By John Schneider, For the Lansing State Journal

Tell someone you’re going to Cuba and two subjects are likely to arise within the first 20 seconds of that conversation: cars and cigars.

That’s no surprise. The iconic image of Havana is the ubiquitous fleet of vintage Detroit dream machines — 1957 Chevy Bel Airs, 1959 Ford Galaxies, 1954 Plymouth convertibles … with their chrome bumpers and tail fins; their pastel paint jobs and bulging hoods adorned with airplanes, birds, goddesses flexing their gleaming wings.

As for cigars, it doesn’t take a smoker to know that hand-rolled Cuban stogies are the holy grail of cigar lovers. Iconic? Think of Fidel Castro in his military olive drabs, waving his 7-inch-long Cohiba Esplendido like a maestro’s wand. While in Havana recently my wife, Sharon, and I toured the Partagas cigar factory where every roller — men and women — gets four cigars to smoke each day while they work.

But it should also come as no surprise that there’s much more to the mysterious island nation than vintage vehicles and good smokes.

Cuba lies just 100 miles from Key West — tantalizingly close, yet isolated; a short plane ride, but largely inaccessible to Americans. The country is often referred to as a “time capsule.” It’s an accurate description. The cars may be the most conspicuous evidence of a land frozen in mid-century, but it’s also apparent in the architecture, the roads, the antiquated infrastructure, the startling fact that, in 2015, the average Cuban citizen has no access to the Internet.

Cuba’s arrested development is largely the result of the U.S. trade embargo against the country. The U.S. initiated sanctions against Cuba after Fidel Castro seized power in 1959, and promptly nationalized more than $1 billion worth of American assets. Cuba signed a trade agreement with the Soviet Union in 1961, fracturing diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba. President John F. Kennedy made the embargo official in 1962, ensuring the country’s isolation.

Despite recent talk of the defrosting of U.S.-Cuba relations, they remain 90 percent frozen. As of this moment — and for the immediate future — no American “tourist” can go to Cuba. American citizens can enter the country only for certain specific purposes — to visit relatives, for example, or to engage in humanitarian projects. One other portal: So-called “people-to-people cultural exchanges” allowed under a license issued by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

The Michigan State University Alumni Association has such a license and recently took a group of 27 people — including Sharon and I — on an eight-day guided tour of the country. For the record, neither Sharon, nor I, are MSU graduates. But anybody willing to pay the annual dues ($45 for an individual; $55 for a couple) can join, and take the trips. However, be warned — particularly if you’re a U-M supporter — that you’re likely to get a little “Go Green/Go White” on the tour bus, especially if, as in our case, you have a former MSU cheerleader aboard. Joyce Spade, who was among our 27, shook her pompons at the 1966 Rose Bowl game. She now lives in the Detroit area.

I was eager to get to Cuba before the tourist avalanche, which is bound to follow the normalization of diplomatic relations. The Cubans we spoke to have mixed feelings about the inevitable stampede. They welcome the economic boon American tourism will bring, but worry about its effects on the quiet life they treasure.

Our group was based in Havana for five nights, and in Cienfuegos, on the southern coast of the island, for two. In the course of eight days we covered half the country by bus, visiting five provinces. We immersed ourselves in the street life of Havana and some smaller cities, and also explored Cuba’s countryside, its mountains and its largely undeveloped seaside.

We were not in Cuba as tourists, but as students of Cuba’s culture. This meant that the trip was highly structured. We listened to lectures on architecture, economics, art, health care. We visited, among other places, several museums, an elementary school, an agricultural commune, a clinic and a nursing home. And although our tour guide told us, with a wink, that we weren’t supposed to have any fun, we managed to squeeze in some salsa dancing, a ride through Havana in vintage convertibles and ample mojitos and Cuba libres (rum and coke).

A few criticisms:

•The public toilets are generally atrocious. Some had no running water at all. This will change, but for now, if you go to Cuba travel with your own hand sanitizer and paper.

•The food is surprisingly bland and, at best, mediocre. Ironically, the Cuban food I’ve eaten at Vicente’s in Detroit, is much better. As our Cuban tour guide, Jorge Perez, told us, “If you’re traveling for the cuisine, go to France — not to a country known for rice and beans.”

•For shoppers, the pickings are slim. How many Che Guevara T-shirts do you need? However, the rum and cigars are worth buying and, for the time being, a U.S. citizen is allowed to bring back $100 worth of each.

But those beefs are minor. The people of Cuba are warm and welcoming, the music is irresistible and the scenery — particularly on the Caribbean coast and in the lush mountain forests — will take your breath away. In old Havana, you’ll see, among other things, 16th Century Spanish fortresses, The Malecón (the famous avenue that runs along the seawall at the northern shore of Havana), the Museum of the Revolution and the stately Catedral de San Cristóba.

A can’t-miss destination if you get to Cuba: Museo Playa Giron (The Bay of Pigs Museum), which portrays the infamous 1961 invasion from the Cuban point of view. Don’t expect objectivity in the exhibits. But the bombastic language on the placards (translated into English) makes the place all the more fascinating.

IMAGES:
A display of national pride adds an artistic touch to the architecture in Havana. (Photo: John Schneider/For the Lansing State Journal)
Cuba’s largely undeveloped Caribbean coast offers spectacular views. (Photo: John Schneider/For the Lansing State Journal)

For more on this story go to: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/life/2015/03/08/schneider-warm-people-irresistible-music-breathtaking-scenery-cuba/24591627/