A Must Read for Travelers, Scholars or Anyone Interested in the Culture, Government and/or People of Cuba.

CUBA’S GUARDED PROMISE:

A Snapshot of a Country on the Cusp of Enormous Change

Bari S. Robinson has loved traveling since her family rode on the Santa Fe Railroad with her Pullman Porter stepfather’s free passes when she was a child growing up in Kansas City, Missouri.  As she came of age, she began traveling and studying abroad, experiences which enriched her not only academically, but also gave her insights into the people whose country she was studying or visiting. 

In December 2015, when President Obama began easing the embargo that the United States imposed upon Cuba in 1960, she knew she had to travel there to feed a lifelong fascination with the people, culture, and politics of that country.  She was also enraptured by its music and dance, which were so much a part of the world’s emotional experience.  Her purpose was simply to be a passive tourist and enjoy herself.  She was not prepared for the layers of intellectual, emotional and sentient stimulation she was about to experience.

Ms. Robinson is an African-American woman writer and attorney.  Unlike many other writers about Cuban culture and politics, she has a set of filters which cast a unique light upon what she saw, heard, and experienced in that diverse country. When she returned home, the changes taking place in Cuba inspired her to write about her experience there.  She relates that she wanted to “freeze-frame” her mental image of that country in print.  She also wanted to provide a baseline for comparing Cuba’s present with the possibilities for its future as a result of changes the easing of the American embargo and recent Cuban laws are manifesting in the political, cultural, economic, and sociological makeup of that nation.  She provides insight into the possible positive and negative effects of that change and urges certain course corrections to ensure that Cuba attains its promise.

What results is a “little blue book” that is concise and well-written and provides a glimpse into the overall Cuban psyche from her perspective, and the realization that the country which exists today will be dramatically different in as short as one, two, three or ten years from now.  Cuba’s Guarded Promise is an important resource for travelers, scholars, students and anyone wanting to know more about the people, culture, government, and beautiful landmarks of that country.