Boulder-Cuba Sister City Organization

What's New:

CUBA TRAVEL !

We are pleased to announce that the Boulder-Cuba Sister City Organization has been granted a non-academic educational/people-to-people license to travel to Cuba by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

**WE ARE CURRENTLY PLANNING A JUNE TRIP TO EASTERN CUBA AND HAVANA**

For more information please email Karen or Pat at CubaBoulder@gmail.com or call

303-554-8407

CUBA IS CHANGING

By Spense Havlick 02/12/2012 Boulder Daily Camera

Boulder resident Biff Bilstein chats with children in Yateras

Much has changed in Cuba since the Boulder-Cuba sister city organization visited Guantanamo Province in 2010. January of this year marked the tenth anniversary of the establishment of a sister city relationship with the municipality of Yateras in the mountainous eastern tip of Cuba. With our own official U.S. Treasury Department license the Boulder people to people organization flew (a 60-minute flight) from Miami to Santiago de Cuba with gifts of humanitarian supplies, baseball equipment, artwork from a Boulder elementary school, and books featuring Cuban artists.

Eighteen people from the Boulder area spent time in four major areas over the 12-day visit. The cities included Guantanamo City seat of the provincial capital for Yateras, Baracoa where Columbus landed in 1492, Santiago de Cuba renowned as an early capital famous for its extensive cemetery where most revolutionary heroes are resting including Jose Marti, and of course Havana with her 2.5 million residents.

Eastern Cuba

Changes we observed on our recent trip included an elevated level of genuine friendliness toward us as Americans. Our friends in the Cuban Friendship Institute office who have served as hosts in years past welcomed us with a warmth that was almost like family. In previous visits to Yateras and Guantanamo the greetings were cordial but there may have been some uncertainty about the reason for our visit. Of course when you see the same mayor, the same lead doctor at the hospital, the same vivacious librarian (in Palenque) the same musicians at the Casa de Changui, and the same painters and sculptors in their tiny studios there is bound to be a unusual bridge of friendship built despite the disagreements of the two national governments.

There were many more privately owned restaurants in Baracoa and Guantanamo City.

Another pleasant surprise was a change in the expanded menu in the restaurants. Instead of just rice and beans (with a potential chicken morsel) today you find shrimp, fish, lamb, pork, beef, the obligatory pollo and ample vegetables such as tomatoes, green beans, carrots, cucumber, and fresh lettuce. Ice cream was very abundant with chocolate and coconut ice cream ranking as our favorites.

The group enjoys lunch at a private restaurant in Guantanamo.

In terms of changes in transportation the camel-like blue buses of Havana have been moved out to rural areas and replaced by more modern metroliner buses supplemented by rebuilt 1953 and 1954 Chevrolets, Buicks and even Cadillacs serving as taxis in Havana and Santiago. The Chinese government has given Cuba an entire passenger train set that runs between Havana and Santiago. But horse-drawn taxis and pedi cabs are the major transportation modes, along with bicycles in all of eastern Cuba.

Housing continues to be the No. 1 chronic problem throughout all of Cuba. No matter how dilapidated most of the housing was every housing unit had a rice cooker, running water, electricity, and a color TV. Last week the Raul Castro regime announced a grant to add home additions for families who qualify according to criteria of sub-standard housing, large family size and difficult proximity to close family relatives. Yet for tourists new or refurbished hotels were more common and many more private bed and breakfast lodgings (casas particulares) were available than just two years ago. We did encounter in some hotels tepid water, in some cases no water and in one major hotel, the Hotel Casa Granda in central Santiago the only elevator was out of order which made carrying luggage up four levels a struggle. In the rural areas of eastern Cuba we felt very safe day or night not only because there were so few automobiles but also because crime rates are very, very low. Cubans are not permitted to have firearms.

Highlights for our group were the Stone Zoo near Yateras; seeing the conversion of a toxic city dump into an urban garden and composting center in Guantanamo City, exploring the rainforest and manatee lagoons of Humbolt National Park (a UNESCO World Heritage site), an Afrocuban dance troop performance, meeting master artists and historians in Baracoa, and strolling through old Havana.

Sculptor Angel Iñigo Blanco at Yateras' Stone Zoo.

The best summaries from our Boulder-Cuba sister city trip are quotes from first-time Cuba visitors such as "They have been a fun people to get to know and come to understand." " It exceeded my expectations at every turn, meeting our sister city children was a heart opener." "The most musical place I have ever been." "The rare opportunity to interact with Cuban people, to share our commonality and friendship, I will never forget this trip."

The next sister city trip to Cuba will be May/ June and it will have an educational focus. Two experienced leaders will be accepting applications next month. Details are available at bouldercuba.org

John Tayer's turn at bat.

Spense Havlick is a founding member of the Boulder-Cuba Sister City Organization and is a member of the Camera's editorial advisory board. He and Kate Hennessey, the president of BOCUSCO, were trip leaders on this recent journey to Cuba.

Shipping medical equipment and supplies to Eastern Cuba

Since 2006 the Boulder-Cuba Sister City Organization has been raising funds to sponsor the shipment of medical equipment and supplies to Guantánamo province in conjunction with Denver-based Project C.U.R.E. www.projectcure.org. We are pleased to announce that the first FIVE 40’ cargo containers have arrived at their destinations: a container of hurricane relief supplies following the devastion of Hurricane Ike; as well as containers to the main hospital in Guantánamo which serves the entire province including Yateras; the Guantánamo Pediatric Hospital; the main hospital in Baracoa, and the hospital in Palenque, Yateras.

We would like to thank all of the donors, sponsors and volunteers who have contributed to the success of this project. Thanks to everyone’s efforts and generosity, we have been able to provide one of the poorest provinces of Cuba with such supplies as X-ray machines, anesthesia machines, mamography units, operating tables, stethoscopes, microscopes, laboratory supplies, defibrillators, and much more.  Please visit our HEALTH committee page to learn more about health care in Yateras and our health related projects. THANK YOU!!

About the Boulder-Cuba Sister City Organization

The Boulder Cuba Sister City Organization (BOCUSCO), is a 501(c)3 non-profit, non-political, all-volunteer citizen network which exists to create lasting partnerships to promote cultural sharing, understanding and exchange between itizens of Boulder, Colorado and the municipality of Yateras, Guantánamo, Cuba. Yateras, located in the mountainous easternmost Cuban province of Guantánamo, became Boulder’s sixth sister city in 2002. Although many of our exchanges and activities involve the community of Yateras, we are also involved in projects, such as health and environmental projects, in other areas of Guantánamo Province including Guantánamo City. Boulder has other sister cities in Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Tibet, Kenya and Tajikistan. BOCUSCO organizes activities, with support from the Boulder community, through its five committees: Arts and Education, Environment and Sustainability, Health, Music and Dance, Sports.

Current Projects

Since 2005 BOCUSCO has been working in collaboration with U.S. government-licensed organizations to ship mountain bikes, wheelchairs, medical equipment and supplies, school supplies, athletic equipment and footwear to Yateras.

In addition to those ongoing shipments, we have prioritized projects for 2011-2012 for which we are currently raising funds. We will continue to sponsor the delivery of medical supplies and equipment to Guantánamo province in conjunction with Denver's Project C.U.R.E. www.projectcure.org; help Yateras renovate their community library by providing donations of supplies and Spanish-language books, and work with environmental organizations on educational campaigns to protect endangered and endemic species in eastern Cuba.

BOCUSCO is also dedicated to bringing more awareness of Cuba to the Boulder community through speakers, music, film, food and dance.

(updated September 2011)

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