Traveling to Cuba was my very first experience studying abroad in a different country, and what a way to begin. When I had applied to take advantage of this opportunity I didn’t know any other student who was also going at the time. We had all met briefly before leaving to discuss literature required for the class, and that felt like any other classroom experience I have had before. But over the duration of this time spent studying abroad, I feel that something magnificent happened. From not being able to remember everyone’s names in an ordinary classroom, to making 10 wonderful new friends in a country that felt like it was cut off from the rest of the world.

Everyone is so connected to the internet sometimes that they don’t take the opportunity to converse with new people around them. I think the fact that there was no internet readily available in Cuba, paired with the phenomena of being in a different country, helped open everyone to being interactive with one another. I think that everyone was able to make new friends that they really enjoyed the company of, that they may not have thought they would by looking at their Facebook profile. I felt like I was almost witnessing a social experiment that couldn’t be conducted in most other places of the world because of the constant internet access available. I have never thought that technology played such a huge role in my day to day activities.

It was an odd phenomena when I wanted to do something as simple as check the weather for the day by opening the weather app, but I wasn’t able to do that. Admittedly, I found myself subconsciously going to open different applications on my phone when I really didn’t need to. I was doing that more because I felt like I didn’t have something to do in that moment so that is how I could pass time. Once I realized this, I was shocked and spent the rest of my time being more social with the rest of the group, a decision which I did not regret one bit. By the end of our journey, we have become one of the most cohesive, and non-internet relient groups to have visited Cuba.

With this mentality, each member grew closer together by the day. From when we first arrived to the Residencia in Vedado, to when we said our final farewells to our gracious hosts on our last day, it was a complete transformation. Personally, I was both very excited yet nervous, to discover how cohesive of a group we would be. But by the end I feel like I had made friends that will last a long time. Part of what makes these friendships so special is the fact that it was forged by such a unique experience.

We visited many places as a group such as museums, and spent many hours together during lectures learning about the Cuban culture. But it was not during these moments that united us, but when we had independent research time where we relied on each other to navigate through Havana. Spending time together and being able to socialize strengthened the bonds between us all. We were able to not only see each other in the classroom, but also outside of the classroom where we were able to be ourselves. It was what we learned about the Cuban culture on the streets, and in different restaurants, that resided with us most naturally.

Throughout each day the group became more trusting of one another. One night we were all keen to walk along the Malecón all the way to Old Havana from where we were staying in Vedado. This walk took us roughly about 45 minutes, but every bit of it was enjoyable. It is truly a remarkable sight during the day, but it is a whole nother experience at night. It was very mysterious and ominous, only being able to look out about 30-40 yards if you were lucky. There was a calm, tranquil element to the way the waves were stirring about and crashed against the wall and rocks below. I felt like it was a hidden beauty that not many people are aware of unless you know about it and are there at the right time.

This was truly a unique experience and I could not be happier that I had signed up to be a part of it. It was not only Cuba, but the people as well who made the trip so wonderful. I am glad to say that I will be able to carry these memories with me for the rest of my life. But equally important if not more, are the friendships and the bonds that had been created as a part of this journey that will continue to thrive back in Lowell. I can confidently say that my time in Cuba would have been entirely different if it were not for those that I had the pleasure of sharing these experiences with.

Time has passed very fast. Now, I have already traveled in Cuba for several days. Today, we finished our delicious breakfast at our residence house very early. After breakfast, a bus took us to the Centro de Estudios Martianos for Evelina Cardet’s lecture which talked about cooking. Cuba is an island country. It has its special food culture. Evelina Cardet is a faculty from the university of tourism in Holguin. She has her own cooking opinion. “Eating well doesn’t mean eating a lot. Eating well is the most important things in health maintain.” She put lots of music and songs in her cooking books to make the recipes very attractive. Cuban food is inspired by three major places: Spain, America, and Africa. Most of their original flavors are pineapple, pawpaw, guava, pumpkin, squash, yum and nuts. Most of their meat is shellfish and fish. When the Spanish moved in, they brought grain, rice, spices, onion and garlic and wine. She also mentioned that they combined Chinese food with Cuban food. They use steamed cooking, frying and Chinese sauces. They also learned that Chinese people use some vegetable to make flowers. They call that Chinese butterfly. They found that the Chinese food usually always included rice in their meals. From the French, Cubans included coffee and baking. While from the Americans they got fast food, which the Cubans include with birthday cake for their fast food.

