Destination: Cuba
Inside Raśl’s Cuba: ‘Es Exactamente Igual’
by Michael Yessis | 06.05.07 | 12:10 PM ET
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Yahoo! BuzzCould Michael Moore’s Cuba Visit Prompt New Debate on Travel Ban?
by Jim Benning | 05.11.07 | 3:37 PM ET
We wish, but we’re not holding our breath.
‘Havana: Autobiography of a City’
by Jim Benning | 05.10.07 | 11:02 AM ET
Cashing in on Santeria Tourism in Cuba
by Jim Benning | 05.08.07 | 9:58 AM ET
Visitors to Cuba have been exploring the religion of Santeria for years, but Reuters just published an interesting little story about the financial rewards for some Santeria priests. “Whereas a Cuban would pay with a fistful of pesos, a foreigner might spend $20 to meet a priest and $50 on good-luck charms like gravel-filled gourds or plastic bead bracelets,” reports the news agency. As a result, in a nation where most people struggle to live comfortably, priests can do quite well. Business can be competitive. In the neighborhood of Regla, Santeria priests gather by the dock when tourists step off ferry boats. At least one Cuban—a Santeria expert and anthropologist—is nonplussed by the practice. She told Reuters: “Santeria is not a commercial thing. Everyone has to pay to be cleansed, but priests shouldn’t pester people for business.”
Photo by jon crel via Flickr (Creative Commons).
Fidel Castro Dials Up Hugo Chavez’s Radio Show
by Jim Benning | 02.28.07 | 2:24 PM ET
Why don’t we in the U.S. get radio shows like this? Now that’s entertainment.
Duo Charged With Inventing Fake Religious Organizations to Facilitate Travel to Cuba
by Michael Yessis | 02.23.07 | 8:10 AM ET
Victor Vazquez and David Margolis “invented nonexistent religious organizations to apply for federal government licenses that allow U.S. residents to travel to Cuba,” according to the AP. Since April, thousands of travelers got permission to travel to Cuba through the alleged scheme. The U.S. government charged the two men with conspiring to violate Cuba-related travel regulations and lying on applications for religious travel licenses. U.S. law allows travelers to visit Cuba only for certain religious, humanitarian and research reasons, though a move to further open travel to the country appears to be gaining momentum.
Related on World Hum:
* New Hope for Legal Travel to Cuba?
The World Hum Travel Zeitgeist: Interstate Highways, Hot Destinations and the Mile-High Club
by Michael Yessis | 02.09.07 | 8:34 AM ET
We’re going to France and we’re learning the language. Excellent. Other stops in this week’s Zeitgeist include Spain, Morocco, Cuba, Hawaii and Hot-lanta.
Most Popular Country for Travelers
Reuters/French Tourism Ministry (2006)
France
* 78 million people visited the country last year.
Top Travel and Adventure Audiobook
iTunes (current)
Fodor’s French for Travelers
Most Read Weblog Post
World Hum (this week)
‘Significant Steps’ Taken in Quest for Morocco-Spain Tunnel
Best Place in the U.S. for a Value Vacation
Hotwire.com Travel Value Index (2007)
Atlanta, Georgia
* Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas; Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina; Orlando-Daytona Beach, Florida; and Kansas City, Missouri round out the top five.
Most Popular Page Tagged Travel
Del.icio.us (recent)
Interstate Highway System Simplified
* The U.S. Interstates rendered in the style of a metro-system map. Its designer calls it “map-porn.”
Best Selling Travel Book
Amazon.com (current)
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert
* We still like this book.
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
New York Times (current)
In Cuba, Finding a Tiny Corner of Jewish Life
Most Popular Travel Story
Netscape (current)
How to ... Join the Mile-High Club
* The Guardian suggests this.
Most Read Weblog Category
World Hum (this week)
Planet Theme Park
* This story helped it rise to the top.
The Venezuela-Cuba Freebie Vacation?
by Jim Benning | 01.25.07 | 4:13 PM ET
You bet. It’s Karl Marx meets Club Med! USA Today reports: “Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has plans to sign an agreement with Cuba to send at least 100,000 poor Venezuelans to the communist-led island for no-cost vacations, an official said Wednesday.” A free vacation? That’s one item on the socialist agenda I can get behind.
