Five reasons not to vacation in communist Cuba

Unless you enjoy apartheid and like vacationing in a country where the people are enslaved and brutally oppressed, there’s no reason to vacation in communist Cuba. A Cuban gives you five reasons why.

Luis Cino in CubaNet:

Cuba Is Not the Paradise It is Purported to Be: Five Reasons for Not Vacationing in Cuba

In early July, the USA Today portal described Cuba as a privileged tourism destination. Contrary to what this publication says, however, if I were a foreigner, it would never occur to me to spend my vacation in the island

In early July, the USA Today portal described Cuba as a privileged tourism destination. Contrary to what this publication says, however, if I were a foreigner, it would never occur to me to spend my vacation in Cuba, at least not now.

I don’t deny the natural beauty of my country, especially the beaches, nor its artistic and cultural richness, particularly its music, and, why not, its native cuisine. As it happens, however, since 1959, Cuba has endured a dictatorship that is now in its sixty-second year. That dictatorship ruins everything, especially the lives of its people.

Below, I will list five reasons why, if I were a foreigner, I would not visit the island.

Cuba is not the paradise that it is purported to be
Since I would not be happy cooped up in an air-conditioned hotel in Varadero or in the northern keys, I would like to see what the real life of Cubans is all about. In doing so, if I am allowed to, I would be terribly depressed with the state of neglect and filth in which most cities and towns are. That is, unless they show me Potemkin towns built for the enjoyment of tourists. I’m referring to the miserable shanty towns on the outskirts of cities and the propped-up buildings in a state of ruin, on the verge of collapse and putting at risk the lives of its dwellers.

The socialist dream does not exist
Knowing that Cubans live under the oldest communist dictatorship in the Western Hemisphere, I would be very upset if I got the feeling that I was visiting a socialist theme park, a hoax, where hungry and shabby people who gaze at you like zombies are forced to pretend that they are happy and thankful to Fidel Castro, and that they support the so-called “revolution”. I would be incensed to witness how most people speak in whispers, as if walls had ears or just in case there was an informer nearby, when they enumerate their complaints, if they have any, and which they will blame on the U.S. embargo and not on the inefficiency and indifference of their rulers and of the system itself.

Shams and other social ills
I would feel very uncomfortable knowing that I am under the constant watch of people who want to deceive me and swindle me out of my money. It could be the poor devils that offer you anything on the street, whether a room rental or cigars or marihuana, or “jineteras” –young female prostitutes- or “pingueros” –young male prostitutes- people who will do anything to please you and will feign to be in love and ready to marry you. It could also be customs workers or store and hotel employees, always ready to collect tips or bribes. They are all friendly, but like sharks, they are ready to attack you.

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