Travelers Tales Cuba by Tom Miller - Book Report/Review Example

Travelers Tales Cuba Introduction: The short stories presented in Miller’s book deal with a variety of s and describe the experiences of different travellers in the country, most of them American. These stories reveal how the Communist rule within the country has given rise to a culture that is complex and appears to have underlying currents that cannot always be explained on the basis of surface appearances. The Revolution for Communist values produces an abhorrence of capitalistic values and the greed inherent in individual gains; but the reality of how it works may be quite different in practice. As detailed in the analysis below, many of the stories in Miller’s book reveal the strong passions and emotions churning below an apparently placid, don’t-carish kind of surface. They reveal the eternal fascination Cubans really feel for their closest and apparently most hated neighbour, the United States of America, because their American tourist cousins are seen as sources of money that can be easily exploited. Analysis: The first short story titled “the Bus” details one specific journey of the author, Eduardo Galeano on the gagua, or bus no: 68, in which he travels to the library every day. It details the incidents of a particular day, where a bus driver leaves his bus midway along the route to flirt with a woman. Undeterred by this, one of the passengers calmly takes over the driving. This clearly illustrates the different mind-set of customers in Cuba as compared to those in capitalist nations, where excellent levels of customer service are essential in every business. Unlike people in capitalist nations, people in Cuba are used to disorder, the lack of punctuality and the element of the unexpected; hence they simply take it in their stride, as if realizing the futility of getting mad. In Stone’s story, at the police station, there is a sign that literally reads, “Prohibido enfardase”, which when translated means “It is forbidden to get mad.” As Stone infers, “Presumably, this was also directed to the public...”(Miller, 2001:73). In this story, the author also describes how some youths jumped on them during their visit to Floridita and stole their bags, but despite purportedly being a Communist police State, the response is not in the least prompt and the police take their own sweet time to arrive. The protagonists in the short story titled “From tip to tail” are also the victims of a robbery while on a cycling tour across Cuba. In this instance, they go to the police and find themselves answering the same questions innumerable times and at one point, the author says “it hits me: he isn’t trying to help me, he’s trying to trip me up. He thinks I’m lying.” (Miller, 2001:132). They finally convince the police that they have a genuine complaint, but the inefficiency of the police is revealed yet again when the author and his cycling partner are asked to identify whether their thief is among a line-up of individuals. They are assured they will examine them through a one way screen, but in reality it is through an aperture where the suspects can see the author and his friend as clearly as they can see them. But to the Cubans, this is just their normal way of doing business. As Hynton states, “The Cuban economy doesn’t adhere to market principles; you pay whatever the Cuban Government feels like charging, which is more than you’d like to pay.” (Miller, 2001:135). Most of these stories about Cuba present the inherent, underlying contradiction that is Cuba – allegedly anti-capitalist and failingly loyal to Communist values versus the attraction that seems to exist for America and American values of democracy and freedom. As compared to other countries, the Cuban psychology appears much more complex, because of the undercurrents below the surface. Pico Iyer sums it up as follows: “there is in Cuba some indefinable air of adventure and possibility. I never want to sleep in Cuba. And when I return home, I find that it still haunts me like some distant rumba....”(Miller, 2001:6). This mysterious, haunting element existing below the surface functions like a strong magnetic force that draws visitors to Cuba, but at the same time, it is like a veneer that conceals the rotting structure of society underneath. This is illustrated by Michener, who in describing the luxurious, handsome houses at EL Cerro, points out that behind their magnificent facades, the mansions had fallen into decay, revealing a “mournful effect of six magnificent Greek columns hiding a mansion that no longer existed.” (Miller, 2001:18). Hence, the strange magnetism that Cuba is endowed with both attracts and repels, so that it justifies the kind of statements that have been made about it: “For more than forty years, Cuba has been hard to embrace and impossible to let go.” (Miller, 2001:67). The state is Communist, and the outward appearance belies the actual state of affairs, which is also depicted in Stone’s short story. This describes the Communist police station which is painted in the correct precinct green and even has cops who look exactly like Irish American cops in New York in their dress and demeanour rather than Communist. In their demeanour and conduct of affairs, they display a lack of caring and attention to their duties that belies the fierce loyalty that is ascribed to Communist values and the benefits that the people of Cuba have purportedly derived from it. The underlying attraction to America and Americans