Independent News Site Covers Environmental Challenges for Cuban Neighborhoods, Communities

"En la finca, las piñas, los plátanos, los aguacates, si brotan, se caen secos..."

El ciclo de la sequía  
Caseríos de la frontera de Santiago de Cuba con Guantánamo ante la escasez de agua.  Lian Morales Heredia, 4 de Abril, 2017

"Para la mayoría de su gente, no hubo otra vida que la playa, el carbón y la pesca. Se trataba de una vida en la que eran felices y a la que muchos regresarían sin pensarlo demasiado. Pero ya no hay nada a lo que volver, salvo escombros."

Playa Rosario: memorias de un fiasco 
En 2005 se demolió un centenar de viviendas en Playa Rosario. En 2017, muchas familias permanecen todavía en albergues “temporales”. Julio Batista Rodríguez, 5 de Marzo, 2017

By Sabrina Hernández
Over the years, Cuba has suffered a number of environmental contingencies, including drought in 1998,  and again in 2011, 2013, 2014, and 2015. Severe storms and hurricanes have also hit Cuba,  including  Michelle in 2001, Gustav in 2008, Sandy in 2014, and Matthew in 2016. Periodismo de Barrio tells the stories of how neighborhoods and rural communities in Cuba are coping with environmental challenges, including climate change. These stories are rarely found in the official news media and are told from the point of view of those who are affected by these challenges. Founded by Elaine Díaz Rodríguez, a Neiman fellow who studied journalism at Harvard in 2014, Periodismo de Barrio was created in October of 2015 with a multitude of intentions.

Cuba’s first independent daily digital news outlet, 14ymedio, reports that Periodismo de Barrio’s perspective is that, “Journalism is an implicit promise of change. To be a journalist is almost as if you were to be preaching in favor of hope. When you ask someone to tell you their story, you are not only asking them to trust you, but also believing that sharing their story can help change something.”

Periodismo de Barrio, which offers comprehensive narrative and investigative journalism, is a beacon of hope for Cubans and a means to open dialogue about the necessity of independent news outlets in Cuba, according to Díaz Rodríguez. However, the very existence of this news outlet is a challenge to the Cuban Constitution, which forbids any non-state media outlet, However, Periodismo de Barrio sets out to improve the condition of freedom of expression and freedom of the press in Cuba, she notes in an interview.



(Video: Elaine Díaz explains to participants at the "Mobile Media Culture in the Americas: The Digital Divide" conference in Miami  how her news team obtains information from local community leaders and how the news reports are shared with residents of those local communities) 

“Periodismo de Barrio was created with the objective of bringing to the public the stories of communities affected by natural disasters or especially vulnerable to phenomena such as hurricanes, floods, droughts, fires, landslides, and other events caused by the incidence of man,” said 14ymedio.

Periodismo de Barrio broaches topics related to climate change, and its staff hopes that through  investigative reports offered by the news site, local governments will be better informed when it comes to making decisions for their communities.

Periodismo de Barrio does not intend to project itself as a means of opposition to the Cuban government and, in accordance, has made public its refusal of donations from any institutions that seek, or have sought in the past, the subversion of the Cuban political system. Simply, the purpose of the news site is to disseminate better information and to truthfully reflect the realities confronted by Cubans in the face of natural disasters and other events—realities that the government may be silent on or that even might run contrary to what government news sources are publishing. Precisely because of this potential conflict with official governmental press, Periodismo de Barrio demonstrates courage in their commitment to describing reality, especially when the government has a demonstrated history of imprisoning those who speak out against it.

However, Periodismo de Barrio is not immune to the reality of repression against the press in Cuba. In October of 2016, while covering the damage caused by Hurricane Matthew in Baracoa in the Guantanamo province, Díaz Rodríguez and several members of her team were arrested by government authorities. The journalists claim their arrest was illegal because Cuban legislation does not limit the exercise of journalism in areas affected by natural disasters. The Periodismo de Barrio made its position known via this editorial.

Clearly, the model of journalism proposed by Periodismo de Barrio—one whose operation is not subject to state funds—may have a ways to go before it is fully accepted by the government. However, with passion and conviction and a desire to give a greater voice to local communities, Periodismo de Barrio carries on.

Experiencing Transition in Cuba

“It is incredible to me all that has happened on the island in just a few months, and still, what awaits us doesn’t seem to be good at all,” Rubén, a doctor in one of Havana’s principal hospitals, commented at the start of 2017. “We’ve lived through some of the worst moments in the last 25 years, but [we] always had expectations that something better was coming. This time the illusions have ended,” he added, affirming that the government now has nothing to offer and is not even trying to sugarcoat the difficult circumstances."    from NotiCen, Jan. 26, 2017

(Editor's Note: Just weeks before former President Barack Obama traveled to Cuba in March 2016 to expand relations with the island nation, Sabrina Hernández and two fellow travelers visited the island.  Even then, there was a sense of optimism about the pending improvement of relations between the US and Cuba, as Obama and Cuban leader Raúl Castro had announced the resumption of bilateral relations in December of 2015. Fast forward to January of 2017, and that sense of optimism has been replaced by extreme concerns about the future, as Daniel Vázquez reported in the Jan. 26 issue of NotiCen. Here is Sabrina's account (including pictures) of what she and fellow travelers encountered during a trip to Havana, Las Terrazas, Viñales and Trinidad between mid-February and early March 2016).

Sabrina Hernández (right) and her friend Erika

By Sabrina Hernández
Only a year ago I traveled to Cuba with my sister and a friend, and the situation we encountered was one of hope and optimism as our trip coincided with former President Barack Obama’s normalizing of Cuban relations. We planned our trip not knowing that Obama would visit the island nation two weeks later. Aware of Obama’s impending visit, once we arrived in Cuba, we were bombarded with questions about our opinions of the then US president, and Cubans marveled at this historical moment. Excitement was palpable; as palpable as the money to be earned by an influx of U.S. tourists. Former President Jimmy Carter visited the island nation in 2011, but no other U.S. executive had been there since Calvin Coolidge in 1928.