After the Cuban cooking class, I tried to continue researching the history of Cuban cuisine. Cuban cuisine is strongly influenced by southern Spain and particularly Andalucía. In addition, it also contained strong influences from Africa, a little influence from Haiti and French, a little influence from Italian and even some influence from Chinese. This various mix of cultures resulted in delicious flavors with distinctive seasoning and spice. Cuban rum is especially popular and known around the world. They also create the unique flavor combinations within Rum cocktails and drinks.

Before I came here, I cannot believe that Cubans eat fruit, beans, and rice with almost every meal. I also feel so grateful that we have meat every day. After I came here, I compared the food’s difference between Cuba and China. Although Chinese and Cubans use similar vegetables and fruits for daily life, they still have some different. In China, we eat a lot of white rice without beans. In addition, we cook vegetable with meats and sea food, because meats and sea food are very common in China. Furthermore, in Cuba, people like boiling as a form of cooking. They offer a lot of soup, for example, red bean soup, bean corn with meat. I recall one Cuban professor telling me me Cuba’s rice is completely different from the Chinese, and he really misses Chinese rice. In Cuba, if you want some Chinese rice, you should buy it from California. So, a lot of Chinese restaurants in Cuba do not have really Chinese food because they are lack of materials. As a business student, I can understand those restaurant owners. In order to attract more customers, they must reduce the cost. Profit is the most important thing to a business person.

After learning about Cuban cooking culture, we visited a local Paladar Las Bulerias and learned about the rise of privately-owned business in Cuba. We also practiced Cuban cooking in the private restaurant. I learned how to make a sauce for meat. We used garlic, onion, vinegar and oil to make the meat sauce. It is so much more delicious than just eating fried meat. I will try the recipe again when I go back home. We also tried to fry plantain. It needs four steps. First, you need to cut the plantain. Second, you need to use low temperature oil to fry it. Third, you need to press the plantain like a cake which you already be fried on first step. Fourth, you need using high temperature oil to refry it again. I am so happy that I learned a lot cooking tips from today’s tour. I will use them after I go back.

Ah, finally, it was Saturday. We were originally supposed to go to the Grand Theater today. As can be anticipated in Cuba, things didn’t go according to plan. The weather forced us to hold the baseball game with the Little Leaguers until this Saturday. I was really pumped; I love baseball and I love playing baseball with little kids even more. I had brought a baseball bat, some baseballs, and baseball cards to give out to them. Unfortunately, to my dismay, the field was a mess from the rain and the coach decided to call of practice, meaning we couldn’t play with the kids. I was really looking forward to playing with them but even though things didn’t turn out as planned, we still had a busy enjoyable day. During the day, we viewed and learned about many aspects of Cuban culture that are preserved including Hemingway’s work and his home, baseball, rum, and the passionate, inviting personality of the Cuban people.

Even though the weekly baseball game was cancelled, we still visited Hemingway’s home right near the field. Talk about preserved, everything was left the way Hemingway left it, from the numerous amounts of drinks on the tables to all the books he had and even the bathroom which remained untouched. Cubans adored Hemingway and his work, and in their eyes, there would be no better way to honor him than to keep his house and possessions completely intact just the way he left them. It’s truly a sign of respect that the Cubans had for Hemingway. To me, it was great to see this. I had read many of Hemingway’s works and wrote many essays on him. I knew he was a great writer of high caliber but to see how well-respected he is in other countries proves to me how great a man and a writer he was.

A quick view of Hemingway’s bedroom.

Hemingway’s desk, where he wrote many of his famed writings.

