All I had Known of Cuba Prior to Travelling There Was the Common Stereotypes

By Kyle McDaniel

Professor Cuesta had been trying to co-opt me onto her Spanish translation trip to Cuba since my first class with her. After two more classes of her persistence, I finally capitulated to travelling to the infamous country with her. And am I so glad to have done that.

All I had known of Cuba prior to travelling there was the common stereotypes: old cars, cigars, and rum cocktails. Add to that the embargo imposed by the US government and you have a perfect combination of the view of Cuba outside of the country. However, I saw past these things to appreciate the most important and unique aspect of Cuba: its people. The people in Matanzas, where we worked intimately with exceptional authors, knew each other as if they were family. 

It wasn’t as if they went up and kissed each other on the cheeks with every encounter (like is commonly shown of Latinx individuals), but rather the subtle appreciation of sharing common experiences. Nothing brings people closer together than shared hardship, and this phenomenon is wildly apparent there. In between shortages of food, water, gasoline or any other necessity we take for granted in the United States, Cubans continue to live. This lesson is one people from more fortunate upbringings should learn if for no other reason than to learn to appreciate what they have.

Learning was an important part of the trip because, obviously, it was a university class, but also because our translation work required it. Every museum we visited, every street we walked, every park we enjoyed helped strengthen our understanding of Matanzas and, as a result, the strength of our translations. Cultural immersion is paramount in understanding the environment you find yourself in. The greatest satisfaction from the translation process was sitting down with the authors to understand the true significance of their chronicles and then using our knowledge of both languages to express the same amount of poetic and artistic meaning that was present in the original Spanish into our English translation. Although the beach in Varadero and riding in 1950’s era cars along the Malecón were breathtaking experiences, the most rewarding experience from Cuba was giving a new light to the pieces from amazing authors so that others can enjoy in their art.

I was humbled above all else to represent Mabel Cuesta in her hometown, working alongside her colleagues for decades. Being an American in Cuba, we all realized the spotlight focused on us from both our government as well as the Cuban government. But probably harsher than the governmental scrutiny was that from people who have known her for a long time, including people from her family. I appreciate the experiences I had in Cuba especially because of the way Professor Cuesta opened her community for our benefit. One night in Matanzas, Cuesta debuted a book of her poetry alongside family, friends, colleagues as well as all the students from the Cuba trip. I felt so proud to be a student of Mabel Cuesta because of what she represents to the people of Matanzas.

Matanzas is known as the City of Bridges because of the bridges that span the rivers which flow down towards the bay and form the outline of the city. And in this city of bridges, we constructed links between two languages, two cultures, and two people. Although my heart is sad to be removed from Cuba, the bridges I formed there are strong, keeping alive my curiosity and inspiration from the people I met there.