After years of dreaming of Cuba, my sister and I finally decided to pull the trigger and planned our trip for February/March of 2016. Our friend Erika accompanied us. We flew from San Francisco International Airport to Cancún, and from Cancún, we caught our flight to Havana via AeroMexico. Arriving at the airport in Havana was surreal and one of the first things we experienced was the lasting legacy of Che Guevara: upon arrival we were asked to present our insurance cards as we would have to purchase costly per day insurance if we did not have our own. This unique requirement pays homage to the memory of the co-liberator of the country, Che Guevara, and his medical pursuits. From the airport we took a taxi to our lodging arranged through the Airbnb site. Initially I had been opposed to the idea of booking a place via Airbnb, since I was intent on having the most authentic experience possible. I wanted to stay in a casa particular.

Comfortable accommodations
A casa particular is the home of a Cuban family who rent out a room to guests. The rates are more or less fixed throughout the country (or, at least the western half of the country) at US$25/night for a single traveler, or US$35/night for a room with two beds. We learned that in Cuba--a country that can be costly to navigate because budget hostels and affordable do not transportation exist--three is the magic number in terms of  affordable travel. Every room we stayed in had both a full sized bed, and a twin bed. My sister and I split the full size bed, and my friend took the single bed. Thus, we split $35/night three-ways. By booking through Airbnb, I learned that this booking site can indeed provide an authentic experience--it offers a  new platform for casa particular owners to reach prospective guests.

Ichel was our host in Havana and we couldn’t have asked for anyone better. She was sweet and lovely and also an amazing cook. The best dinner I had during my whole two week trip throughout the western half of the island was the pork and yucca al mojo cooked by our host. The pork was so soft, tender, and flavorful that we asked her if it was beef. She told us that it was pork and that the difference was that Cuban pigs are happy and fed very well.

While we booked three nights in Havana in advance of our arrival, we did not make any further accommodations beyond our stay in Havana. As is common, Ichel took the liberty of asking us about our plans and phoning people she knew in the places we wanted to visit to arrange for us to stay in their homes. From everything I read prior to arriving in Cuba, this is an extremely common practice. However, with the advent of thawing US-Cuban relations, tourism was up dramatically and the ability to walk up to a casa particular – demarcated by a little triangle on the exterior of the house – and find vacancy was a thing of the past. Tourism was up and housing availability was down.

From Havana, our next stop was to Las Terrazas, an ecological oriented village on the western side of the island. While in Las Terrazas, we met agro-tourists, Matt and Liz. They are the owners of Joyfully Organic Farm and CSA service near Toronto, Canada. As farmers themselves, they were attracted to Las Terrazas and Cuba in general so that they could learn more about alternative methods of farming.

Dark roasted Cuban coffee

Home-roasted Coffee
As a former coffee professional, our casa particular in Las Terrazas was a delight because a good portion of the land adjacent to the house was used for coffee production. The owners were excited that I was interested in their coffee operation and proudly showed me a tin of their own, home-grown, home-roasted coffee. If you are a fan of specialty, trendy coffee at all, then the coffee you find in Cuba is really going to confuse you. Cuba, true to its general “existing in the past” kind of charm, prefers an extremely dark roasted and sugar laden cup of coffee – a style that saw its peak in the beginning to middle of the 20th century. This method of preparation and consumption  is not everyone’s cup of tea, err, cup of coffee. I found it so refreshing to experience something entirely different from what I knew. I made a point to consume Cuban coffee everywhere I went. I took the opportunity to speak to Cubans about their coffee every chance I could, and let me tell you, coffee is a great conversational jumping point in Cuba. There is a tremendous amount of pride among Cubans about their preference for coffee: fuerte. One man in Havana, so eager to share with me the strength of Cuban coffee, even bought me a café Cubano – a potent dose of Cuban coffee served in a thimble-sized cup – and administered a strict warning before I began to consume it. It was dark. It was sweet. And I was in love. Cubans even have a saying in reference to their coffee preference: “Lo tomamos muy dulce porque la vida es amarga,” or, “we drink it sweet because life is bitter.”

Tobacco leaves drying in Viñales

Tobacco country
From Las Terrazas, we took a bus to the popular site of Viñales, a UNESCO World Heritage site on the western side of the island.  This community is perhaps well known for its mogotes
(dome-like limestone outcrops) and tobacco production. It would be useful to mention that in Havana, I somehow managed to lose my tourist visa. Yes – this will forever be a low point in my life when I consider my personal responsibility, management, and organizational skills. Losing a visa in a country that has exceedingly strict regulations on, well, everything, is especially daunting. However, Ichel, the wonderful woman in whose home we stayed in Havana, accompanied us to the Havana immigration office where we learned that losing my visa just meant we needed to get to the airport at least five hours ahead of flight back to Cancun. Inconvenient? Absolutely. But overall, a serendipitous resolution to a problem I was certain would be much more serious.

Varadero

So the rest of the trip was going to be worry free, right? That was true until we arrived at Viñales. In  that commmunity, we found that hosts in casa particulares were generally pretty terrified when they realized I did not have my tourist visa. I should add that at every casa particular, immediately upon checking in, you are asked to complete a page in their government issued guest book. These books are tightly regulated by the government. Previously, none of the hosts gave me too much grief about not having my visa, but in Viñales, the experience was totally different. Hosts did not want to accommodate us because they feared what would happen if and when the government took a look at their guestbook and noticed my visa number missing. There is a lot to unpack here and their fear was not without reason.

