Connecting to Cuba

Connecting to Cuba

A delegation of Seattle businesses leaders traveled to Havana and
explore the opportunities of an alliance between the Northwest and Cuba.
KING 5's Jake Whittenberg was the only journalist on that trip.
Jake Whittenberg, KING 11:00 PM. PDT May 04, 2016

It's one of the most talked about countries in the world, but it's a
place you probably know almost nothing about.

Cuba and the U.S. are opening up to each other, which allowed a
delegation of Seattle business leaders to travel recently to Havana to
explore the opportunities of a Northwest-Cuba alliance.

Welcome to a place just a short flight from U.S. soil, but a world away.
Bursting with energy beyond its ancient walls, Cuba is an emotional
place, deeply rooted in music and pride in quality education.

Yet pride and poverty collide on the streets of Havana still under the
control of a Communist government, but the curtain is being drawn back
to America and the Northwest, giving a peek at what makes Cuba so special.

America's relationship with Cuba hasn't been so friendly. Since Fidel
Castro came into power and began his Cuban revolution nearly 60 years
ago, Cuba and U.S. severed ties, leaving America and Cuba cut off from
each other.

When the Communist Soviet Union fell in the 1990s, the Cubans fell
further into poverty, and decades of Cubans lived in fear of being
persecuted for their religious and political beliefs.

Six decades later and still under Castro's rule, Cuba appears frozen in
time. Classic American cars from the 1950s and 1960s are a colorful
indicator of when the U.S. embargo began.

But as U.S.- Cuban relations now thaw, we find the newer generation of
Cubans with a brighter future.

In Cuba, we met Sol Bockelie, a med student from Seattle now in his
third year at the Latin American School of Medicine in Havana. Unlike
most countries, education is free in Cuba, and he's learning from a
world renowned healthcare system because of the doctors' ability to
accomplish so much with so few resources.

Just in the past six months, Bockelie has noticed a change in the Cuba
he's known for two years.

"You just kind of feel a sense of excitement in the air with Cubans,
with a lot of hope," said Bockelie. "There is so much about these
cultures that we can learn from them, and they can learn from us."

And part of the excitement are business leaders from the Northwest,
organized by the Seattle Chamber of Commerce. They've traveled 3,000
miles to lay eyes on Cuba for the first time and see its potential.

"We don't know, but we are hopeful that there will be more direct trade
relations and business connections," said King County Executive Dow
Constantine. The people, the country, have tremendous value, and I
think what a lot of the Cubans I've talked to have been interested in,
is finding a way to realize some of that value."

But there is a long way to go. In the suburbs of Havana far from the
hotels, families are making do with next to nothing.

Many of them, like Raphael and his sisters, get by on meager government
food rations. Empty bottles make up their liquor cabinet, but he shows
us full rain barrels on the roof, which provide the water they need.

Even a doctor makes about $75 a month in Cuba.

But tiny examples of Western influence are weaving their way into
people's lives. The streets are filled with tourists. Famous Obispo
Street is alive with activity and abuzz with talk of much more expected
to arrive.

Cuba is bracing for as many as 10 million American tourists per year.
Yes, the communist government still rules the land, but with the tides
changing in Cuba, its people are winning.

Follow Jake Whittenberg this month as he reveals more from his
experience on streets of Cuba. Connecting to Cuba continues Thursday on
the KING 5 Morning News with a look at Cuba's amazing education system
and how you can get to Cuba yourself.

Source: Connecting to Cuba | KING5.com -
http://www.king5.com/news/local/seattle/connecting-to-cuba/171699506