00:00:06
It’s only 93 miles from Florida, and just
13 from the Bahamas,
00:00:11
but like the smoke that coils from its legendary cigars,
00:00:14
The Republic of Cuba exists in a time and
space all it’s own.
00:00:26
Blending the traditions of Spain, Africa and
00:00:29
its native peoples,
00:00:31
and lit by the fires of independence and revolution,
00:00:34
the aromas, textures and flavors of this Caribbean
nation are like no other.
00:00:40
Despite its size, Cuba has punched
well above it’s weight.
00:00:46
For centuries its vast plantations satisfied
a global appetite for sugar
00:00:51
and thirst for the smoothest rums.
00:00:55
In 1962 it played center stage in a
nuclear standoff,
00:00:58
which made the planet hold its breath for
13 days.
00:01:02
And through it all,
00:01:03
its infectious rhythms taught the world how
to move its hips.
00:01:08
Few cities can stir the imagination like
Cuba’s capital, Havana,
00:01:13
a city preserved by forts and citadels,
00:01:17
…a five-mile seawall,
00:01:19
…and an imposed embargo which held back
the excesses
00:01:22
of the 20th century for over 50 years.
00:01:30
Havana’s symbol is La Giraldilla,
00:01:33
dedicated to the city’s first female governor,
00:01:36
who scanned the horizon each day for her husbands
return from sea.
00:01:41
400 years later she continues to wait,
00:01:44
high above Castillo de la Real Fuerza, the
city’s original fort.
00:01:50
While her husband never returned from his
explorations,
00:01:53
today she watches as millions of travelers
come to explore her city.
00:02:01
The fort overlooks Plaza de Armas the birthplace
and heart of Old Havana.
00:02:07
Step into the cool colonial elegance of the
Palace of the Captains General,
00:02:13
once the home of governors, today the home
of the Museum of the City of Havana.
00:02:26
Browse the vintage books and posters
in Plaza de Armas,
00:02:30
…then take the short walk to Plaza de la
Catedral
00:02:34
where fortunes are told and salsa spills from
beneath the arches.
00:02:40
Made from blocks of coral cut from the ocean floor,
00:02:43
The Cathedral of Saint Christopher is a Cuban
Baroque masterpiece
00:02:47
that has been called music set in stone.
00:02:51
For 100 years, it was also the resting place
of Columbus,
00:02:55
who claimed these fertile lands for Spain
in 1492.
00:03:03
Another of the Old Town’s squares is
Plaza de San Francisco,
00:03:07
which has changed little since the days when
the crews of passing galleons
00:03:11
filled their barrels at the Fountain of the Lions.
00:03:15
A more recent addition to the square is ‘La
Conversación’,
00:03:19
a statue that reminds us of the need for dialogue
in contemporary society.
00:03:25
Cubans however, need little reminding of the
00:03:27
importance of such simple pleasures.
00:03:29
In a world where our heads are increasingly
bowed to the smartphone,
00:03:33
this is a city where the people still walk
with heads held high.
00:03:40
There's something truly liberating walking
these advertisement
00:03:44
and franchise-free streets,
00:03:46
where you can be open to millions of unguarded
moments,
00:03:49
…like the curbside battles of wits,
00:03:52
…the characters,
00:03:54
…the melancholy of peeling paint, and the
promise of each new coat.
00:04:01
One place that will never see a paintbrush
is La Bodeguita del Medio.
00:04:06
Enjoy a mojito and add your name to the thousands
of others,
00:04:10
which adorn every surface of this iconic bar.
00:04:17
Getting around the city is easy, simply walk,
catch a bus, or cruise in style.
00:04:24
Havana is home to thousands of classic autos
from a golden age,
00:04:29
which just like the city, only become more
alluring with each passing year.
00:04:40
Head west, and you’ll soon see the majestic dome
00:04:44
of El Capitolio rise over Central Havana.