A feast in  Viñales

It is only recently that Cubans have even been permitted to fraternize with tourists. Previously, any Cuban caught socializing with a tourist could be arrested and thrown in jail for “bothering” tourists. Cubans were not allowed to go to tourist hot spots such as the pristine turquoise beaches in Varadero. Even today, beef and various seafoods are designated for tourist consumption only. When you consider this in conjunction with that fact that we were tourists from the United States, the fear was entirely justified.

But why is Viñales so different from the rest of the country?  It might be useful to read Insurgent Cuba by Ada Ferrer, for a perspective on why the situation might be different in Viñales than other parts of the country. Ferrer writes that during the various attempts for independence, the westernmost areas of the island were staunchly opposed to independence. The predominantly Spanish populations of the west, compared with Afro-Cuban populations of the east,  preferred to remain a Spanish colony and to abide by the laws established.

We ultimately found accommodation with a woman whose husband worked for the immigration office in Viñales (and on the condition that we go to the office the very next morning to sort things out and acquire a visa so she could document the number in her guest book). After that fiasco was settled, we spent three to four days in Viñales. We made a day trip to Cayo Jutias, took tours of tobacco farms, and ate a lot of ham sandwiches. In Viñales, we ended up finding both Matt and Liz and Florence and Justin (a  French couple we had met en route to Las Terrazas). In order to remain in contact, we began to utilize a note system; we would stop by their casa particular, and if they were not there at the moment, we would leave them a written note informing them of our plans for the day and inviting them to join any part that they were able. In the absence of technological innovation, we reverted to passing notes.

Mojitos in Trinidad

Better mojitos in Trinidad
When we  finished exploring Viñales, we caught a bus to Trinidad. Again, the “Cuba-is-not-economically-friendly” truism reemerges. The bus ride was not all that cheap, yet, it was the most affordable option. As someone who has traveled “on a shoe-string” throughout Latin America, I find it worth mentioning as many tourists are often surprised at how Cuba can be so taxing on the wallet.
 
Trinidad, close to the center of the island, was far and away my favorite location, a lovely colonial site rich and vibrant with culture.  As we moved east from Viñales and other sites,  the cultural changes are noticeable. The mojitos in Trinidad were sublime and better than those that I encountered in Havana.

Overall, my trip to Cuba was a wonderful and unforgettable experience. My experience of the western half of the Island left me hungry to get to know the eastern half. Living for two weeks without connection to the outside world was an inexperience in and of itself – one that my worrisome father was none too thrilled about. That I got to know another culture, another way of living, and an entirely new way of being, is something that I won’t take for granted.

Rating Havana's Private Restaurants

By Carlos Navarro
The private restaurant business was born in Cuba in the 1990s when the government authorized individuals and families to use their homes to serve prepared foods to the public. (This was in the midst of the so-called Special Period, a time when the loss of subsidies from the Soviet Union caused the Cuban economy to collapse). Tourism remained one of the few bright spots in the Cuban economy.  (See our coverage in NotiCen, March 5, 1998).

The private restaurants, which became an alternative to the state-run eateries serving the tourist industry, came to be known as paladares (coining a term from the Brazilian soap opera Vale Tudo).

We covered the evolution of the paladares in the LADB news service. "These started with seating authorized for only 12, but recently the number has been increased to 50," Mike Leffert wrote in NotiCen, March 3, 2005. At the end of 2011, it was estimated that there were almost 1,500 of these restaurants, the majority in Havana. "On her only visit to Havana in 1999, Queen Sofía of Spain dined on her first night in the country at La Guarida, a bastion of self-employment and good food," Daniel Vázquez said in NotiCen, June 28, 2012

The future became even brighter for the private restaurants (and similar operations like bed and breakfasts) with new reforms enacted by President Raúl Castro's administration in 2014. "Thousands of Cuban entrepreneurs, who for the past two decades have maintained their own small restaurants despite government restrictions, can now look to the future with more optimism after President Castro's regime announced that greater opportunities would be offered in order to grow the culinary sector and that private hands would manage part of what, until now, has been state-run food services," Vázquez wrote in  NotiCen, Oct. 30, 2014.

With the early focus and still-prevalent attention on the tourist industry, travel sites like TripAdvisor, Cuba Restaurant Guide, LaHabana.com and others began to offer visitors to Cuba reviews about the private eateries.  In 2012, the British newspaper The Guardian, published a list of the Top 10 paladares in Havana.

A huge downside 
A major downside to the growth in private restaurants is that all the high-quality food is going to the tourism industry. "Tourists are quite literally eating Cuba’s lunch. Thanks in part to the United States embargo, but also to poor planning by the island’s government, goods that Cubans have long relied on are going to well-heeled tourists and the hundreds of private restaurants that cater to them, leading to soaring prices and empty shelves," The New York Times said in an article published on Dec. 8, 2016.  This is a topic that we would like to address in a future post.

Cuba Paladar: The Voice of Local Reviewers
The  more than 20-year-old private restaurant sector has also become an option for some Cuban citizens in Havana and other parts of the island, especially as an easing of economic restrictions has promoted the growth of the middle class on the island. With this segment of the Cuban population now going to private restaurants, a group of enterprising young professionals developed a new site a couple of years ago called Cuba Paladar. "We are a small and dynamic group of young professionals who have developed this site specilizing in the culinary criticism of Cuban cuisine," said the organizers.  "Our team visits each establishment, evaluating the quality and the creativity of the food, the service, the environment and the relationship between quality and the prices that are charged."

Cuba Paladar separates the eateries into three categories: restaurants, cafeterias and bars. (As of Dec. 30, only the restaurants category was active). The site offers an easy search mechanism to the reviews posted by Cuba Paladar raters, as well as opportunities for others who have dined at each of the establishments to offer their own two cents on those eateries. "We have an interactive space where readers can participate with comments, criticisms, votes and recommendations, although the popular vote does not always match our specialized ratings," said site creators (led by Rodrigo Huaimachi and Jessica Rodríguez).

