Havana good time: Cuba - Lonely Planet Travel Video

Traveller and film maker Martin Watego gives the lowdown on Havana, one of the world's most iconic cities and winds it up with some old-time Cuban fun at the Tropicana.
Produced by Martin Watego for Lonelyplanet.tv

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[quantumat]

Cuba is definitely a beautiful island. I also find it ironic, with these tourism oriented travel videos, that the Cubans themselves can't travel freely. The tourists come to the island primarily to admire the natural beauty and the pre-Castro "capitalist architecture" like the Tropicana night club, Bacardi Rum art deco building, International Hotel, etc. - all products of Cuba's golden era. You can really see the sharp contrast of the post Castro ugly architecture when you travel there.

[quantumat]

I've traveled to Cuba and agree it's Castro's inept system that has brought that once thriving nation into third world status. When was the last time you visited Cuba? Remember, Castro can buy all the products he wants from Mexico, which is very close by. The problem is, he has nothing to trade. There is no incentive to work in Cuba today. One thriving industry, however, which gets a lot of business from tourists, is prostitution. One of Castro's legacies.

[franmandc]

Yeah well. It doesn't help that there is an embargo. I guarantee that every nation in Latin America would be in the exact same condition (some of us in Latin America are actually worse) if we had an embargo imposed upon us. Cuba would be adifferent nation if this did not exist.

[ARCHDIVERALPHATEAM]

@Pvjinflight Thank you for proving my point. The original farming Cubans were deemed illiterate by the early Regime. These were the farmers who produced the food: milk, meat, greens, coffee, cheese, rice, fish etc... those people moved away from the farms to the cities. Smart cubans , non-regime collaberators (2.5 million) roam this planet as exiles. They were born there and now need a visa to enter there own homeland

The embargo is a JOKE,, buy from China, Spain, even Tyson chicken from USA.

[Pvjinflight]

@ARCHDIVERALPHATEAM Medical clinics of pre fidel were maybe better equipped as there was no embargo to stop them from getting US medicine, but there was many times less of them and only rich could use them. Literature rate was tens of percents lower pre Fidel time than its now.

I think that USA is biggest evil, and not just because of Cubas situation but also many more reasons, and no one can turn my head with american propaganda like that. Viva Fidel, Viva Cuba free from americans!

[ARCHDIVERALPHATEAM]

@Pvjinflight your mistaken and got feed a regime line of BS. The medical clinics of pre fidel were better equipt and better staffed than they are today. The Universities in Cuba predate Fidel also. INDOCTRINATION is not education. For some reason millions have fled the repressive regime. Recently a young man found frozen to death in the wheelwell of an Airliner departing Havana landing in Madrid. Blaming the USA is an old FIDEL PLOY along with the story of the invasion and Combate.

[Pvjinflight]

Without Castro Cuba would be like Haiti now, ruined by US supported capitalist dictators that have tortured and killed huge amount of people, and stolen all money from people. US government didint give a shit what those dictators did as long as they were against communism.

USA is the biggest evil, long life Castro!

[Pvjinflight]

Also without horrible acts of US government criminals Cuba could have more freedom of speech, but you cant really allow everything if you are bordering with huge unfriendly superpower who has tried to kill your leader hundreds of times and would just destroy Cuba and make it same kind of US muppet where people have no future.

Also remember that prostitution is much bigger problem (?) in many capitalist countries, like Thailand.

[Pvjinflight]

So basically before Castro Cuba had good economy, but small amount of people got all that money, most normal cubans had poverty. After collapse of Soviet Union and with american illegal embargo Cubas economy has fallen, but its rising thanks to tourism, and normal cubans have much better life than they had during Batistas times. Ofc theres no freedom of speech, but Batista was dictator too you idiots, so it wasnt there even before Castro. At least people can live now.

[Pvjinflight]

During Batista´s capitalist US muppet government only rich people were happy and Havana was little Las Vegas of US mafiosos. Normal people got no good healthcare and education, life expectancy of newborn was less than 60 years. Now, Castro has given his country good healthcare, and thanks to it Cuba has life expectancy rate of 78 years, same that USA has and better than any other Caribbean island state. Also theres many times more doctors per number of citizens, and good literature rate.

[Pvjinflight]

@ARCHDIVERALPHATEAM BUULLLSHIT, its AMERICAN embargo which has caused Cubas economy to collapse together with collapse of their main trading partner, Soviet Union. Castros regime has not murdered thousands, unlike american soldiers have killed hundreds of thousands civilians all around the world. Before Castro during 50´s normal people had no good education and healthcare, life expectancy of newborn was less than 60 years.

[ARCHDIVERALPHATEAM]

Castro's repressive regime has murdered thousands and the reason 2.5 million Cubans live ELSEWHERE. Check out who is ORLANDO ZAPATA TAMAYO, his skull broken while jailed in Cuba. News that does not make it to the onesided Government owned GRANMA newspaper. Life in Cuba sucks and the reason many jump on rafts and innertubes and risk it in the Shark infested Atlantic ocean.