00:04:47
The streets here are lined with some of Havana’s
finest architectural treasures,
00:04:52
such as the Great Theatre of Havana,…and
the National Museum of Fine Arts.
00:05:11
Just a little further to the west, discover
00:05:13
the Vedado district,
00:05:14
a mix of fabulous 1950s modernist buildings
00:05:18
and neoclassical mansions patiently awaiting
restoration.
00:05:25
Explore the markets,
00:05:26
…then join ice-cream loving locals at Coppelia,
00:05:30
Havana’s futuristic temple to the multi-scoop.
00:05:36
The Vedado is also home to The University of Havana,
00:05:39
a hotbed of enquiry and dissent for almost
300 years.
00:05:49
And the iconic National Hotel,
00:05:51
where the likes of Winston Churchill, Rita
Hayworth,
00:05:54
and Leonardo DiCaprio have spent many a Cuban night.
00:05:59
While the streets of Havana give the city it’s pulse,
00:06:02
it’s on the Malecón where you’ll find
its soul.
00:06:05
Extending for miles along Havana’s northern
shores,
00:06:09
this is where the city comes to meet,…romance,…and
dream,
00:06:13
….and perhaps, catch a little dinner.
00:06:18
At the Malecón’s eastern end,
00:06:20
look out across the mouth of Havana Harbor
from Fort San Salvador,
00:06:25
to its big brother, Moro Castle.
00:06:28
For centuries these two guardians were linked
by a giant chain,
00:06:32
which could be pulled tight to keep marauding
ships at bay.
00:06:37
While you’re near the Malecón’s eastern end,
00:06:39
visit the Museum of the Revolution.
00:06:42
Housed in the former presidential palace of
deposed dictator Batista,
00:06:47
the museum is a dedication to those who took
part in the long march
00:06:52
to a free Cuban homeland.
00:06:57
You’ll find tributes to Cuba’s political
heroes all over Havana,
00:07:01
but there is none greater than the Plaza de
la Revolución,
00:07:05
where more than a million Cubans can gather
at a time.
00:07:09
Towering over the square is the memorial to
Jóse Marti,
00:07:13
the poet, writer and lightning rod for Cuban
Independence.
00:07:19
Pay your respects to Cubans great and small,
00:07:22
at Colon Cemetery, a city within a city containing
over 500 mausoleums.
00:07:29
From generals to chess champions to the poor,
00:07:32
a walk through these 57 hectares is a walk
though Cuban history.
00:07:38
Another city within this city,
00:07:41
is Fusterlandia, where for more than 30 years
the wild imagination of artist
00:07:46
Jóse Fuster has exploded from the confines
of his studio
00:07:50
and into the neighborhood streets,
00:07:52
walls and rooftops of Jaimanitas.
00:07:59
Havana has long been a magnet for creative minds.
00:08:02
On Havana’s outskirts, high on a shady hilltop,
00:08:05
sits the former Cuban residence of Ernest
Hemingway.
00:08:10
Peer into the rooms where the Nobel laureate
lived for twenty years,
00:08:14
writing classics such as The Old Man and The Sea.
00:08:17
The home was a gift to the people of Cuba,
00:08:20
and remains much as it was,
00:08:23
the day Hemingway left his beloved island
forever in 1960.
00:08:29
When the sun gets low and the city takes on its beckoning glow,
00:08:34
why not head back downtown and order a daiquiri
at El Floridita,
00:08:39
just as El Papa did after a long day at the
typewriter.
00:08:43
Then let Havana’s magical rhythms carry
you into the night.
00:08:51
Havana’s lure can be hard to resist,
00:08:54
but Cuba offers so much more beyond the seductive
lights of its capital.
00:08:59
In Cuba, a long sandy beach and a cool sea
breeze is never far away.
00:09:05
Just 12 miles from Havana’s downtown,
00:09:08
the Eastern Beaches unroll toward the town
of Matanzas,
00:09:11
the birthplace of the rumba,
00:09:13
…and Cardenas, where in 1850, the Cuban
Flag flew for the very first time.