The team--which includes more than two dozen critics, advisors, directors--hopes to keep expanding the operation. "Cuba Paladar is a non-profit and autonomous project of art and culinary criticism," said the organizers. "We hope to become a national and international reference site on Cuban cuisine."

Rating the Restaurants where UNM Group Dined
Cuba Paladar offers reviews for three of the restaurants where visitors from a University of New Mexico tour group dined during a visit to Havana in December 2016.

The group traveled to the Cuban capital to experience and learn about Art Deco and other historical and cultural landmarks in Havana.  We also attended the main events of the Havana Plaza Jazz Festival, featuring Cuban jazz icons Chucho Valdés, Roberto Fonseca and Omara Portoundo, and international performers Terence Blanchard, Christian McBride and Fatoumata Diawara.

I start with brief impressions of six restaurants that we visited, followed by the Cuba Paladar review of three of those eateries, and Trip Advisor reviews. Please note that my personal assessment does not necessarily match those of my fellow travelers. Also, let me say up front that the food at the private restaurants was far superior to the offerings from two state-run eateries where we at lunch. One of those state-run restaurants La Torre, made up for its ordinary offerings with a spectacular view of Havana from up above.

Grilled fish goes well with rice and beans

La Paila Fonda
Our view: This restaurant was a welcome treat on our first night in Havana, after waiting several hours for our luggage to be downloaded from the Cubana aircraft that brought us to the Cuban capital. The scent of grilled food permeated the site, and the offerings were quite good. A few of us went back on another night to dine at the same place. One member of our group especially liked the grilled lobster tail. The moros y cristianos (rice and black beans cooked together) was outstanding.

Here is a review of La Paila Fonda from Marisel Morejón Barbán of Cuba Paladar in October 2015. "This restaurant in the heart of the Vedado neighborhood and only a block away from the main thoroughfare known as La Rampa, This is not where you expect to find a place that typifies a Cuban ranch. Highlighted by a colorful environment and the open-air layout, this restaurant has been operating for only a little more than a year. During this time, it has gained a loyal clientele, which favors the low prices and high quality provided by this eatery. Simple and harmonious, the decorations invite the customers to sit and enjoy food served in a country environment. The ample space allows clients to choose where they want to sit..Known for its delicious grilled meats and by the economical suggestions from the chef, one can choose between  several entrees ranging between 2.95 and 11.00 CUCs (1 Cuban Convertible Peso is equivalent to US$1.00).

TripAdvisor Reviews generally concur with Cuba Paladar. Here is one from a satisfied customer, who rated the restaurant in December 2016. "The place sits on top of a little hill and is nicely decorated. There is a charming romantic patio. My husband had ropa vieja which was excellent and I had fish which could be best described as filling. Not bad but not good either. The extras that came with it were very good though."
'

Lobster tail San Cristóbal

San Cristóbal
Our View: We were excited to dine at the same restaurant where President Barack Obama and his family ate during a visit to Cuba to formalize the restoration of relations between the two countries. The food and ambience was excellent, although our space was a little cramped. I had the lobster tail, which was tasty and well prepared. The restaurant does not appear to have a website, but does host a Facebook page.

Reviewer Frank Padrón of Cuba Paladar offers his two cents on  San Cristóbal. "This is a great setting,with a good indoor climate and international and Cuba gourmet food. This has become a destination for foreign and national visitors even with its high prices.  I knew the place not only because of its reputation but because of a meal I had there two years ago,along with members of a jury from Latin American Film Festival. All of us, including the foreign visitors,  were impressed by the good service and wide variety of choices--a true delicatessen. I must acknowledge that the restaurant has maintained a high quality since then: courteous service and a large menu. However, while accepting that many of the choices are expensive, there is still an imbalance. For example, even though most of the shrimp options are offered for 10 CUC (Cuban convertible pesos. 1 CUC equals US$1.00), why is the enchilado (cooked in tomato sauce) offered for $15 CUC? What is so special about the red sauce that would cost an additional 5 CUC?

TripAdvisor Review: This review shows that restaurant pricing is in the eye of the beholder and that Westerners have a different price-rating scale. "My friends and I went here not expecting too much, as you really do not visit Cuba for the food. We had one of the best dining experiences of the trip, and one of the best ever. The food was lovely, well priced for such a wonderful restaurant and the service was flawless. After dinner we were given 15 year."

Painting of President Obama

The 'Obama Room' at  San Cristóbal
When we asked about Barack Obama, we got nothing but positive feedback because of the president's efforts to remove some restrictions with Cuba. See coverage from Daniel Vázquez in NotiCen, Jan 29, 2015 and NotiCen, March 26, 2015

One of the owners of San Cristóbal personally served the president, First Lady Michelle Obama, daughters Malia and Sasha, and Michelle's mother Marian Robinson. President Obama declined an offer of wine with his meal. "I have to work tomorrow," he joked with the server.

In the room where the Obamas dined, there is a painting of President Obama, along with a picture of the owner with the president and the first lady. 

Rabbit at La Casa

La Casa
Our View. When we came here, we were not aware that this was one of the oldest paladares to operate in Havana. One of the owners told me that the place has been operating for more than 20 years. The name La Casa reflects the early nature of the private restaurants, which were housed in a person's converted home. Because of its extensive experience in the food-service industry, La Casa has developed its own website

 I had the rabbit, which was quite tasty and prepared superbly. This is the only place where we went that offered beer that was not produced in Cuba. Our option was the Dominican beer El Presidente. The service was good, and we were serenaded by two members of a group called Trio Madrigal.

