February 21, 2015

A few weeks ago, one of my patients, a professor at the Honors College of U of New Mexico, told me at the end of our appointment, as she was leaving my office, that a colleague of hers was taking a small group of students to Cuba in early March. The students in the Latin American studies department are enrolled in a course called “Sounds of Havana.” She asked if I wanted to join the group. Without even thinking it over, an unequivocal YES flew out of my mouth.

Painting of street in Havana

Cuba is a country I’ve dreamed of visiting ever since I was in college. Some of my classmates went to Cuba to help with the sugarcane harvest in the 1960s. Interest was rekindled in me after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 when Cuba was abandoned and left without Russian support and supplies—including fertilizers and pesticides. With the economic collapse, out of necessity the Cuban people became expert organic gardeners, turning every arable part of their properties into food production, as beautifully seen in the American documentary The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil.

And without high tech medicine, Cuban doctors became experts in providing outstanding health maintenance care to all the people, resulting in some of the best health statistics in the world. Michael Moore’s documentary, Sicko, compares the highly profitable health care system in the US with health care in other nations, such as Cuba. Medical tourism from foreign countries has been thriving in Cuba. It probably won’t be long before Americans join the flocks of medical tourists in search of excellent care at affordable prices in Cuba.

Now, with the new easing of restrictions on our relationship with Cuba, I want more than ever to see Cuba before it is Best Westernized by US corporations.

Painting of Cuban dancers

Last week our “Sounds of Havana” group had an orientation session in Albuquerque. We heard about our exciting schedule that includes time with dancers, artists, and musicians.

As part of our orientation, we listened to a distinguished conductor talk about his visits to Cuba over the decades, filling in as guest conductor. We also listened to a Cuban professor talk of his life in Cuba before and after the Cuban Revolution. After Fidel Castro took over the country, his relatives shipped him off to the US with a few other boys. He was fifteen years old and spoke no English. He ended up in a foster home in Albuquerque with a family that spoke no Spanish. Somehow, he managed—with great difficulty—and ended up thriving.

We were advised to leave our electronic devices at home since there is very little internet service and wireless available. I’m going to bring my laptop anyway and will try to get regular posting out to you with lots of pictures, if I can find a hotel that has internet service. Stay tuned.