After touring the house and the outskirts (along with his large pool and massive boat), we got a pleasant surprise from the Little League coach and his star player who was of Chinese and Cuban descent. Going through the training regiment of the Little Leaguers, the coach explained that he holds practice with his team every day, getting them ready for any challenging teams they must face, with the hope of a career in baseball in the future. Quite successful in his endeavors, as many of the players he coached and trained went on to play for Cuban national teams like the Industriales, the baseball team originating in Havana. He told us that his deep love and passion for baseball is what motivates him to keep coaching, even as he gets older. Soon after, the pair graciously accepted an array of donations from us including baseball cards, hats, balls, banners, and the bat. All donations go to the Little League team, which is a great feeling. Even though we couldn’t play with the team, we donated to the cause, which is an equally satisfying feeling. By coaching new up-and-coming players in the sport of baseball, Cuba preserves its long-lasting sport. Bringing kids through the system until they transition to the national level helps keep the sport alive and entertaining. Even as the country continues to grow and advance, baseball will remain as a dying passion of the Cubans. As an avid sports fan, I love to see this passion for a sport. Being from Boston, pride runs deep for Boston sports because of their successful, accomplished history. The same can be said for Cuban pride of baseball, it runs deep and that is something that can never be taken away and will always hold strong as long as baseball remains.

Hemingway’s 38-foot fishing boat, the Pilar.

The Industriales, Havana’s home baseball team lining up to take on Las Tunas in a playoff game.

As the day progressed, we continued to move, now heading to the rum museum. One of the most anticipated parts of our trip and now I know why. It was a blast; even before the tour started, we got to see sugar cane getting grinded to get the juice out of it and be used in drinks. We even got to be on the job and crank the cane ourselves. Our tour began shortly after: we had a nice, smart tour guide who showed us through the museum, and elaborated about the fermentation, refinement, and preservation process. Rum, of course, must be preserved, but in Cuba, it is preserved in a cultural sense as well. Rum was around in Cuba before the days of the U.S prohibition and has remained up through today with Havana Club, “el Ron de Cuba”, one of the best, if not the best brand of rum in Cuba. To the Cubans, rum is a cherished drink that has stuck through most of their history and is still around today. It is still served today in common drinks like rum and coke in restaurants and bars everywhere. For me, I see rum as another cornerstone of maintaining Cuban culture. Obviously, there are other types of drinks without rum, but the rum is so well-known that even the glasses at restaurants are marked with the Havana Club logo. That just shows how much of a prevailing force rum has in Cuban culture.

A prototype of what the rum museum used to look like.

The bar of the rum museum, where a variety of rums are served.

To end the day, we went to a Cuban market, the Almacenas de San Jose Arts Market. Filled with booths full of tacky souvenirs, fascinating ones like ceramic mugs and glasses, and even some art, this market had everything imaginable for markets. The market really embodied Cuban culture because of the products and the atmosphere. Back home, I’ve seen vendors try and drag people into their store but never like this. At every row, every step you take, they’re shouting offers to you, pulling you in, telling you to look. As their motto goes at the market, “Looking is free”. Not only do they do it but they are persistent too. If you wanted to Cuban personalities, look no further than the market. It’s a true embodiment of the relentless, passionate personality and character of the Cuban people. As long as the market remains, that personality will forever live on. This is truly important as a place is commonly described by its people and the people have so much passion and energy, they exude it and you can feel it talking to them. It helps make Cuba such a unique and special place. There is no other place like Cuba in the world. As time moves forward, Cuba will as well. Some things will stay, and some will go but the Cuban culture will never disappear, it will be forever preserved.

While I legitimately enjoyed all of our guest lectures at the Centro de Estudios Martianos during this trip, my favorite was, unsurprisingly, Rubén Moro’s guest lecture on different styles of Cuban music. My musical studies at UMass Lowell have emphasized the importance of text to Western musical practice, but not to so great an extent the importance of dance. Considering that we had a separate dance class, I was a bit surprised to see just how much Rubén incorporated dance into the music class. In hindsight, perhaps I should not have been surprised; Cuban music and dance cannot be divorced.

The popularity of a piece of culture does not necessarily predict its ability to endure, and it appears to me that multiple factors have coalesced to make Cuban musical traditions both popular and enduring. The United States has seen many dance fads gain brief popularity only to be immediately forgotten. What sets Cuban song and dance apart is Cuba’s stronger sense of a national cultural identity. José Martí wrote of Cuba’s need to remain independent of any other country, and the persistence of this Martinian ideal has resulted in the embrace and preservation of those cultural elements considered uniquely Cuban. Another important point of contrast to consider is the diversity present within each style of Cuban dance, with composers exploring the possibilities of each dance’s respective rhythms across many songs; at least in recent decades, American dance crazes typically revolve around a single recording.