Cuba Paladar: Here is the review of La Casa by Yanko Marrero in September 2015.  "Dozens of diners, primarily foreigners, enjoyed fresh lobster recently caught from our waters.,,, \We noticed, somewhat disappointed, that there were not many healthy options available on the menu...Once the needs of the clients were met, the host engaged in conversation with diners to learn their opinion about the food.  Amid the myriad of rave reviews, it was inevitable that the news about the reestablishment of relations between the US and Cuban governments made it into the conversation. The host announced in perfect English that his family planned to open new and larger sites in the immediate future. With a sigh of hope, one did not have to wait for the hugs."

TripAdvisor This visitor, which wrote the comments in December 2016, offered a review that was typical of the reviews posted on the travel site. "Excellent visit to this homestyle restaurant. Classic Cuban food and drinks, and great atmosphere with live music. We were there with an academic tour group, so we got the full treatment. I had the Conejo (Rabbit), while others around us had the Chicken, the fish, and the lamb. All reported that they were great. Excellent rice and black bean sides, as well as desserts rounded out the meal. I would definitely go back!"

  

A true "free range" chicken El Cañonazo

Hostal y Paladar El Cañonazo

Our View: The food was good, but the ambiance really made this place. This site, which also offers lodging via its hostel, creates even more of a country atmosphere than La Paila Fonda. (The chickens running around the place and the dirt  floors in some areas add to the atmosphere). The restaurant does not appear to have its own website, but it does host a Facebook page.

Cuba Paladar: "Our critics will soon visit El Cañonazo and let us know what they think."

TripAdvisor Here is what one reviewer said in May 2016. "Having spent 10 days on the resort, we were more than ready to go for a meal somewhere else. We were not disappointed! Beautiful courtyard with chickens roaming free. Fantastic servers and a fab band. Amazing sharing platter with shrimp, lobster, pork and chicken. A little expensive for lunch time at 40 pesos (CUCs) but lovely for a special meal.

Octopus appetizer at King Bar

King Bar

Our View: We ate lunch at this location, which was memorable in many positive and negative  ways. We ate in a patio, just a few feet from a graphic sculpture, a piece that could be considered artistic in many art circles and pornographic in others. Check out the restaurant/bar's own website.This was probably the least favorite of the private restaurants among some members of our group. The choice of was primarily seafood (the octopus appetizer is shown at the left) and shrimp and fish. I thought the shrimp was OK, but not outstanding. Others thought otherwise. Reviews were also mixed for the fish. 

Cuba Paladar: "Our critics will soon visit King Bar and let us know what they think."

Trip Advisor (Two Reviews). From the standpoint of many visitors to this site, this is a great bar and nightclub.  Perhaps that  is why the location is not as great as a dining option.

"Great place to enjoy food, drinks and dance the night away. A must if you are in Havana. Highly recommended. Great value for money. An open plan seating terrace and indoors disco bar. Great atmosphera," said an English-speaking reviewer in February 2015.

Contrast that review with this one, which was written in Spanish in December 2016.  "This is a restaurant bar with a name and logo that are in bad taste  (and the name of the place alludes to a Cuban vulgarity) with many pretensions and a lack of class."

Ropa Vieja at La Casona de 17

La Casona de 17

Our View: This was the site of our final dinner in Cuba. The restaurant is located in a restored classic building, so the atmosphere was very good. I had the ropa vieja. Even though I avoid red meat whenever I can, I could not leave Cuba without trying this traditional shredded beef dish. I was not disappointed. I can't remember what everyone else had, but I heard no complaints about the food. (The top floor of this restaurant served as the location for two of our meetings, one with architect and urban planner Miguel Coyula and the other with members of Proyecto Espiral).

The restaurant does not appear to have a website or Facebook presence, but some sites like Cuba Restaurants Guide.com offer a good promo for this paladar.

Cuba Paladar: "Our critics will soon visit La Casona de 17 and let us know what they think."

TripAdvisor Here is one nice review from March 2016."Beautiful Caribbean home with nice landscaping in an open environment. They have the best Chicken and Rice in Havana, there is a 45 minute wait as the food is cooked to order. They also have a nice "flan" dish that is very well done and have live music.... very nice location near much of typical Cuban culture. We came back..."

Denouncing Official Corruption Through #Mexicoleaks

The firing of popular news host Carmen Aristegui created a huge firestorm in Mexico, a topic that we covered in the March 25 issue of SourceMex. The conflict began when the management of MVS Noticias fired investigative reporters Daniel Lizárraga and Irving Huerta, who were part of Aristegui's investigative team. The reason: the MVS investigative team joined the Wikileaks site, using the MVS name, without permission.  Aristegui was not initially dismissed, but management knew she would not stand for the firing her talented reporters without adequate reason.  So she demanded that the station rescind the firings. Instead, she was shown the door.

So what is it about Mexicoleaks that was so objectionable to MVS Noticias? The site, created by six news organizations, offers a platform for ordinary citizens to help expose official corruption to the media. The tipsters can remain anonymous, which allows citizens to provide information freely.  This is how the process works. Here is an introductory video that the organization posted on its Web site.


Mexicoleaks has opened a Twitter account to make the site known to media savvy Mexicans.
Here are a couple of introductory Teeets.

Usamos seguridad @GlobaLeaks un programa de código abierto para enviar y recibir información de forma segura pic.twitter.com/gosn1IiIgp
— Méxicoleaks (@Mexleaks) March 26, 2015

¿Tienes acceso a información q demuestra corrupción? Fíltrala con la seguridad de que será completamente anónimo. pic.twitter.com/baGErgzp9z
— Méxicoleaks (@Mexleaks) March 25, 2015

There is no doubt that Mexican citizens are better off by having the Mexicoleaks option. Elected and appointed officials are now going to have to think twice before taking that bribe or doing that favor for a donor.

