For Italians Only in Cuba

The other day I stopped by the Hotel Victoria to say hello to some old friends of mine. I was stunned to learn that after August 10, the hotel would no longer be accommodating non-Italian tourists. I was told that the Italian travel agency Alpitur bought the hotel and is going to use it as a place of accommodations only for Italians.  

I was disgusted by the news on a couple of fronts. First, the temerity of this agency to do this. They buy their own real estate and exclude everyone from it. This reminds me of pre-Revolution Cuba when the US engaged in this type of arrogant behavior. Second, I had trouble digesting this notion, but the reasons behind the purchase were so antithetical to the tenets of the Revolution, i.e., discrimination. For me, this is one of the uglier aspects of capitalism and I just could not believe that Cuba would allow a foreign entity to do this. But it has and it has made me wonder what is next on the horizon. 

With normalized relations between Cuba and the US there will be a significant increase in tourism (since January 2015 Cuba has witnessed a 36% increase in the number of tourists who visit Cuba). Will US-based or other foreign entities try to emulate with Alpitur has done? I hope not.

                                       

A Cuban Car and Tomorrow

                                                                              

When one mentions “Cuba” the image that instantly comes to mind is the vintage car from the 1950s which is still very prevalent in the country. But as Cuba changes even some of the objects most closely associated with the venerated days of yore, such as the classic cars, are affected. As I was driving through Havana today, I noticed the sticker on this Ford from the 1950s. It reads in Spanish: “Si mi prosperidad te causa envidia, haz como yo, trabaja.” Translation: “If my wealth makes you jealous, do what I do, work.”

This made me think of several things. First, for me, it is almost sacrilege to deface a what amounts to a museum piece with such a crass sticker. Second, this is a microcosm of what Cuba is going through: it wants to maintain its identity, even the one imposed on it by tourist fascination with objects from yesteryear, while at the same time trying to modernize its economy and attitudes. Third, the driver of this vehicle appears to be espousing a very capitalistic sentiment, something that would have been unheard of twenty or thirty years ago.

Jonathan Culler and Robert Urry, sociologists who have written about tourism and semiotics would ascribe to this car the term “alibi” or “marker.” It no longer serves its original purpose of simply transporting one person from one location to another; it now has become an institution, a marker of memory and culture and a stronghold where an important battle is to take place: the Cuba of yesteryear vs the Cuba of tomorrow.

The Women’s World Cup and How We Look at Female Athletes

The recent US Women’s Soccer team’s convincing victory of Japan in the FIFA Women’s World Cup final revealed not only the US dominance in the sport (the US Women’s team has won the World Cup three times: 1991, 1999 and 2015 while the Men’s team has not yet made it to the final), it has also show how society has accepted what was once considered “abhorrent” behavior. Shortly after the end of the game, superstar Abby Wambach ran over to kiss her wife; an act that was captured by many photographers and celebrated by many as acceptance of a partnership that for too long had to remain hidden from public view (I am not just about Ms. Wambach’s partnership, but those of so many people who had keep their lives private). 

Lost amidst the celebrations is how there still pervades a hesitance by many to accept that women be seen as athletes. Shortly after the England Women’s team was eliminated in the semifinals by Japan, the British Soccer Federation posted on Twitter that the Lionesses now had to return to being wives, partners, daughters, etc. The response to such an outdated view was swift and the tweet was removed. But this is symptomatic of a larger issue: how athleticism is still equated with masculinity and if a female comes to excel in a sport, speculation arises about her sexual orientation. I remember a few years ago when I was competing in racquetball in Pennsylvania, someone commented on a racquetball star (female) who happened to be there and defeated everyone she played with. The person said to me, “She is very good, very athletic; she must be a lesbian.” I was surprised at this assertion, because the thought had never crossed my mind. I enjoyed watching this athlete play and she was very sociable and friendly with me off the court. Why the issue of her sexual orientation came into question was very troubling to me. This called to mind how when I was growing up, a girl who did well in sports was labeled a ‘tomboy.’ 

I live in Cuba now and although newscasters mentioned results from the 2015 Women’s World Cup, none of the games were televised. This is extremely surprising given how much of a soccer culture the country has. 

In American sports, we have had a troubled history of accepting women as athletes. I remember reading Jere Longman’s excellent book titled The Girls of Summer, about the 1999 World Cup-winning US Women’s team. In it he related how marketers of the sport asked that the married athletes on the team remove their wedding rings. The thinking, apparently, was to market and promote an image of the women as sexual and beautiful objects to be coveted by male fans. The subliminal message appeared to be, “Hey, she does not have a wedding ring. She is available to date at a location near you!” Fortunately, marketers of the sport have progressed greatly since then. The athleticism of Carli Lloyd and Alex Morgan has shown that sport ability trumps sexual marketing.

The 1999 Women’s World Cup gave us the image of Brandi Chastain taking off her shirt and twirling it in the air showing to all her sports bra; the 2015 Women’s World Cup showed us a more human and emotional image of Abby Wambach kissing her wife. We have come a long way, but there is still a long and winding road ahead.