Caribe Life
Disappearing Caribbean: The unique Cuban way of life
The principal tourist attraction in Cuba is Fidel Castro. With an economy reliant on tourism, the country needs world-class attractions, and say what you will about Fidel's failures (and there are many), he is a five-star colossus of some antiquity. Due to his frailty, these days the formal role of the head of state has devolved to his charisma-bypassed brother Raul. 
But that, as everyone in Havana will tell you, is a technicality. Fidel may be a crumbling monument but make no mistake – he still shapes the landscape. The visual grammar of Havana has barely changed since the 1950s. The skyline is the same. So are the fabulous cars – Dodges, Buicks, Cadillacs and Chevrolets, held together with rope and soap – that still patrol the Malecon. The revolutionary slogans on the walls are a stuck record; "Hasta la victoria siempre" recycled decade after static decade. The national newspaper Granma (so named after the cabin cruiser that brought the young Fidel and Raul back to Cuba in 1956) remains a shameless Castro fanzine. Old cars, old buildings, old news – for anyone who does not have to live here it's a heady mix. Some day soon Fidel will be gone; the US embargo will be dropped and McDonald's will park its golden arches on La Rampa. And this beguiling crazy country will join the 21st century.