LIFESTYLES | LUXURY TRAVEL
'9&%7M
Despite a tourism ban, recent policy changes have
made it easier than ever for Americans to travel to Cuba
ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY JOHN ARUNDEL
J
ohn F. Kennedy’s press secretary, Pierre
Salinger, once recalled that in February,
1962, months before the Cuban Missile
Crisis, his boss summoned him to the Oval
Office. “I really need some help,” Kennedy told
him. “I need you to get your hands on 1,000
Cuban cigars.”
By the next morning, Salinger had procured
1,200 Upmann Petits, JFK’s favorite. “Good,”
Kennedy said before reaching for a pen to sign
Proclamation 3447, an embargo that forbade
all Cuban goods - including its world-famous
cigars - from reaching U.S. shores.
Fifty-three years later, with President
Obama’s recent relaxation of the trade
embargo and the easing of restrictions on
American travel to Cuba, it’s suddenly a lot
easier for American tourists to pick up and
strike up a true Habana in Cuba.
That is where I found myself in August,
with five other journalists watching, as third
generation tobacco farmer Luis Suarez handrolled Cohibas in Cuba’s abundantly fertile
Viñales Valley. “We have some of the richest
soil anywhere,” Suarez said, noting proudly
that “additives are not permitted on any of the
farms here.”
As most everything in Cuba is owned or
72
controlled by its Communist government, the
country’s cultivadors de tabaco are permitted to
sell 10 percent of their crops, and it was here
that we purchased Cohibas and Montecristos
for about $4 apiece. Under new customs rules,
Americans may now carry $400 in Cuban
goods back home – including $100 of those
long sought-after cigars.
This is a long-awaited break for Cubans,
who, two weeks before our visit, converted
their Interests Section in Washington into full
embassy status, and then a week later watched
as thr ee former U.S. Marines, at the direction
of Secretary of State John Kerry, hoisted the
Stars and Stripes at the U.S. Embassy on
Havana’s famed Malecon.
One of the Americans present was former
Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, who
had not been to Cuba since he was seven. “My
trip to Havana exceeded all expectations,”
Gutierrez said. “The city retains its beauty, the
rich natural environment is stunning and the
people are welcoming.”
In March, Cuban President Raul Castro,
former leader Fidel Castro’s brother, launched
a Twitter account, with his first Tweets inviting
Obama for a state visit. “In Cuba, change is
already here,” said Potato Lopez, a former
Physics teacher who now works as a guide for
Western tourists. “With the easing of travel
restrictions in February, we’re seeing twice
as many tourists coming from the United
States.”
To be sure, Cuba is still a country trapped
in time, with its weathered buildings,and
’50s-era American cars still chugging down
Havana’s dusty streets.
While ultra-luxe beachfront hotels, new
cars (the last dealership closed here in 1959),
and modern conveniences still elude its grasp,
Cuba is arguably one of the most culturallyrich and ruggedly charming places to visit on
the planet right now.
Cubans are unfailingly polite and helpful,
and crime here is virtually non-existent.
American tourists visiting Havana for the first
time, will find a city steeped in history and
Caribbean culture and enjoy a warm embrace
of frozen rum drinks, cool ocean breezes and
the ever-present soundtrack of jazz licks
coming from bars and street corners.
ATM’s, Internet and cellular service are
tough to find, and credit cards are rarely
accepted, so be sure to bring plenty of
American dollars.
We converted our U.S. curerency into
WA S H I N G T O N L I F E
| O C T O B E R | washingtonlife.com