10 myths about Cuba most Americans believe

Wrong. My buddy Ben actually booked a trip for his birthday next month. He Googled, “cheap flights to Cuba,” and bought himself a round-trip ticket just like that. However, it remains true that traveling to Cuba may be a slightly more involved process than say, traveling to Paris. (It’s also way cheaper.) If you’re booking your flight online, before you check out, you’ll be prompted to disclose the reason for your visit. There are 12 categories to choose from, and they include things like, a family visit, professional purposes, and even religious activity. This might seem weird, but when you think about the fact that you need to get vaccinated for yellow fever to travel to certain African nations, a little paperwork doesn’t seem like such a big deal. Keep in mind, straight-up tourism is not yet a legitimate reason for visiting Cuba, but it’s pretty easy to find a reason to go within the 12 approved categories. Take for instance, a humanitarian project. Voluntourism can be an excellent way to not only explore Cuba, but other foreign countries as well.

Not so fast. To get a native’s perspective on Cuba’s political landscape (and a wealth of other relevant information on the country and its culture), I enlisted the help of my friend Sandy, who was born and raised in Cuba and only left when he was 26. “In Cuba, you have to have a ‘double face,’” he said, which is to say that the legacy of Communism is still very much palpable, and yes, many Cubans still identify as Communist or Socialist (although far fewer among the younger generations). Deviating is more of a cultural than political faux pas. Still, there are plenty of Cubans who accept and align with a more capitalist perspective.

But there’s so much more! When I asked Sandy what the most overlooked aspect of Cuban culture was, he said it was its Afro-Caribbean aspects, both culturally and religiously. As Castro, Fidel not Raúl, said, “We are not only a Latin American nation, we are an Afro-American nation, also.” When you take a second to process Cuba’s geography, it’s a Caribbean nation. This may seem obvious enough, but it helps flesh out the demographics of the country a little bit. Also, unlike many other Latin American countries, Catholicism isn’t as much of a major player. No doubt, it’s by far the most popular organized religion, but Santeria and a blend of other native African religions define much of the cultural and religious landscape. On a more secular note, the Afro-Caribbean community contributed greatly to the development of the Cuban music scene. Genres like son cubano, a combination of Spanish guitar and Afro-Caribbean percussion and lyrical elements, remains one of the sole remnants of the indigenous peoples of Cuba, before the Spaniards laid claim to the island in the 16th century.

Cuba is home to a diverse and vibrant music scene. Sorry, Pitbull. For one, trova is one of the great institutions of Cuban music culture. The name is derived from the trovadores, a 19th century group of traveling musicians, who earned money by singing and playing guitar. There’s also what Sandy called “musica inteligente.” He struggled to find a word for it in English, since the direct translation is “intelligent music,” but after playing translator for a few minutes, we agreed that what he meant was “highbrow” music, basically not reggaeton or salsa. Sandy did admit, however, that “if you don’t know how to dance salsa, you’re not Cuban, even if you hate salsa music.” Baliamos!

When I threw this one at Sandy, he coolly retorted, “Traveling to every country is dangerous, it depends where you go.” Touché. Fun fact: the murder rate in Cuba is far lower than in other Latin American countries, and gun crime is nearly nonexistent. Hear that, America? We’re way more trigger happy up north.

This is half-true. Yes, Cuba is not an easy place to keep Kosher, as pork finds it’s way into many meals and traditional dishes. Still, Sandy waxed poetic about tostones (fried plantains) and rice and beans. Little did I know that I grew up eating a very popular Cuban dish called ropa vieja, which literally translates to “old clothes.” (I promise it tastes better though!) The stuff my babysitter used to make was beef based, but this shredded meat dish can also made with lamb. The meat is stewed with tomatoes, peppers, garlic and onions, and maybe unicorn tears; it will give you melt-in-your-mouthgasms, for sure.

How do you say, “au contraire” in Spanish? Cuba faces the same prejudice that many other island nations do. Us mainlanders can’t imagine a person working too hard when the sun is shining, and a beach is always close by. But reality isn’t as breezy. Without splitting too many hairs here, the current political system is Communist, which means the government has its hands in the economic system more than your average American is used to. The private economic sector is quite small, so most people hold what Sandy called “government jobs.” This doesn’t mean working for the government directly, but that the government has a big say in how much you get paid. Government-regulated salaries aren’t much to live off, and many Cubans have one or more side jobs as a result. Furthermore, there isn’t much of an infrastructure to facilitate, let alone incentivize entrepreneurship.

When I asked Sandy to tell me some of the common misconceptions he faced as a Cuban, this one saddened me the most. The government subsidizes all levels of education in Cuba, which means anyone can go to school FOR FREE. Compared to other nations around the world, Cuba actually allocates a significantly higher percentage of its national budget to education (about 13%). However, continuing education opportunities aren’t as readily available. Having the government so involved means opportunities in education extend only as far as the government’s resources. Sandy earned his bachelor’s degree in digital design in Cuba, but left the country to get his MBA. But before you get too excited, he didn’t go to the States to get it. He went to China.

This is a stereotype Americans have of many Latin American cultures. This was a fun one to discuss with Sandy, because he broke it down for me in an unexpected way. “Depends on which kind of Cuban,” he chuckled. “Some of them, when they drink…” he went on, and then raised his eyebrows in a telling way. I see. Well, alcoholics aren’t known for being the most even keeled bunch, Cuban or otherwise.

It’s not that Cubans harbor a specific hatred for Americans, although the Cold War and the trade embargos definitely didn’t help. As an island culture, Cubans are relatively suspicious of all outsiders, Sandy explained to me, but not in a malicious or bigoted way. I could totally relate, part of my Dad’s family is from a small Greek island, and they’re suspicious of other Greeks, let alone foreigners. It’s all part of living on a small mass of land; you are both physically and psychologically an island. You tend to know more people who live around you and know them better than you would in any other context, so you approach outsiders with slight hesitation.

When I told Sandy that Cuba was one of the places on my must-go-before-I-die-list, he immediately asked when. “I’ll put you in touch with my family. We’ll make sure you’re taken care of. Mi casa es tu casa.”