This picture is from a folkloric show I saw that was largely drawn from Santerian traditional stories. I've got to say that I enjoyed more of the drum-based Afro-Cuban music that the constant covers of Guantanamera and hits of the Buena Vista Social Club (as appealing as they are). Which brings me to tourism in Cuba. Lonely Planet (or perhaps Time Out) makes reference to the possibly Faustian deal the Cubans have made with tourism. There's definitely problems. The most inherent one is that in creating a double economy (local pesos and tourist money - sometimes confusingly, also pesos) Castro has, in my opinion, placed a rot at the very heart of his communist/socialist (depends which day) ideal. In effect, the Cuban pesos function more as a ration system - they get you what you need to survive, but much more of them wouldn't make that much of a difference. For that you need tourist pesos (since US dollars were taken out of circulation) and so many locals will do whatever it takes to get them. With these you can buy all the "luxuries" that you can't with your "salary". Things like televisions, but also soap, and even just food that doesn't suck. If you consider that the average monthly wage is something like $US15, you can see that anyone who finds a way to nab some tourist cash is going to be pretty tempted to not bother with a regular job, and it seems that many of them do that. Of course, external remittances make a huge contribution to this system. The longer I spent there, the more ridiculous the whole thing seems, and especially the posturing that happens on both sides of the Florida Strait. Castro is still trying to sell what is becoming a complete lie - the economy and society would collapse without all those sending money back into Cuba, and is just, if not more, guilty of ridiculous propaganda to further his argument. Meanwhile Bush feels the need to tighten an embargo that is so wrong in terms of international law, not to mention basic morality and decency. There are so many interesting, frustrating and complex arguments here (ask me in person, and I'll happily get out my soap box) - but this is one of the great parts about experiencing Cuba. I've also realised that democracy has become the emptiest word in the English language.