-Carlos Navarro

Also in LADB on March 25-27

• Government Announces Plan to Save Endangered Porpoise in Gulf of Baja California
• Nicaragua Looks to Russia in Bid to Add Military Muscle
• Farmers and Entrepreneurs Bet on Huge Profits in New Era of U.S. and Cuban Relations
• Peruvian Demonstrators Take On Trash Television
• President Barack Obama Confronts Venezuela on Eve of Latin American Meeting

Follow us on Twitter @LADBatUNM

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The Environmental and Political Reasons Behind the Decision to Halt the Dragon Mart Project

Transnational project  in Quintana Roo Photo: Jake Sandler

The Dragon Mart megaproject in Quintana Roo state is on life support.  A couple of weeks ago, the federal environmental protection agency (Procuraduría Federal de Protección al Ambiente, PROFEPA) determined that the project--funded largely by Chinese interests--was causing too much damage to the fragile ecosystem of the area.  In addition to halting the project, developers were ordered to pay a fine and restitution 20 million pesos.  Read more in the most recent issue of SourceMex.

Quintana Roo’s Endangered Deciduous Jungle
The actual environmental transgressions cited by PROFEPA have mostly to do with violations of NORMA 059, which protects native Mexican species of flora and fauna. In particular, the Dragon Mart developers have been cited for violating the law’s ‘Anthropogenic’ clause, which evaluates changes in the use of soil and their impacts on human settlement.

The wetlands, mangroves and swamps most affected on the property known as “El Tucán” are not heavily populated. However, they contain some of the region’s most important and endangered ‘deciduous jungle’ species and ecosystems. Despite the heavy handed environmental protection policies on the part of the federal government, many critics speculate whether or not there is more behind the recent decision to halt Dragon Mart’s development; as articles such as this one in El Economista show, Quintana Roo is the same state where transnational interests in planting transgenic soy have superseded legitimate opposition. Others have sought to prove that a political dispute between Peña Nieto and Vicente Fox is actually what is behind the recent decision.

A Mexican-owned development?
Juan Carlos López Rodríguez, director of the Dragon Mart Cancun megaproject, has repeatedly stated that the company behind this project, Real Estate Dragon Mart Cancun SA de CV, is a Mexican company, founded in Monterrey and funded by 90% Mexican capital. A recent article in the daily business newspaper El Economista explains the company’s ownership in more detail: 45% is actually owned by Real Estate Dragon Mart Cancun, while another 45% is owned by Monterrey-Cancun Mart (of which Lopez Rodriguez is partner). Finally, the other 10% is accounted for by Chinese magnate Hao Feng, president of Chinamex, a company interested in introducing Chinese products throughout the world, and the same company that brought the first Dragon Mart to Dubai in 2003. As the name of Feng’s company suggests, ever since its founding in 2000, this Chinese firm has had its eyes on Mexico, particularly those places most visited by international tourists and businesses. That was the first year of Vicente Fox’s presidency, under which Lopez Rodriguez was involved in a China investment scandal while serving as a customs officer.

Speculation of a PRI power play against PAN
Reports have surfaced that  individuals linked to Fox are involved in 90% of the investment.  Among the names mentioned are José Luis Salas Cacho, ex-director of Maritime Transportation, and Manuel Bribiesca Sahagún, son of former first lady and Vicente Fox’s wife Marta Sahagún. So, is it possible that President Enrique Peña Nieto's administration is wielding its power via PROFEPA to land a blow in what is actually a decades-old power struggle between the PAN and PRI? However, you consider this situation, it is hard for the public to ignore the incestuous relationship between Dragon Mart investors and former PAN functionaries under Fox. Meanwhile, environmentalists and local community leaders in Cancun are praising the federal government’s decision as a victory for the land and for the rights of the region’s inhabitants.

-Jake Sandler

Also in LADB on Jan. 28-30

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• Honor Court Ruling Highlights Uruguay’s Many Military Pension Perks

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The European Union, Belize and the Fight Against Illegal Fishing

Fishing in Belize, Flickr user anoldent, North Carolina, USA

As the world's  largest fish importer, the 28-member European Union (EU) carries a lot of weight when it comes to maritime and fishing laws. Those laws,  controlled and enforced by the Commission for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, allow the EU to enforce bans and sanctions when it comes to imports of fish and seafood. 

These laws and regulations, formally established in 2008 by the EC under Council Regulation No. 1005, are implemented in order to “establish a community system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing.”

Over a half a year since the EU officially banned fish imports from Belize (read more from Louisa Reynolds in NotiCen, Oct. 30, 2014), the European Commission (EC) has rescinded the ban in recognition of Belize’s progress in bringing the Central American nation’s fisheries to compliance with EC law. According to an official press release by the EC, the decision to lift the ban on Belize was because the Central American country had demonstrated “its commitment to reforming its legal framework and adopting a new set of rules for inspection, control and monitoring of vessel.”

This press release also included news that proposed bans on Panama, Togo, Fiji and Vanuatu were also lifted because those nations had made progress in combating piracy and illegal fishing.

These laws and regulations, formally established in 2008 by the EC under Council Regulation No. 1005, are implemented in order to “establish a community system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing.”

The sanctions imposed over the last five years, largely under the leadership of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki, have vastly broadened the jurisdiction of these EC regulations by enforcing import bans for violations that do not occur in the EU territory. Internationalizing the scope of enforcement of the issues represented under the EC regulations has been a central goal of Commissioner Damanaki.

Banderas Europeas en el Berlaymont Bruselas  Amio Cajander.

Russian, Chinese Connection?
Although EC sanctions seem to disproportionately affect nations with struggling economies, an investigation launched in the last week is looking into the possibility of one of the largest “pirate” fishing boats in the world as being Chinese and Russian controlled. This case includes details and examples of how a fishing vessel can become pirate, such as switching between various, false national flags while traveling between China and South America.

