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Drum: TRAVELS
expanding contradiction in living standards, a rise in
prostitution, and the re-emergence of class divides.
At seventy-eight years of age, Fidel Castro has held
the title of Head of State of Cuba for forty-six years,
making him one of the world’s longest reigning heads
of state. Undoubtedly in the near future, historians
and critics will be hotly debating the legacy of this
most controversial and outspoken world leader of
the twentieth century. Historical legacies, however,
are very rarely determined by facts, but rather, from
how far to the left or to the right the author stands
from the subject he or she intends to document.
It was for this reason I determined to investigate the
mortality of Cuba’s socialist revolution devoid of
romantic idealism and, as objectively as is possible,
attempt to make sense of Castro’s Cuba to amidst
the transitional tide of change which threatens to
destabilise Castro’s vision of a socialist utopia.
Julio Sanchez and Joel James were just two of the
scores of people I interviewed for the forthcoming
documentary Hasta Siempre (Until Always). The
documentary takes the viewer on a journey through
the lives and ambitions of ordinary Cubans who talk
openly about the changes sweeping through Cuba
and their visions of the island’s future. Julio was
deprecating about his prospects as a young man in
Cuba, but he also wanted to make clear that he was
a ‘Fidelista’ and that his dreams of escape were not
fuelled by resentment towards his island’s social
idealism, but by the economic hardships and
shortages which most Cubans face due to the US
blockade: a blockade that impedes trade in
commerce and agriculture and even limits Cuba’s
ability to import vital medicines and technology. US
citizens who wish to travel to Cuba face the
prospect of a US $50,000 fine, and the threat of
property seizure.
Additionally, for the past 44 years, the US government
has prevented Cuba from conducting legitimate
trade in everyday produce by banning any ship
which docks at a Cuban port from docking in a US
port. It levies hefty fines against US companies
which trade with the island and refuses to conduct
business with foreign companies which trade with
Cuba. T heir policies have had the effect of deterring
many international companies and governments
from investing in the Island and have resulted in a
stagnant economy dependent upon tourism and
with no prospects of infra-structural development.
Fidel Castro in the rain