses to laugh at the pain of an injury rather than shed a tear. 

Cuba is an isolated country. For it’s geographical position, the island has been historically referred to as the Key of the Gulf. In reality, it’s treated like a hunk of rusted metal that ships avoid as they pass by. Cubans blame their isolation on the US. They call el bloqueo el genocidio más largo del mundo but it take an entire world to isolate, to turn a blind eye to suffering. 

Tourists love to take pictures of los almendrones, old cars whose outer shells are from a different time. What tourists don’t see, is the profession it takes to maintain these cars. The parts that have to be reused, revived, reconstructed to keep the machine running por 10 pesos cubanos cada vuelta. They keep these cars alive because they know they won’t be getting any other ones soon--if ever. 

A mid-western man asked us American students how we can put-up with this internet connection for an entire semester. In our brief conversation at the hotel, el Presidente--one of the few places in Habana where there is internet access--not once did he ask how Cubans live with the miserable connection. Let alone how they afford the $2-3 USD hourly fee. 

I went to the Western Union today to send money out of the country. The lady at the desk told me there is no way to send money out of the country (legally of course); she added, the world assumes there isn’t enough money to send so money can only be received. 

I laughed because there was nothing else I could do. We both laughed.