Soltura Cuba Travel Blog

Written by Sophia Bass, translated below by Izzy Valdés The first time I traveled to Havana, I immediately noticed a variety of artistic expression throughout the city. From local art markets and galleries to murals, I wanted to learn the story behind Cuba's innovative art scene. I quickly learned of the Muraleando Art Project founded by Manuel Diaz Baldrich and Ernesto Quirch Paz in 2003. Founder of Soltura Cuba Travel, Ian Sergeant, assisted in funding the creation of the project through the not-for-profit organization, Cuba AyUUda.  Situated on the outskirts of Havana, the project has transformed an area of rubble and destruction into a thriving art collective. The goal of Muraleando is to bring children off the streets of Havana and inspire them to contribute to a community project. In a country where nothing is disposable and everything is useful from telephone wires, iron, to old typewriters, artists in Cuba sought an opportunity to utilize these materials and create s...

Written by Sophia Bass, translated below by Izzy Valdés. If you're traveling to Cuba in 2018, you may want to learn about the recent election that occurred on March 11th. Cuba's election  will open a final chapter of the Castro era. This is the first time in nearly 60 years that a member of the Castro family will no longer be in charge of office. As President Raul Castro will be stepping down in April of 2018, this election marks a critical time in history for Cuba as a nation. President Raul Castro will continue as the head of the Communist Party after stepping down from office. "They're the most important elections of recent years, because we are going to vote for new people who will govern from then on," day-care center guardian Ramon Perez told AFP news agency in  Minute by minute: General elections in Cuba (II) . Thanks to special polling stations, every Cuban eligible to vote was able to participate in the voting process wherever they were in the n...

Written by Sophia Bass  My first trip to Old Havana I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of art vendors, musicians, and colorful fruit stands that colored the streets. I could have spent days wandering around the Cathedral Square that is a central destinations for travelers around the world. After a long day of walking in the heat, I stumbled across the San José Artisans' Market.  Contained in a large warehouse to protect travelers and locals from the sun, arts and crafts vendors set up stands from dawn to dusk to sell paintings, ceramics, clothing, instruments, cigars, and crafts. I can recall men hustling to sell cigars and handmade wooden boxes. My partner bought a beautiful carved wooden box with the Cuban flag carved on the front and two cigars for my father. As my eyes wandered to the paintings and ceramics, I purchased two brightly colored plates painted with blues, greens, oranges, and yellows to decorate my home. As Old Havana is blend of Afro-Spanish c...

Written by Sophia Bass The Economist article provides insight into the lives of Cuba’s cigar-factory workers. Lectores have been reading at cigar factories since 1865, when Nicolas Azcarate, a leader of a movement for political reform, proposed that education should be instilled in the minds of factory workers. Cigar workers began listening to texts such as “The Count of Monte Cristo,” as they were stuck in the monotony of making cigars. These texts helped factory workers to take their minds off of tedious labor while also providing workers an education. Many believe that the influence of the texts on cigar workers contributed to Cuba’s independence from Spain. Today, nearly 200 Lectores are still in Cuba. While Cuba’s merchandise exports fell by 33% in 2016, Cigars continue to be one of the leading export industries as they rose by 5% to $445m. UNESCO is considering to designate la lectura as a form of “cultural heritage” to help keep it going throughout Cuba. “This is the only job...

To Soltura Cuba Travelers, You may have heard the news regarding Trump’s policy on Cuba. We want to assure you of what the facts are as we know them on the ground. The announcement made by the State Department should have no effect on our trip. The US media has been confusing some of the facts. For example, one media source announced that Cuba was no longer issuing tourist visas to Americans, while the truth is that the US embassy is no longer issuing visas to Cubans who wish to visit the US. This is simply because there will not be enough embassy staff to process visas for Cubans. We want to assure you that there is no negative sentiment here toward US citizens. In fact the entire security force of Cuba has been fully cooperating with the US in the investigation into the sonic incidents that damaged a few embassy workers. Several highly regarded US scientists have concluded that it would have been impossible to have intentionally done this. It was likely faulty covert listening device...