The Cuban musical tendency towards a strong national identity extends to instrumentation, and the music of Cuba thoroughly incorporates a number of instruments seldom found in the United States, such as the tres, one of which I was able to acquire during my trip and bring back to Lowell. In a manner suggestive of the close ties of Cuban music to dance, stringed instruments such as the tres and laúd tend to play syncopated arpeggiations rather than the strummed harmonies of a guitar. I haven’t had much time since returning to Massachusetts to immerse myself in the technique and literature of the tres, but I certainly hope to be able to incorporate it into my ensemble performances during my time at UMass Lowell.

Here I am experimenting on the tres that I was fortunate enough to bring back to the U.S.

I appreciate the relative complexity of some of the rhythms that Rubén showed us, such as the punto clave, which alternates between compound and simple meter, and the cinquillo cubano of the danzón. Undoubtedly these rhythms derive from the dizzying polyrhythms of traditional West African music, such as Ghanaian agbekor. The origins of the Cuban rhythms are even referenced in the language used to describe the music: música afrocubana. Perhaps that is just an extension of the Latin American tendency to make liberal mention of race, but a part of me wishes that the United States honored the African origins of much of its music in a similar manner. Despite the prevalence of certain chord progressions in Cuban traditional music, such as I-IV-V-IV or its minor variant, it was refreshing to hear music not based on the i-VI-III-VII progression, which was used in almost every single reggaetón track that I heard in Cuba. You may recognize it as the chord progression from Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito” and a number of other reggaetón songs. (Linked recordings are of me playing the tres I bought.)

Rhythmic notation of the punto clave.

Rhythmic notation of the cinquillo cubano.

Being a jazz musician, I’ve pondered why America’s classical music doesn’t have the same sort of mainstream appeal anymore as traditional Cuban music, and I have arrived at a few conclusions. Swing music, intimately connected to swing dance, was the “pop music” of its day. Bop artists like Charlie Parker intellectualized the idiom of jazz, distancing it from its roots as dance music. Without any socio-political reason to hold onto swing, and with artists like Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane pushing the boundaries of jazz further and further, it was inevitable that jazz would lose popularity despite achieving higher and higher levels of artistic greatness. In other words, despite the great beauty of bebop and free jazz, the people who most fully understood and enjoyed them were always going to be other musicians. Cuban music never strayed from dance, and in never straying from dance it never strayed from its mainstream appeal.

Despite the brevity of his lecture, Rubén Moro did manage to change my perspective on musical evolution. That, and after his demonstration of the dance to the guaguancó, I will never be able to hear the word “vaccination” quite the same way again.

Waking up to our fifth day in Cuba, I noticed that being here no longer felt bizarre. The routine of waking up to Natalia cooking us a delicious breakfast and then hopping onto the bus for our day’s adventure seemed normal by now; and today’s adventure certainly did not let us down. It all started with a lecture at the CEM on student movements in Cuba. Despite our group obviously showing signs of being tired, the topic managed to captivate us and the two hours flew by. It was interesting to learn about how students just like us had managed to stand up against dictatorships and fight for what they believed was right. They put their lives on the line and many were lost because they held their beliefs above themselves. It was a very inspiring topic to learn about but we still had the whole day ahead of ourselves. After the lecture we then went off to do our organized community service work. This was an eye-opening experience that certainly changed my perspective on the privileged lives that so many of us live. While we left this community service project feeling as though we had done some good in aiding those who were much less fortunate than us, we also left with a somber and depressed feeling at what we had just witnessed. However, the day was not over yet and our next activity certainly aided in alleviating some of this sadness; even if it did result in some headaches.

