A Changing Cuba

Before departing for Cuba it was interesting to reflect on all of the opinions I had heard after telling my friends and family where I was planning to study abroad. Cuba has for a long time been a controversial state with an even more controversial leader. I heard remarks such as, “Wow this is a great time to visit! Before the country really starts to change,” and “What an interesting time to be there so soon after Fidel’s passing.” But what I learned is that no matter when someone chooses to visit Cuba, it will always be an interesting time to go.

Fortunately for us, we were able to visit a “changing Cuba,” which is what our tour guide explained to me one day. It was too late for us to see the unchanged Cuba, but it was also too early for us to visit the new Cuba. The Cuba we got to see was under construction, both physically and within its cultural structures. As we drove around Havana we would pass many zones of construction where foreign companies were being contracted to put up more hotels in hopes of catering to all the new tourism that will be coming through. But it was also interesting to speak to the businesses that were also describing a new country.

To be an entrepreneur in Cuba you have to have a home that you are willing to use as your business space. Every restaurant or small business we visited while in Cuba was started in the living rooms of the young entrepreneur’s home before it became what we saw that day. It was so inspiring to hear each of their stories as we learned how they overcame the government’s strict control on how many seats they were allowed to host and what they weren’t allowed to put on their advertisements outside their homes. Entrepreneurship is a hard and sought after position in the States, but seeing the barriers the Cuban people have to overcome to start a coffee shop is nothing compared to the paperwork we have to file. I grew to really appreciate and admire each of the Cuban businesspeople we met as I learned about their journey to get to where they are today. I also began to realize that while some might still be struggling to be considered successful, they are overcoming many more challenges than would be normal to us. And those who were successful had outstanding stories of success that radiated throughout their personality as we met with them.

To conclude I want to mention my favorite business visit. I loved to barbershop and the district that the barbershop has created in its small area of Havana. These young entrepreneurs not only wanted to create art and culture in the streets of Havana, but help other people figure out what to do with their life. I think this is a great example of what Cuba is like in general. Cubans have to figure out a lot, but they generate a community in which to succeed. This was recognizable in every portion of Cuba we were able to visit. The Cubans believe in culture, success in unconventional ways, and they always have a fun and enjoyable attitude while getting there.