Al Coger La Guagua (to catch the bus!)

            Ever desire to be spooned and strattled front and back by sweaty strangers in a slow-moving bus at triple it’s capacity? Cuba is the place for you! I was told that the buses or “Guaguas” are the most Cuban thing a foreigner can do. That being said, I make it a point to try to catch a guagua whenever I can! It also makes sense when your pinching pennies- a Taxi costs at least $5 CUCs wherever you go (a little less than $5.00 US Dollars) while a bus will take you practically anywhere for a couple of Cuban pesos (cents)- this makes for a HUGE difference in transportation costs and much more incentive to “coger la guagua” (**note: Coger here is only used as the verb “to catch” even though in other Latin American countries coger means something entirely different!! ( ; )

            In the past 3 weeks I have had many different experiences riding guaguas that epitomize  different aspects of los Cubanos....

Cubans share!!

Cubans share food, air, love, whatever money they have, and most pertinent to the guaguas- they share space! On any given bus at any hour of the day you will find the windows completely fogged and no space to spare. Some even ride with the door open with people holding on to other people to stay on! Last Monday I wanted to go to an open-air market near the capital. In order to get downtown to the Capitolio (the Capital) it cost 2 cuban pesos (moneda nacional). I hopped on with a couple of friends and held the metal bar that slices across the bus above our heads. The bus was packed, however I still had at least 4 or 5 inches of space between me and the next person. Next stop. More people pile on. I become very familiar with the armpit of an old man and the shoulder of a short young woman. Next stop. The more the merrier!! I now have people pressed on all sides of me and no longer need to use that bar above my head to balance myself. I am not going anywhere. I will admit at first I was uncomfortable during bus rides like this as my US upbringing has allowed me with ample personal space. However, like good homo sapien, I adapt. As I am encircled with sweaty strangers I close my eyes and think of it as a human safety net, and with each jerk of the bus- a peaceful sea of swaying seaweed. We give a collective sigh as the breaks squeak and release the human pressure. It is a constant ebb and flow, comfort and discomfort,

Some Cubans Dare and Many Cubans Care!!

My friend Syndey was on the bus mid-day rush hour with her bag tightly pressed to her side. She had just bought some “pan de Gloria”, truly glorious sweet bread that you can find on occasion when there’s not a shortage in certain panaderías. In the midst of thouroughly enjoying her glorious bread, a older Cuban man yelled at another middle-aged man to “give it back!” Sydney looks behind her and sees a man holding her wallet -which was deep inside her purse just 5 seconds prior. The old man continues to yell at the now beat-red man holding the wallet until he finally drops it back into Sydney’s purse, screams for the bus driver to stop, and runs off of the bus. Stealing in Cuba is a serious crime- it can land you in Jail for 2 or more years so it is something that must be done very, very slyly if it is ever done. 

Another friend of mine was on the bus when she suddenly noticed her camera was gone! She told her Cuban friend that she had it when she got on the bus so he goes to the bus driver and whispers something in his ear. The bus driver stops the bus, locks all of the doors and demands that the person who stole her camera must give it back! As the bus driver searched the bus, sure enough, he found the camera placed delicately on the floor. It was an anonymous and peaceful return of the stolen item.

I feel extremely safe in Cuba for very different and contradictory reasons. There is a sense of care and community wherever I go. That sense of unity mixed with very strict and harsh punishments for criminal activity creates very safe streets. We will be walking at night and not experience or witness any crime. There are no homeless people anywhere because housing is guaranteed. There are no street children for this same reason as well as the fact that even orphans have places to go and extended family members or friends that will take care of them. There are police everywhere and not to mention CAMERAS everywhere. It is quite a weird feeling to remember that we are being watched. I made friends with a group of military men and women who after they got out of uniform were able to walk around with me and show me the city. They also pointed out all of the hidden cameras on every busy street corner!! When they were in uniform and we came to a busy intersection they had to split off and walk in front of me, for fear that the cameras would catch them with foreigners. There is a law in Cuba that Cubans cannot “molestar” (bug) the tourists. This idea of bugging tourists can be interpreted in many ways, so some Cubans that I have met choose to play it safe and walk in front or nearby a group of tourists instead of with us. Others seem to not be afraid. It seems like if we are in smaller groups it is more safe for them rather than in bigger groups.

One Cuban woman told me that this law was created during the “Special Period”- (1990-2000). After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba went through an economic shock. Cuba went through an extreme shortage of diesel, petroleum and gasoline. People were forced to live with out many materials/goods that they were used to, especially food items.  During this time, the economic crisis took a toll on the Cuban people and many were exhausted with living on so little and turned to begging and or using tourists as a way to try to elevate their standards of living. Most likely in order to protect Cuba’s reputation and perhaps for a variety of other reasons, the Castro regime enacted this law of no tourist-cuban interaction. Interestingly enough, not all bad things came out of the “Special Period.” The cuban people have learned to be extremely thrifty, develop sustainable agriculture and ways of life with the extreme lack of material goods. In fact, breaking a plate or a glass here is a very very huge deal. One cannot simply go to the store and buy a new one. Plastic bags and bottles are constantly re-used, and clothes are always hung to dry and very well taken care of. 

To be honest its very hard for me to reconcile the fact I whole-heartedly agree and love most aspects of Cuban society, structure and values, yet certain measures that the government takes to ensure that those values are not compromised trouble me as someone who has grown up with the sense of freedom of speech as well as individual choice. Whereas health and education are natural human rights in Cuba, freedom of speech and free will are natural human rights in the US. Why must we always sacrifice some for the others? 

To me, Cuban censorship and extreme central state vigilance and control almost seems like the only active defense mechanism against the materialistic and capitalistic pressures of the US-dominated international political economy. 

La Cuba es una guagua entera- (Cuba is an entire bus). Although there is not enough means to provide a lot of space, the riders seem to squeeze a bit tighter in order to fit everyone. The safety net of bodies, arms in arm, hand in hand endure every short stop and every turn down the worn yet resilient streets.