Johnny and Ilene showing us how it’s done

As Honors College students, our group has proven to have some academic prowess. Whether we are electrical engineering majors or fine arts majors, we all have obtained and maintained a certain level of excellence in our academic careers. However, today’s class proved to be something rather new and challenging for some of us. While we are used to listening to lectures and taking copious amounts of notes, being told we are going to learn how to salsa dance in class was a bit different than most of us are accustomed to. The majority of our group has really only known each other for five days at this point so being expected to salsa dance together was a little out of our comfort zones. Despite this, we were all up to the challenge and were eager to get it right. While some of us picked up the steps rather easily, the task proved to be more formidable for others of our group. Our dance teacher, Johnny, made it all look so easy and was very patient with us. While we were all able to watch him and understand what we were seeing and what he was telling us to do, it was much harder to replicate his actions than we had anticipated. Despite being honors students from the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, we found ourselves sounding childish as we slowly counted each of our steps. Even moving slowly we found ourselves messing up and, with most of us being perfectionists, this was slightly frustrating. We had to remind ourselves that practice makes perfect and repetition is key. Hours went by of doing the same basic moves over and over and slowly but surely we started to get it down and found ourselves becoming overly determined to get the moves perfect. Our dance teacher would come over and do the moves step by step with us until we would do them correctly. We finally had one pair get all of the moves right without assistance and we were all so excited by it. By the end of our session, we found ourselves much more comfortable with each other and not as embarrassed to look dumb dancing in front of each other. We left the classroom slightly tired with aching feet but in high spirits; ready to bust out our novice moves whenever and wherever the occasion calls. This experience showed us that we may not be perfect at everything but to not be afraid of trying new things and to push our boundaries. When you explore outside of your comfort zone you are able to learn a whole lot more about yourself and what you are capable of accomplishing.

Long live Jose Marti. While sitting in the classroom within Marti’s only son’s residence, the ambiance was overwhelming. Dying at the early age of 45, Marti’s life was more fulfilled and impactful than most will ever have. Poet, writer, and political leader, Cuba preserves the residence of Jose Francisco Marti to dedicate a center to the studies of his father’s life work and impact on Cuban culture. Today, the center is used to welcome students from all over the world and educate them on the Cuban history and what it means to be Cuban.

The Man

The study center, which has been successfully running for the last 40 years,
dedicates its existence to keeping the adventures, hardships, teachings, and examples of Marti’s life alive. Comparable to America’s George Washington, Marti represented the ideal ethics and values of the Cuban people. Born January 28, 1853, Marti was the oldest son of two Spanish immigrants. Though his life was short lived, it was rich with traveling to seven different countries due to his ‘radical’ political ideas. His travels enabled him to have modern knowledge from various parts of the world and have similar thinking’s of America’s enlightened like Emerson and Hawthorne. His ceaseless creativity drove Marti to author two novels and compose thousands of other short writings. The center has preserved 2,000 of his works and expects there to be thousands more of undiscovered pieces out there. Jose Marti is such a core element to Cuba that it is often said Marti is a religion, something that all of Cuba believes in and worships, like a God.

The Legacy

Aside from the Jose Marti studies center, Cuba has a memorial in honor of their revolutionary hero. As the tallest building in Habana, the Jose Marti memorial captures the beauty of the entire city in five points. The building resembles a star shape, like that of the Cuban national flag. Fulgencio Batista personally oversaw the assembly of the monument, collecting one day’s pay from every Cuban citizen; however, never disclosing how much money was collected. The interior wall of the structure displays quotes from Marti written in twenty-two carrot gold imported from Venice Italy surrounded by twenty eighty columns with gold plating as well. The number twenty-eight is symbolic of the twenty-eight camps that Marti stayed in before the first battle of the revolution, that he died in. One quote of Jose Marti’s that I personally loved was written on the wall of the Museum of Arts in Cuba; it read “Un principio justo, desde el fondo de una cueva, puede más que en ejército!” Translated in english it means “one just principle from the depths of a cave is more powerful than an army”. This quote is symbolic on the Cuban culture because it signifies the ideal ethics that Marti was so passionate about. Reading the quote, I interpreted it as a just idea, like ones belief in freedom, is an idea more powerful than army. This is symbolic to the fight the Marti started for Cubans freedom.

