CRV Newsletter: November 2017
After Irma, a resilient Cuba rebuilds and tries to reboot American tourism in the wake of Trump’s hard-line political agenda
In the past six months Cuba hasn’t been able to catch a break. First, there was the accusation that Cubans were using a “sonic weapon” against US and Canadian embassy staff, which has resulted in an international investigation on who or what could have made these people sick and permanently damaged their hearing. Nothing conclusive has been found despite the Cuban government allowing the FBI to sleuth on their own.
However, this didn’t stop the US Government from issuing a punitive travelers’ warning for Americans to stay away from Cuba because they might be zapped by errant sonic waves. This is, of course, is nonsense and the rest of the world, including the Canadians, agree
Then came hurricane Irma, which glanced off the north coast, damaging crops, infrastructure and flooding coastal areas in nearly every part of Cuba, including Havana. Most affected were the tourist destinations in the north from Varadero to Cayo Santa Maria. These resort locations are just now beginning to come back on-line and the cost of lost wages and tourism dollars has been devastating to an already struggling Cuban economy.
Cuba Rhythm and Views remains committed to our People-to-People “Diplomacy through the Arts” project and we will continue bringing our American delegates to Cuba in comfort and safety. In our opinion, based on years of working closely with the Cubans, their best days are ahead. Politicians come and go, but Cuba and its appeal will be there forever.