The European Union itself was formed in order to protect economic interest of member nations, such as the European Coal and Steel Community, regarded as the predecessor of the modern EU. The recent action by the EC’s Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Commission is an important development along this almost 70-year history of attempts to create international communities for the enforcement of transnational agreements and accords, be them economic, political or human rights-based.

In this light, the EU is not only a global rarity of a political-economic union between nations, but also represents one of the few transnational organizations (like OPEC) with the power to enforce by wielding heavy sanctions. The main difference between EU and OPEC, however, is that OPEC rarely if ever utilizes its power to enforce sanctions in the name of environmental sustainability and human rights.

In the case of the EU’s Commission on Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, the bans and sanctions are in place not in order to protect the markets of member states necessarily, but to enforce international agreements against over-fishing, piracy and other illegal practices. Despite much criticism leveled against the harsh enforcement of regulations under Damanaki’s leadership, criticism that rightfully draws to attention the unfair impact these sanctions will have on the poorest sectors of the economy, Damanaki and the EC are standing behind their position that these regulations are meant to enforce and promote maritime sustainably, and are in no way aimed at reinforcing EU’s control of international markets. -Jake Sandler


Also in LADB on Oct. 29-31

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New Details Emerge of Political-Criminal Links in Guerrero

Foreign Direct Investment in Mexico Down Sharply in First Half of 2014

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Church and Military Lose Their Luster in Paraguay

  Asuncion'Cathedral  (Axou28th, Wikimedia Common)

“The head of the Area of War Materials sold projectiles and explosives to anyone who asked for them.” -NotiSur, September 26, 2014

The above quote sounds like a description of the Soviet Union during the Cold War, or even a line from some Orwellesque sci-fi dystopian novel. It’s neither.

This is Paraguay in 2014, and this is just one of many listed items on an internal report of corruption within the Paraguayan armed forces conducted earlier this year. As Andrés Gaudín points out in this week’s issue of NotiSur, Paraguayan citizens are well-aware of the rampant corruption within the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. But, now, after internal reports have been released by the military as well as the Vatican, the armed forces and the Catholic Church have joined the ranks of Paraguay’s most blatantly corrupt institutions.

Paraguay's previous perception of the military and the church as institutions that were free of corruption coincides with a recent survey of 107 countries. In that survey, conducted by Transparency International, none of the countries ranked the military among the institutions affected by corruption. Only three of the 107 countries viewed religious bodies (which includes the Catholic Church) as one of the most corrupt institutions.

In his first year heading Paraguay’s government, President Horacio Cartes has made some gains in promoting transparency. Just this month, Paraguay became the 100th country to approve a freedom of information law.  The Paraguayan government still has problems shaking off the perception of corrption, however. 

There have been other efforts to fight corruption, including a legislative initiative approved by the Congress to address the widespread problem of nepotisim. A new law bans legislators from hiring or appointing to any public post "spouses, domestic partners, or relatives to the fourth degree of consanguinity and second degree of affinity." Nepotism has long been a concern for the Paraguay public. Last November, some businesses --restaurants, bars, and movie theaters--banned those officials publicly reported guilty of nepotism from entering those establishments  Read More in the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo.

While corrupt activities by institutions like the military and the church had been widely accepted in Paraguay for years, change might be coming. The transformation of the military might not be swift--as evidenced by the lack of action on the part of Cartes government against military officials renting out equipment to private enterprises and collecting informal "tolls." The fact that the practice has been exposed in an internal report is a very important first step. The corrupt activities by the Catholic Church cannot be overlooked, however, now that the Vatican has intervened. According to a recent report in The New York Times, Pope Francis sent investigators to the Diocese of Ciudad del Este. The investigators found sufficient evidence of corrupt activities and cover-ups to warrant the removal of Bishop Ricardo Livieres Plano.

-Jake Sandler

Also in LADB This Week...
Chile-Peru Border Row: A border dispute that was supposed to have been resolved by a landmark ruling issued eight months ago by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague is once again causing tempers to flare between Chile and Peru, this time regarding a miniscule patch of coastal desert.

Another Honduran Journalist Murdered:  The killing of Honduran newsman Nery Soto on Aug. 14 in the town of Olanchito in the northern department of Yoro, some 390 km northeast of Tegucigalpa, the country’s capital, prompted the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to call on Honduran authorities to investigate this and tens of similar crimes committed mostly since 2009—the year of the bloody coup that toppled then President Manuel "Mel" Zelaya

Currency "unification" coming in Cuba: Cubans await the arrival of "Day Zero" with uncertainty about the fate of their savings and their future purchasing power. The still-to-be-established date will end the simultaneous circulation of two currencies (the Cuban peso and the convertible peso) and is a measure that, according to the communist government, has been considered necessary for two decades to make the economy more efficient.

Mexican Court Agrees that Televisa is a Dominant Company: In March of this year, the Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones (IFT) ruled that Televisa was a dominant company, meaning that authorities had the right to enforce certain anti-monopoly provisions. The giant broadcaster and 18 affiliates appealed the ruling to a specialized court. However, the court ruled in September of this year that the IFT's designation was correct.

