More than a half-century after Fidel Castro’s revolution, Cuban animosity towards America seems as strong as ever even as small windows of opportunity are afforded to some Americans for Cuban Travel.
While President Obama seems ready to create a new relationship, George Bush’s animosity to Castro was an even further setback to a relationship which was already poisoned.
 Traveling to Cuba tour guides will often openly profess seemingly genuine, disdain towards US because of their efforts to thwart Cuba’s progress. But not so towards Canada.
 Canada was one of the first countries to shun US embargo wishes against Cuba after the revolution… so it is no wonder Castro made it a point to attend former prime minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau’s funeral.
It was not long after the Castro revolution that Trudeau changed the Canadian relationship with Cuba to a friendly and cooperative one. Shortly thereafter the government made its first attempts at attracting Canadian tourists.
As they did some of our provinces, more than others, began to take advantage of the cheap prices offered for sunspot vacations.
I was living in Saskatchewan at the time, and under an NDP government it seemed that visits to Cuba became almost a purposeful snub at U.S. policy.
After listening to rave reviews from returning visitors, I decided to make it my winter vacation choice.
Veradero, which today has become almost a wall to wall row of brand name hotels, was a small sleepy community. Prior to the revolution it was a prime location for Americans to purchase winter homes.
It was in one of these properties, confiscated by Castro after the revolution, where we were housed during our 7 day week stay.
All inclusive even then, meals were not served in the homes but rather in central gathering points, where we all walked to three times a day.
The meals were somewhat bland by North American standards, still somewhat of a complaint. With the U.S. embargo in place importing variety can still be difficult and expensive.
At that time the chefs were not accustomed to Canadian tastes. Every meal tomatoes would be served in large quantities on serving plates for each table. The challenge for us was that they were always green.
Like hungry mobs, our forks would almost be clashing as we all tried to stab the ripest of the lot before us.
How things have changed. The five star resort we stayed in was as good as any we have been to in any Caribbean country or Mexico. And so they should be as they are the same brands, for the most part, that are found in all the major tourist hot spots.
 Canadian influence in Cuba is widely felt. Canada delivers the largest number of annual tourists by far. And multiple joint ventures with Canadian companies have assisted Cuba’s struggling economy to stay afloat. These are free enterprise companies, as Spanish, Italian and Canadian hotels now dot the sandy landscape.
 The workers on site may be Cuban, but the management is frequently not. They come from all over the world. And the chefs who are now being brought in from some of the best hotels all over the world are finally changing the Cuban food service reputation. From bland and uninspiring to not just acceptable but oft-times exciting, and occasionally even exceptional the new thinking of international chefs is creating a much improved culinary experience for guests.
 With Canadian visitor numbers continuing to increase it is not surprising that hotel managers at the posh new properties are often Canadian.
It is the face of the new Cuba. And this face includes other Canadian influences as well.
 Enjoying one of the most popular Cuban beers poolside, we find out that the Cristal beer we are drinking is really Labatt’s Blue… a direct result of a joint venture between the Cuban government and one of our favorite Canadian brewers.
 Recent discoveries of oil reserves in parts of Cuba have lead to a huge joint venture with Canada’s Sherritt Corporation.
 And since the U.S. blockade it is our own Loonie has held major respectability alongside the Euro. Even though all tourist transactions are done with the new convertible Peso which is pegged to the US dollar, the exchange rate is fair and the Canadian dollar is not an unwelcome sight at the currency booths.
 A visit to Havana opens ones eyes to the tremendous opportunity for even more successful tourism to this country. Today most of the buildings are still dark, drab, and frequently in disrepair. But with Havana being designated as a World Heritage preservation city by Unesco, one begins to see the slow but noticeable refurbishment of these faded historical jewels, into new and exciting tourist magnets.
 While private enterprise is still not a way of life for most Cubans, many are now engaging in small government approved or unapproved businesses… a first step which will not be able to be stopped once others see the potential successes.
 It is just fifteen years since Cuba officially opened itself up to this kind of large scale infrastructure development with profit oriented Canadian and overseas interests. One wonders whether the pre-revolution mafia vision of a chain of casino hotels stretching from Havana all around the coastline all the way to Varadero may one day still become a reality again, only without the gambling or crime association.Â
With the speed with which revised Cuban economic plans keep emerging, one can only speculate if this too may one day also become part of the tourist mix.
 There are many kinds of revolutions and Cuba may be in the throes of yet another.
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