The Move to Open Travel to Cuba
by Jim Benning | 12.20.06 | 1:59 PM ET
The effort to ease restrictions on travel to Cuba appears to be gaining momentum. One of the U.S. representatives who visited Cuba over the weekend said he and other House members plan to hold hearings early next year on easing the ban. Massachusetts Democrat William Delahunt said hearings could help make the case. “There’s a significant transition going on in Washington with Democrats coming to power,” Delahunt said. “There’s a particular opportunity for dialogue and now is the time. Clearly, a majority in the House and Senate believe there ought to be a new direction in Cuba.” The Boston Globe has a full report. It notes that a likely first step could be working to lift restrictions for Cuban-Americans visiting family members, but that President Bush could still veto any changes.
Related on World Hum: New Hope for Legal Travel to Cuba?
The World Hum Travel Zeitgeist: Cuba, Cabo and Chinese Restaurants
by Michael Yessis | 12.08.06 | 9:06 AM ET
And some travel icons shall take over the Zeitgeist. This week travelers are looking to Rick Steves, Pico Iyer and, once again, to Bill Bryson for their travel fix. Let’s go, but let’s not take Comair Flight 5463.
Most Popular Travel Podcast
iTunes (current)
Travel With Rick Steves
* And don’t forget: It’s time again for Rick Steves’ European Christmas.
Most Viewed Story
World Hum (this week)
Pico Iyer: On Travel and Travel Writing
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
New York Times (current)
The East Is West: The Best Chinese Restaurants in Southern California
Most Viewed Weblog Post
World Hum (this week)
New Hope for Legal Travel to Cuba?
Most Read Travel Story
USA Today (current)
Airline Luggage Complaints Remain High
* This year could be the worst for lost, delayed, damaged or stolen baggage since 1991.
Most Popular Page Tagged Travel
Del.icio.us (current)
How to Remove Tourists from Your Photos
New Hope for Legal Travel to Cuba?
by Jim Benning | 12.04.06 | 9:22 AM ET
In our just-published interview with Pico Iyer, the author cites Cuba as his favorite place to visit, describing it as “the most complicated place I have ever been, the happiest, the saddest, the most idealistic, the most cynical, the most confounding.” The vast majority of Americans can’t visit Cuba thanks to the decades-old embargo, of course, but there appears to be a growing chorus of people calling for an easing of the travel ban, and not just because Fidel Castro missed his 80th birthday bash, prompting fresh speculation that his dictatorial days are numbered.
Compay Segundo House Opens in Havana
by Jim Benning | 11.20.06 | 9:04 AM ET
Ry Cooder’s 1997 Buena Vista Social Club album, and the Wim Wenders documentary of the same name, not only introduced millions of people to traditional Cuban music but launched thousands of visits to the island nation—and for good reason. The music on the album is at once haunting, playful and soulful. No song embodies this more, I think, than “Chan Chan,” written by Compay Segundo, the legendary Cuban musician featured prominently on the album and in the film. He died in Havana in 2003 at the age of 95, and now, his Havana home is being preserved as a tribute to him. It’s sure to become a pilgrimage site for Cuban music aficionados the world over.
Che and the Image Seen ‘Round the World
by Jim Benning | 09.25.06 | 12:24 AM ET
No, not the image of Che wearing a Bart Simpson T-shirt, although it’s clearly an image that should be seen around the world. First, there was the original Alberto Korda photo of the bearded, beret-clad revolutionary looking totally revolutionary-chic. A new AP story recounts that photo’s journey from Korda’s camera to the world-at-large. It notes, among other things, the ensuing ironies (capitalists are capitalizing on the commie’s image!); the pets (meet Che, an elegant Doberman pinscher in Oakland, California); Che detractors (hey, they say, the guy was a murderer); and the spoofs, including this New Yorker cartoon by Matthew Diffee.
Nicholas Shumaker in Havana: ‘I Felt Like a Character Straight Out of Midnight Express’
by Michael Yessis | 09.07.06 | 10:17 PM ET
“Cubans Want to Meet You”
by Jim Benning | 08.07.06 | 1:10 PM ET
Here’s a line you won’t find in many American newspapers: “I lived in Havana for nearly a year without permission from the United States.” It opens Lisa M. Wixon’s thoughtful op-ed piece in Sunday’s Washington Post about Cuba today and post-Fidel. Among her many points: “Cubans Want to Meet You. The White House proclaims it can’t ‘assess’ the ‘situation’ in Cuba because it’s a ‘closed society.’ The society would not be so closed if the current administration hadn’t tightened restrictions that ban Americans from visiting Cuba and meeting locals. More egregious is the U.S. economic embargo, which has served only to empower Castro while impoverishing Cubans. The Cubans aren’t sore at the United States; they just want to enter the 21st century already.” My guess is that thousands of other Americans who have traveled to Cuba without U.S. permission feel the same way. But they’ll never admit to visiting the country for fear of getting fined.