Toxic Spill Remains a Problem in Sonora State. The giant mining company Grupo México and its chief executive officer (CEO) Germán Larrea are again the center of controversy for violations of environmental policy in Sonora. In early August, state and federal environmental authorities cited Grupo México subsidiary Mina Buenavista del Cobre for spilling more than 1.4 cubic feet of sulfuric acid (about 40 million liters) into the Bacanuchi and Sonora rivers

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At the Other End of the Migration Journey

Honduran school children ( ZackClark. via Wikimedia Commons)

'The program is aimed specifically at children at social risk and with no access to formal education, and in it the child’s interests are involved. The beneficiaries are children practically living in city dumps, and others with no access to school, those who have no father or mother to provide them with a family and support." - Col. Gustavo Adolfo Amador, administrator of Honduras' Guardianes de la Patria

Most of the attention on the recent migration of minors from Central America to the United States has been on the point of destination--the United States. The coverage in the US media ranges from the detention centers where the young migrants are housed to U.S. immigration policies.

Even in this week's issue of SourceMex, we discuss a controversial move by Texas Gov. Rick Perry to send 1,000 National Guard Troops to the Texas-Mexico border as a response to the surge of minors from Central America. To some extent, we have also covered news from the point of transit, which is Mexico.  And in our coverage, we have alluded to the poverty and violence in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, which is largely behind the large exodus of unaccompanied minors.

Official T-shirt

So how do you keep young people from joining gangs?  Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández thinks he has a partial solution.  Earlier this year, he launched a program called Guardianes de la Patria, aimed at covering some 25,000 youngsters in the 5-15 age group in low-income, densely populated neighborhoods nationwide. The goal is to  teach young people values, prioriites and love of country.  "They receive formal and nonformal education, such as workshops, lectures, Christian education, training in technical work, physical training, sports, recreation activities according to age groups, and there is a school for fathers and mothers," said  Col. Gustavo Adolfo Amador, one of the officers who has oversees the program.

Human rights organizations warn, however, that the program has a Nazi-type component, exposing kids to a political-military culture of weapons to make up for a failed strategy to draft youngsters into the volunteer military service. "That’s a neo-Nazi project. We’re going to have youngsters with only military training since their childhood, and they’re having, with all that, all their rights … violated. It’s a project to annihilate a country’s dreams and the hope one places in youth. It’s a horror, what we’re living," said Bertha Oliva, head of the Comité de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras (COFADEH)   Read More from George Rodríguez in NotiCen, July 31, 2014

(This video in Spanish from HispanTV provides addtional information)



Also in LADB This Week....

• Environmental advocates have accused Belize Prime Minister Dean Barrow of reneging on his commitment to a sustainable-tourism policy by allowing a subsidiary of Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) to invest US$50 million in the construction of a cruise port on Harvest Caye, a 75-hectare island 5 km southwest of Placencia Village.
• The center-left Movimiento de Regeneración Nacional (Morena),  created by former presidential candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador, is now officially a political party and is ready to compete with the Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD) for votes in Mexico's election in 2015..
• The World Cup was a disaster for Brazil, when measured by the results on the field (a 7-1 loss to Germany,  Off the field, the tournament ran smoothly for the record number of foreign tourists visiting the country and affluent Brazilians attending matches, but preparations also caused the widespread displacement of low-income Brazilian families. Either way, the event will have little impact on President Dilma Rousseff's reelection chances.  An economic downturn, however, could influence voters.
•  In the days leading up to the BRICS summit in Brazil on July 15, the Russian and Chinese presidents came to Latin America offering generous loan packages and cooperation plans. As leaders of the strongest economies of the five countries in the BRICS group, Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Xi Jinping of China signed hundreds of agreements for billions of dollars with Latin America’s progressive governments with which they either have, or are looking for, points of agreements on the necessity of modifying structures of the global agencies and establishing a fair and polycentric new world order based on international law with the UN playing a central coordinating role.

-Carlos Navarro

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Holograms for Cuban Cigars

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Cuba is perfecting holographic seals to prevent the sale of counterfeit cigars, which the international black market offers to visitors for a paltry sum compared to prices determined by the official marketing network. Today, any tourist walking down the street in Havana, a major tourist destination, will probably hear three deals whispered in their ear: sex, habanos, and rum. However, sometimes those cigars are imitations made from low-quality leaves.  -from NotiCen, July 10, 2014

How can you tell if that famous habano cigar you bought from a street vendor in Havana or in the cigar store in Zurich or Buenos Aires is real? If you're a regular tourist--and not a connoisseur--you might not know until you  actually light up.  

Cigars are serious business in Cuba, and the government is very keen on ensuring that the prized habanos are of the highest quality That's why authorities are in the process of developing  holographic seals to prevent the sale of counterfeit cigars. The effort is directed not as much at the domestic market but international markets. "Cuban tobacco remains one  the fundamental sources for millions of dollars in income for the island, is a source of employment for more than 150,000 farmers, and generates impressive sales in the more remote parts of the world,"  Read more from Daniel Vázquez in this week's issue of NotiCen.  And there is more information about this prized product in The Cuban Cigar Website

Also in LADB This Week
One of the most significant developments in South America in recent weeks (and no, it's not the FIFA World Cup!) is the decision of Chilean President Michelle Bachelet's administration to cancel the polemical HidroAysén power project, a multibillion-dollar hydroelectric complex planned for a mostly untouched area of Chile's far-southern Región de Aysén. The ruling ended years of on-again, off-again legal limbo regarding the costly venture/

In Mexico,  the Congress approved the secondary laws that allow the government to implement reforms to the telecommunications sector.  But there are mixed opinions on whether the changes will truly benefit the citizenry.  Some international organizations like the OECD believe reforms to the telecommunications, energy and other sectors are essential to help the Mexican economy grow.

In Costa Rica, one of the issues is to maintain the Central American country secure. That is why Costa Rican authorities are continuing with an effort of cooperation with Colombia and the United States. 

Finally, in Argentina, the courts have initiated legal proceedings against journalists and media companies accused of working with the Argentine dictators in 1976-1983 to broadcast, both in and outside Argentina, a false, bucolic image of a nation whose dictators were committed to "re-educating the subversives in order to return them to society mentally sound."

-Carlos Navarro

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