as well as tourists from western countries appears to be directed towards the wealth they possess as citizens of capitalistic states. This factor combined with the restrictions placed on people due to the Communist rule in the country perhaps serves to explain the need for release that manifests itself through the uninhibited dancing that Cubans engage in. Cantor’s short story “Bring on the Americans” specifically discusses the teeming, thriving night life in Cuban cities and the explicitly sexual dancing that takes place. Cuba and Cubans appear to have a love/hate relationship with America; while they staunchly support the revolution and pursue an anti capitalistic stance, they also appear to be seeking to attract America and Americans due to the underlying perception that ultimately America and Americans things are good. Cantor’s short story “Bring on the Americans” describes the entire night of dancing and then ends with the inebriated words of one fan, “Bring on the Americans!” These stories also demonstrate the strange contradictions that exist within the country. The Cuban revolution purportedly brought liberation and freedom to the Cuban people. But in reality, the poor in the country appear to have received little by way of monetary benefits and an improvement in their living standards. This could also serve to explain the fascination for American things and people, because American tourists are viewed as sources of money, such that their generosity can be easily exploited. American tourists have been presented with a picture of Cuba in the media that may be somewhat far removed from the reality. The portrayal of Cuba is that of a country that has rejuvenated itself from the bottom up; the revolution in Cuba has reached out to touch all Cubans; it’s a “social experiment, a grand sweeping vision....”(Miller, 2001:138). As a result, American tourists who have been flooded with such ideas and visit Cuba with the intent of watching the social experiment in execution, end up finding the reality instead – a Cuba where theft and exploitation take place. They are disappointed as they come into Cuba and encounter the reality of a nation that views them as people to be exploited; when they see the disorder and lawlessness that exist in the nation. The rural people of Cuba on the other hand, approach this from a different perspective altogether. Compared to what they had before the revolution, they find themselves in a much better position. Unlike American tourists who compare communist Cuba to their capitalist home country and are disappointed, rural Cubans compare present day Cuba to what they had before and many of them are satisfied with their country and love it. Another important aspect arising out of these short stories is the fact that external encroachment of the Communist rule into the lives of people and the loss of capitalistic incentive and individual benefit appears to have caused a strange intermingling of private and public spheres. This is demonstrated in the scant regard that appears to exist in Cuba for individual privacy. Not only is the sexual expression through dancing uninhibited, people do not consider it bad manners to stare at strangers and intrude into their privacy, leaving plenty of room for indiscretion. Ponte, in describing the feeling of being stared at on the street, describes this as the “eyes of Havana”: “There’s much of the voyeur in those gazers in the street. In Havana, one is used to looking at faces, bodies, the way a tourist examines a monument, sometimes even more brazenly.” (Miller, 2001:72). In effect, the open and unrestrained sexual expression in the country appears to be a reflection of need for freedom arising out of the internal constraints existing in Cuban society. There is a need to express solidarity with the revolutionary movement, but the purported freedom brought by this is not necessarily reflected in the lives of ordinary people who feel restricted and have become used to disorder, lawlessness and a lack of faith in the forces of law and order in the country. Conclusion: In conclusion therefore, the most important aspect that these stories bring out is the complex and contradictory nature of Cuban society when compared with other countries. These contradictions appear to arise largely from the Communist basis of the State and the need for fierce loyalty to the ideals of the movement versus the realities of poverty it has not alleviated. The simultaneous attraction and repulsion that a visitor feels for Cuba and the perception of underlying sub-currents may also arise out of these contradictions. These short stories demonstrate how the idea of the revolution and the revamping of an entire nation has an idealistic appeal in print that is belied by the reality of Cuba with its corruption, inefficiency and exploitation. This often results in tourists becoming the victims of theft and exploitation and their attractions to the unfettered sexual expression and night life of Cuba may also be disappointed by the reality of danger and corrupt police action, etc. The discordance between he idealistic view and the reality may result in an experience for tourists and a perception of Cuba that is quite different from the natives who may still view it favourably because it is better than what they had before. Reference: Miller, Tom, 2001. “Travellers’ Tales Cuba”, Retrieved October 21, 2009 from: http://www.amazon.com/reader/1885211627?_encoding=UTF8&ref_=sib%5Fdp%5Fpt#reader_1885211627 Read More