00:09:22
From here, follow the scent of fresh lime,
00:09:25
rum and suntan lotion north,
00:09:27
to one of Latin America’s premier resorts, Varadero.
00:09:32
This long sandy peninsula is famed for its
natural attractions
00:09:37
as well as its resorts.
00:09:42
Be sure to take a walk in the Varahicacos
Ecological Reserve,
00:09:46
and experience the subterranean world of the
Cueva de Ambrosio.
00:09:51
Then cool off in the pure, crystal waters
of nearby Cueva Saturno.
00:10:03
After exploring the northern coastline,
00:10:06
turn south towards Cuba’s heartland.
00:10:09
Santa Clara is Cuba’s most revolutionary city.
00:10:13
Here, in 1958, Ché Guevara and 18 fellow rebels
00:10:17
took on an armored government train with a
bulldozer and Molotov cocktails,
00:10:22
and won.
00:10:24
The Battle of Santa Clara brought an end to
the Revolution
00:10:27
and cleared the way for a new President, Fidel
Castro,
00:10:31
who would steer Cuba’s course for the next
50 years.
00:10:34
But this city will always belong to Ché.
00:10:38
He is everywhere,…watching over the city
from his mausoleum,
00:10:42
from the streets, from the very walls,
00:10:44
extolling us to remember that liberators do
not exist,
00:10:48
…the people liberate themselves.
00:10:55
From a city forged by Revolution,
00:10:57
to one built on sugar,
00:10:59
welcome to Trinidad.
00:11:01
In the early 1800s,
00:11:03
this was the sugar capital of the world.
00:11:06
Here, plantation owners poured vast fortunes
into plazas,
00:11:10
…churches,…and Spanish colonial mansions
00:11:13
filled with the best furnishings money could buy.
00:11:19
Just a few miles from Trinidad,
00:11:21
climb Manaca Iznaga Tower for views across
the Valle de los Ingenios.
00:11:27
Here, for as far as the eye can see,
00:11:30
thousands of workers once cut sugar cane,
00:11:32
while more than fifty mills squeezed out its
sweet liquid gold.
00:11:39
Trinidad is surrounded by other riches too.
00:11:42
Relax on Southern Cuba’s finest stretch
of sand, Playa Ancón.
00:11:48
Then follow the rural back roads
00:11:51
that lead to the cool heights of the Sierra
del Escambray.
00:12:03
In Cienfuegos, the mood changes from Spanish,
00:12:07
to something a little more Parisian.
00:12:11
This is the only Cuban city founded by the French,
00:12:13
and it shows.
00:12:15
There is an unmistakable elegance here,
00:12:18
in the spacious avenues around Jose Marti Park,
00:12:21
…to the theater where Caruso once brought
opera lovers to tears.
00:12:26
You’ll find it amid the lavish dining room
00:12:30
and roof-top terrace of the Palacio de Valle,
00:12:33
…and in the seaside homes of Punta Gorda.
00:12:42
And when it’s time to experience natures elegance,
00:12:46
you’ll find plenty nearby,
00:12:47
…in the birdlife of Laguna Guanaroca,
00:12:51
…and in the afternoon light of Rancho Luna Beach.
00:13:00
After exploring Cienfuegos, why not just keep going,
00:13:03
because there's so much more to discover in
this country,
00:13:07
which opens to the world more each day.
00:13:10
Sometimes it’s hard to know whether Cuba
is awakening to the world,
00:13:13
or if the world is awakening to Cuba.
00:13:17
Whatever your politics,
00:13:19
it's easy to admire this island nation that
has proudly gone it's own way.
00:13:26
Cuba may still have one foot firmly in the past,
00:13:29
but as the world tumbles towards tomorrow,
00:13:33
we can be thankful for the many things it
has not let go.
