Havana, Cuba is 242 miles south, southwest of Fort Myers. It's beautiful but also tragic. Its colorful culture and prosperous past juxtaposed with the dilapidated, constricted city I visited can’t really be fathomed without seeing it firsthand.
I have many Cuban-American colleagues whose families were forced to leave their island home when the brutal communist dictator Fidel Castro came to power. To some extent, I can relate to this upheaval since my own family was forced to leave Russia at the time of the Bolshevik revolution and seek safe haven in Europe, only to find themselves once again captive by a another despot, Adolph Hitler.
My dad was trapped in occupied Amsterdam during World War II with barely a morsel to eat until the war ended when he was reunited with his parents who had traveled ahead of him to Dallas, Texas to start a new life.
He arrived in Dallas at 8 years old, and like many Cubans who emigrated to the United States, will never forget the fear and hardship that he endured.
On the other hand, my grandparents regaled me with stories and fond memories of visiting Cuba in the 1950’s, and spoke of a glamorous place with sparkling blue water and swaying palms. It is with this backdrop that I received an invitation to travel to Cuba.
A dear Cuban American friend of mine asked me to join her and visit Havana. While my friend escaped Cuba and found a path to U.S. citizenship, her family members who are less fortunate are still in Cuba and long for her life of freedom.
Making the trip
So with my baggage of preconceptions, concerns, fears and curiosity, I boarded a 55-minute flight with my friend bound for Jose Marti Airport. It was a visceral experience.
What was once one of the most prosperous cities in Latin America was in beautiful ruin. After nearly 60 years of Fidel Castro’s brand of socialism, the people of Cuba are without many of the things we take for granted. Milk and flour are rationed, electricity and water are not always available, and many beautiful neo-classical and art deco buildings are crumbling.
While tourism has made some impact on the economy, it is abundantly clear that the longest running socialist experiment has failed. There were no smartly dressed business people dodging traffic to make a lunch meeting across town in their shiny new cars.
Instead, Cuban ingenuity keeps 50-year-old cars on the road alongside Soviet era Lada vehicles. Cuban chutzpah has also given rise to entrepreneurs who have found a way to succeed despite very difficult circumstances.
State-owned nightclubs, hotels and restaurants cater to the only visible economic driver, a nascent tourism industry.
Despite the hardship, or perhaps because of it, Havana is also home to many different types of outstanding artists. It was wonderful to explore the galleries, see the street art and enjoy amazing dancing and singing. We were fortunate to stay in a very nicely kept home on the outskirts of town hosted by a lovely couple that have found a way to thrive. Everywhere, I encountered very nice people interested in making our visit a positive experience.
One of the most interesting aspects of the trip was exploring the Hotel Nacional on whose grounds Castro had a bunker fortification to stave off any sea invasions coming in across the “Malencon,” a much adored seaside road that offers a beautiful view and a place for Cubans to socialize in the evening.
Sadly, another building nearby chronicles the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion. For those of us from Southwest Florida, this is especially poignant since Useppa Island was an important training ground used by the CIA to ready Cuban expatriates for the attack designed to topple Castro and create a free Cuba. If we had succeeded, things would look very different today.
Undoubtedly, the most important aspect of my trip was the acute reminder of how thankful I am to be an American. We live in the most wonderful country in the world with freedom and unlimited opportunity. We can never take this for granted or the men and women who protect our country and our constitution every day.
I am sad for those who remain in Cuba and yearn for the freedom and prosperity we have. I am appalled by anyone that can suggest that socialism or communism is a viable form of government. Democracy is the only answer.
I thanked God for this country when the wheels lifted off the tarmac at Jose Marti Airport and won’t miss another day to do so going forward.
Heather Fitzenhagen is a state representative from Fort Myers.