Despite hardships, Cubans take pride as the island opens up to U.S. travelers

Not long ago, listening to “Sympathy for the Devil” while wearing tight pants could get a young Cuban thrown into one of Fidel Castro’s prisons.

But soon, the Rolling Stones will play Havana. The concert will be free; the pants, tight.

Not long ago, showing off bat-and-glove skills for an American scout could get a young Cuban yanked from his field of dreams to toil in a field of sugar cane. But soon, the island’s best will face a Major League team while Barack Obama watches from the stands.

A new day is dawning in Cuba.

A 1955 Chevy Bel Air is one of thousands of old American cars that still fill the streets of Havana. Cubans lucky enough to keep the cars running now ferry tourists around town for about $40 an hour -- twice what the average Cuban earns in a month.

The sun sets on the rooftops of the Old City. Eighty percent of the buildings in Havana were constructed between 1900 and 1958, before the American embargo took effect. Many are now in urgent need of repair.

A city of over 2 million people, Havana may be the world's sexiest ruin. Many Cubans are worried about the social and environmental effects of an influx of tourists.

A band and a group of stilt dancers whip around the streets of Old Havana, attracting crowds of visitors. Though Americans are finally normalizing relations with Cuba, tourists from South America, Canada and Europe have been visiting for generations.

The streets of Old Havana are full of texture and color, and Cubans are fiercely proud of their island's soul. "Freedom, for me, goes beyond material things," said one translator.

Local teens play soccer in the city after school. Cubans enjoy free education, as well as free health care. With a vast network of family doctors, they have lower infant mortality than Americans, and, according to some statistics, longer lifespans.

It's common to find abandoned construction sites around Havana, some overgrown with vegetation, giving each site a form and character of its own.

Viñales, Cuba, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to some of the world's most fertile soil, perfect for producing the tobacco used to make the country's prized cigars.

A farmer drives his oxen through the small-town streets of Viñales. Visitors to the countryside see another side of Cuba.

The southernmost point in the United States, Key West sits just 90 miles from the Cuban shoreline. Cuba gets 3 million tourists a year; the state of Florida receives 92 million.

Cuba's allure

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When commercial flights resume this year, neighbors separated by 90 miles of salt water and 50 years of suspicion will have their first chance to get acquainted.

And if the Stones can rock, and Obama can visit, America must have won the Cold War’s last battle, right?

If revelers in South Beach can zip down to El Floridita for a daiquiri, it won’t be long before the Bay of Pigs is invaded by Starbucks and Pizza Hut, and any minute now, Havana will look just like Miami, right?

Wrong.

A how-to guide to visiting Cuba that finally makes sense

Life of frustrations

For one thing, the Paris of the Caribbean may be the world’s sexiest ruin, but it is still a ruin.

The ’50s-era Fords and Chevys may be charming, but Havana’s ‘50s-era water and power make for a life of endless frustration. The Old City’s plumbing is in such bad shape, they have to ration water – in the tropics.

Meanwhile, the Cuban government still demands 51% ownership of any foreign-owned business. How many American companies are willing to spend millions to partner with a communist regime unable to guarantee running water?

Outside of Havana, much of the country lives like it’s the 1850s, eating what they grow. Since the government has allowed folks to open restaurants or Airbnb-friendly “casa particulars,” an entire generation is getting its first taste of capitalism.

But despite the challenges, almost everyone I met voiced not frustration, but pride. Pride in their resolve and their galvanized communities. While some criticized bureaucracy, all seem to believe in the ideals of revolution while casting a wary eye on the materialism that comes with the American dream.

I boarded my first flight to Cuba expecting to find 11 million pent-up capitalists waiting on the other side; 11 million small-d democrats just waiting for the Castros to die so they could turn their feral paradise back into the millionaire’s playground last seen in “Godfather II.”

But what I found blew the mind of this Cold War kid.

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