After breakfast we left the hotel and entered Trinidad. The town was colonised in 1514 and became one of the early centres of slavery in Cuba. Africans were forcibly brought to work in sugar-cane production. Hundreds of mills produced sugar, molasses and rum, enriching both the island and its landowners. They built palatial houses and furnished them with porcelain and furniture imported from Europe.
We visited the tiny pottery workshop of the Santander family, where a fifth generation still works. They make pieces to order using patterns associated with the colonial period, and our group left with plenty of ceramics. Women around us repeatedly asked for shampoo, soap and money. It was impossible not to feel uncomfortable; we wished we had arrived with a whole box of soap to give away.
Havana joined UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1982 and Trinidad followed in 1988. With UNESCO support, buildings began to be restored and the town opened itself more fully to tourism. Souvenir shops appeared and historic homes found new uses.
Poor management and rising costs eventually brought much of Cuba’s sugar industry to a halt. People who lost their jobs turned their homes into guesthouses known as casas particulares and tried to earn a living from tourism. Cuba, once synonymous with sugar, now imports it from Brazil.
The Bacardí family produced rum in Santiago de Cuba. When the revolutionary government nationalised factories and companies in 1959, the family left the country. Havana Club replaced Bacardí as the leading domestic name. The Arechabala family of Varadero, historically connected with Havana Club, also departed after the revolution. The history of rum here is a story in which families, the state and revolution are inseparable.
Sugar cane was used not only for drinks and sugar but also for paper. We were told that cellulose made from bagasse, the fibrous residue of the cane, has uses in hospitals.
We tried canchánchara, a mixture of sugar-cane spirit, lemon and honey. It is said to have been given to labourers for energy: sweet, but delicious. Trinidad was an important centre of slavery and remains one of the places where Cuba’s African heritage is most visible.
Energy shortages and economic strain are evident throughout the country. Cuba relies on hydroelectricity, solar energy and oil, with fuel arriving from partners such as Venezuela and Iran and major economic support from China. Under Hugo Chávez, Venezuela built a refinery here. The effects of the American embargo are especially visible in energy: electricity and water cuts, long vehicle queues and rubbish trucks unable to operate for lack of fuel all shape daily life.
We were told that housing carried no rent under Castro, while small payments have since been introduced. The state owns the land, but individuals may own houses. Many people live in homes inherited through their families and drive inherited cars. That is why colourful American vehicles from the 1950s and Soviet-era Ladas still fill the roads; people speak of around sixty thousand antique cars.
Shampoo and soap are scarce, although they can be found in shops that accept hard currency. The state issues ration cards for limited quantities of basic goods. Pork is the most commonly eaten meat. Milk and beef are difficult to obtain, and many products must be imported.
Cuba has nickel, cobalt, gold and marble resources. Foreign partners, notably Canada and China, operate mines and other projects. China has largely taken the place once occupied by the Soviet Union, supplying finance, energy, imported goods and fleets of Yutong buses. Private businesses and foreign partnerships in hotels are now permitted to a degree. Our own conclusion was simple: food, service and flavour were markedly better in privately run restaurants than in state establishments.
From Trinidad we continued to Cienfuegos, whose eighty-eight-square-kilometre bay forms a natural harbour. Like Havana, it is entered through a narrow channel guarded by two fortresses. Founded by fifty families who had fled the French Revolution, the city still carries a distinct French influence in its architecture.