Looking, hopefully, for a better life in Havana

Looking, hopefully, for a better life in Havana
Ray Sanchez/Direct from Havana | Direct from Havana
April 30, 2009

HAVANA

Sebastian jumped off one of nearly 60 Chinese-made buses that arrives
every day from the provinces, stretched out his slender arms like wings
and took a deep breath in the hot evening air. Cuba's densely-packed
capital, with more than two million souls, just got a little more packed.

His legs and back hurt from the 14-hour bus ride across Cuba from the
eastern city of Santiago but finally, for the first time in his 28
years, Sebastian had ventured out of his native El Carmen.

Here was Havana, with tall aging buildings and wide tree-lined
thoroughfares. A short walk from the bus terminal was the vast Plaza de
la Revolucion, with the face of Che Guevara staring down above the
words, "Forever Onward Toward Victory ."

"This is just how I imagined it," said Sebastian, who asked that his
full name not be used because he had come to Havana illegally with no
intention of returning home anytime soon. "But everything seems so much
bigger."

On the opposite side of the square, in the shadow of the towering Jose
Marti monument, workers erected the viewing stand where President Raul
Castro and his closest aides will watch the annual May Day parade Friday.

"I haven't had a steady job in more than two years," said Sebastian,
carrying a brown duffel bag stuffed with four T-shirts, a lone pair of
jeans, an extra pair of socks, two pairs of underwear and Nike flip
flops. "I mean, the same job where I get up every morning and go and do
the same thing every day. I had that for a while when I drove a
motor-taxi in Santiago. My cousin here in Havana thinks I can get
construction work."

He walked through the crowded terminal, past souvenir shops that cater
to backpacking tourists and past the old women who sell tiny cups of
strong Cuban coffee for less than a penny. Sebastian entered a dark bar
called "The Dawn" and ordered a cold beer.

"The beer is not cold," said the barman, reaching for a can of Cristal
and putting it on the counter anyway. Sebastian opened it and took a sip.

"Delicious," he said. "My first beer in Havana. Salud."

A stranger offered to pay. Sebastian accepted. He said he had recently
been divorced. He said the $16 dollars he was carrying was all the money
he had.

"Having no money will kill any relationship," he said. "Maybe we'll try
to be together again some time. Maybe not."

Outside the bar, there was Sebastian's cousin, Arturo, looking for him.
After a big hug and a few words, they walked side by side out of the
teeming terminal toward Revolution Plaza.

"For now, let's see what Havana has to offer," Sebastian said. "Santiago
will always be there when I need it."

A hopeful Cuban looks for a better life in Havana, under the sign of Che
Guevara -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com (4 May 2009)

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/cuba/sfl-cuba-column-043009,0,4258824.column