Alfredo_estrada_cuba

Cuba After Fidel - Alfredo Estrada

Now that the Cuban leader has stepped down, expatriate Cubans around the world wonder what life on the island will be like in the post-Fidel era.

There is no shortage of opinions on Castro and Cuba. Alfredo Estrada, author of “Havana, Autobiography of a City,” gives Blog La Plaza his point of view.

This entry was originally posted on 10/22/07

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Comments

Tourism in Cuba

Estrada’s comments on the possibility of developing tourism in Cuba leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. While he discusses Cuba becoming “the #1 tourist attraction in the western Hemisphere” and the economy booming, he doesn’t discuss how this will effect the Cuban culture.

I fear that we will see a distinct Americanisation of the Cuban culture. That, due to it’s proximity, the influx of American travelers may result in the American culture eclipsing Cuba’s own culture, resulting in a loss of their own heritage; trading in Mom and Pop stores for fast food chains and specialty coffee stores, tearing down 16th century buildings to build skyscraper hotels.

While I do wish for Cuba’s economy to flourish with these new developments in their government, I don’t wish to see it lose it’s identity.

By A.Wolanin on February 21, 2008 at 11:09 AM