According to the documentary film, Inside Cuba (Part 1) BBC Our World Documentary, Cuba is a country of contrasting phase, constituting a home of the rich at one point, then the home to a major revolution at a different time and in the modern time, a popular tourism destination. One factor though, which transcends all these changing faces of the country, is its perennial conflicts with the United States, which does not seem to have a near end. The American embargo that has lasted for over half a century has been a major factor affecting the overall average Cuban citizen’s life (Kenedi & Miller, 2003). Nevertheless, the country has tried to thrive despite the slap of the trade sanction from the United States, even though under very harsh economic and social conditions. There are constant visitors coming to the Caribbean Island for tourism, but the Cubans are on the other and in a constant search for opportunities to leave the country.
The film Inside Cuba (Part 1) BBC Our World underlines the fact that Cubans had pitched great hopes in the coming of President Obama to the white house, with the hope that the President Obama’ administration would change its ideological and foreign policy attitude towards Cuba. Nevertheless, President Obama did not bring the desired change, instead letting the relations between Cuba and the United States remain as strained as it has ever been historically. The social space for the Cubans is also highly limited, with the police constantly patrolling not only the streets but also around homes. The freedom of speech is curtailed, while the travel inter-provinces are also curtailed to a larger extent (Ward, 1978).
Equally, the political space for the Cuban people is also largely limited, considering that the communist party of Cuba has sustained a socialist system of role since 1965, despite the glaring challenges that such a socialist system has brought to the people of Cuba (Kenedi & Miller, 2003). Thus, the hope of the Cuban people have been pegged ion the United States change of its ideological and foreign policy approach towards Cuba, which would lift the trade embargo, and as a result being both economic and social reprieve for the people.
Nevertheless, the culture of the Cuban people is still intact. The country is characterized by multiethnic cultures, which when combined gives the tourists to the Caribbean Island a wide variety of fascinations (Ward, 1978). The ballet dancing culture is still popular in the country, with children as young as fourteen years putting up with extended periods of practice, to prove to the world that Cuba has a special talent for this kind of dance. The documentary film, Inside Cuba (Part 2) BBC Our World Documentary, offers that most especially, the Cuban culture is defined by the Cigar tradition, as characterized by the annual Cigars festival, which is celebrated with fabulous pomp and color. The Cuban cigars remain the major export product from the country, with one brand of the cigars being priced as highly as fifty U.S. dollars, which is also equal to the average monthly salary of a Cuban. Tourism is also a major economic activity for the country, which provides the country with much of the hard foreign exchange currency.
The urban and the rural economies are equally challenging, although some of the rural farmers can make more economically than the urban professionals. The trade embargo has largely been blamed for the economic woes that face the country (Kenedi & Miller, 2003). The land ownership problem has also accounted for the economic hardships that Cuba has been facing, considering that most of the farmers do not own the land, but rather lease it to make a profit. Regardless of the fact that Raul Castro, has tried to institute some economic changes that would allow the economy of the country to grow, Cuba is still getting poorer rather than richer, owing to the country’s political framework, which highly restricts international trade.
Cuba could be said to have changed very little since the colonial eras, especially because the communism ideology has kept the country fixed in its traditional ways, even when the rest o the world is changing rapidly (Ward, 1978). The window to visit Cuba has become a major opportunity for the Americans, who have endured the restrictions to travel to the country for over 50 years (Kenedi & Miller, 2003). The opportunity for the Americans to travel to Cuba is especially fascinating, because they are interested in setting their eyes on the actual state of the country, before it is finally transformed by the post-Castrol regimes.
- Kenedi, A., & Miller, J. (2003). Inside Cuba: The history, culture and politics of an outlaw nation. New York: Marlowe.
- Ward, F. (1978). Inside Cuba today. New York: Crown Publishers.