Traveling to Cuba was my dream since the 90s. Finally, at the end of 2018, I visited this fascinating and revolutionary island. The island that is recognized for its excellence and efficiency in Medicine by the United Nations. The island that has one of the best illiteracy rates in the world: 0.2%. The island that has inspired intellectuals, musicians and writers, such as Enerst Hemingway, who has lived in Cuba for more than 20 years and where he has written one of the most important works of fiction of the 20th century, “The Old Man and the Sea”, Prize Pulitzer and Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953.

The trip has impacted me and now I am lucky to be able to talk about my experience, together with Francesca Sciarra, from Italy, who also made an incredible trip to Cuba. We have been invited to participate in the first trip conversations webinar from the TripTrip Now, next Tuesday, July 16, at 8 pm Spain time. Together, we will make a practical-poetic tour of Cuba, talking about our experiences and answering the questions of the participants.

Why a webinar with these two travelers? Because they are two women who have had different experiences traveling in Cuba. I traveled with three friends, for 9 days, through Havana and Trinidad. Francesca traveled in the island for a month, alone, in 2018. Our different nationalities and professions also allow for a broader exchange, with different views and observations on the island. Culture, history, landscape, security, how they are and how Cubans live.

We have already published two texts on the TripTrip Now website: I wrote a text about my experience in Havana. Francesca wrote a text about her trip to Baracoa,the city that she most liked in Cuba. Very soon I will publish a new text about Trinidad, a small and beautiful city in Cuba, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

At the moment, I leave you a recommendation of a documentary about Cuba that I really liked: Cuba and the Cameraman.The film covers – through the lives of three families, interviews with the maximum leader, Fidel Castro, and the director Jon Alpert’s own link with Cuba – more than forty eternal years of socialism on the island. And I also recommend the Netflix documentary series “Cuba Libre”. A series that narrates the history of Cuba from the discovery by the Spanish to the present day. The series intertwines more than 50 exclusive interviews with witnesses to Cuban history inside and outside the Island, followers and opponents of Fidel Castro and his predecessor Fulgencio Batista.

If you are interested in getting to know Cuba and want to know more about the island and about our tour of it, this is a good opportunity. Registration is free through this link and at the end of the webinar, Trip Trip Now will give participants a gift. Connect with us on this tour and then disconnect traveling to Cuba!

Photos: Vanessa Costa, Regina Madeira and Leo Gomes. Video: Leo Gomes.