By Emily Roskey, Public Health in Cuba, Summer 2011
It’s been two weeks since we arrived in La Habana. This past week has been overwhelming yet its inspired social, economic, educational and health-related curiosities in all of our minds. We’ve been introduced to many facets of Cuban life and our questions are flourishing even more than when we left Miami. We will be conducting mini-research projects individually or in pairs about our topics of interest, including nutrition, child mortality, education, and the food ration program in Cuba. Sophia (another student in the program) and I are working on a project together to study coping responses to high stress levels in Cuba, partially due to the inability to express oneself politically. Our introduction to this topic has led me to look at Cuban people in a different way, mostly in a psychoanalytic manner since I study psychology. We found out that Cuba has one of the highest suicide rates in the Western hemisphere. We are taking a class in Cuban History and Culture with our professor Victor who is a well-known Cuban poet. Today, in our first official class, he spoke a lot about Cuba’s background starting in 1492 with Christopher Columbus’ discovery of Los Indios (the Indians) through 1903 (and to be continued). He emphasized specific events that have had consequencias, or consequences, in history and to the present day. He told us that the people of Cuba have a history of slavery, racism, violence, cruelty, lies, silence, and abuse. And these horrible events still have consequencias for Cuba today. Despite this exploitation, the Cuban culture is rich and extensive. Art, poetry, literature, music, theater, dance, and religion have played major roles in the development of Cuban culture as it is today. I am so excited to learn more, and to try to understand how the Cuban people have developed a culture despite the diverse ethnic background and a difficult past. But for now, here are some photos that capture the beauty of the city!
Habana Vieja: the sun setting behind rustic buildings near the city’s largest port.
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Beautiful architecture in El Museo de la Revolución where some historical parts of the revolution actually occurred. There are even bullet holes on the staircase to prove it!
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