The Legend

Standing within the luxurious memorial, overlooking the beautiful colonial city, there is an enlightenment that hits you. This is Cuba. Self-governed, despite all the obstacles they faced and countries who denied their sovereignty, their patriotism persisted. Jose Marti sparked this sense of identity and made it all possible. His face is displayed everywhere (literally everywhere, whether it be abstract, sculptures, or captured in a quote), because Cubans are forever inspired by him. Today, Marti continues to drive the people’s determination to remain independent and sovereign. He set the standard of what it means to be Cuban, to be honest, kind, passionate, and to hold your values high. To be Cuban is to be resilient; to persevere in the hardest of times. Having the opportunity to learn about the ‘special period’ was both eye opening and heart wrenching. The struggles put on the Cuban people due to the trade embargo are unimaginable. The distances that they had to walk everyday just to work or get an education, the shortage of food, and the cloud of darkness that loomed over what the future would hold, yet they pushed forward and created a culture that believes in helping those around them and creating a type of community that I have never seen before. Marti set the standard and inspired this type of nationalism, and will forever be a massive part of their culture.

Waking up and realizing I was actually in Cuba was still surreal even after more than 24 hours because the country was so different than the United States. The day started with an amazing breakfast at our residencia, which included eggs, various fruits, muffins, coffee, and juice. The breakfast was way better than what I would eat for breakfast at home any day. After this wonderful meal, we departed for a walking tour of Old Havana. While driving into Old Havana I noticed that the majority of the buildings on the way were very old and were deteriorating or had already broken down. I found this to be very interesting because I do not see this too often in Massachusetts, at least not around my area. Also on the way to the city we caught a quick glimpse of El Malecon, the sea wall that runs along the coast of Havana. At El Malecon waves can be seen crashing into the wall and if the waves are large enough they crash over the wall and into the street which would then close the street to traffic. When we saw it on this day the street was closed and the waves were massive. Seeing El Malecon was captivating to me because I enjoy seeing different things that involve the ocean and El Malecon is so unique that I could spend days there just watching the waves crash against the wall.

This is El Malecon and a wave crashing into the wall.

Once we arrived in Old Havana we entered Plaza de Armas, which was the first plaza to be laid out in the city. The plaza was surrounded with old but beautiful buildings including an old spanish fortress. The older buildings made it feel like we had traveled back in time and seeing the city in the past since none of the building have been changed old restored. While in this plaza multiple people came up to our group and tried to sell different things including a man who drew a picture of me and another student and told us they were for us to remember Cuba. After seeing this plaza we made our way to see Hotel Ambos Mundos, which is where Ernest Hemingway would stay before owning a home in the country. We could not enter this hotel due to the United States’ regulations with American travelers in Cuba, so we looked at it from the outside.

The hotel is a very brightly colored pink building with white trimmed windows and amazing architecture. From outside, Ernest Hemingway’s room was pointed out to us by our guide, Ana.

We then walked through other plazas in Old Havana and took in the breathtaking scenery and architecture including, churches, boats, hotels, and restaurants.

One of the churches we saw was La Catedral de la Virgen María de la Concepción Inmaculada de La Habana, which is a Roman Catholic church. Inside there is a statue of Pope John Paul II, or Juan Pablo, and Saint Christopher who is the patron saint of Latin traditions. The facade of the church was beautiful with two bell towers and a very elaborate design, which I found very aesthetically pleasing.

La Catedral de la Virgen María de la Concepción Inmaculada de La Habana

Ana told us numerous fascinating facts and stories about old Havana as it pertained to the buildings we saw in each plaza and those points of interest we encountered while walking around.

While walking around Old Havana I noticed these weird tunnel looking entrances into the ground. Ana went on to tell us that these strange holes in the ground were the way that the city transported water in the city’s early years.

Old Havana’s old water transport system

After our walking tour we were able to get lunch, and some other students and I decided to go to a restaurant that served Italian food like pizza, pasta and other dishes. It was interesting to see how Italian food was from another country. I thought the pizza I got was decent but not as good as pizza from the United States.

Old Havana was one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen with its vibrant colors and fascinating architecture. The history behind the city is also very interesting and full of many facts people may not know of. These together make the city of Old Havana one of the most fascinating places to see and to experience.