Cuba, the pearl of the Caribbean. The mere mention of this country’s name triggers an avalanche of images that touch everybody. This island is the home to one of the region's richest cultural heritages, abounding in living treasures, between the joyful rhythm of music and the roar of the classic American cars. A political and social model of genuine freedom for some, a bloody and repressive dictatorship for others, Cuba still nowadays continues to be the subject of fierce debates...

 

However, since its recent opening to the Western world and the easing of the embargo imposed by the United States, the Socialist Republic is changing rapidly, evolving more in the last few years than in previous decades. The slow but steady evolution of Castro’s regime towards “state capitalism” (or socialist market economy) has shaken the reality of the island's inhabitants.

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After more than a decade in power of Raul Castro and the recent disappearance of "El Comandante" Fidel Castro, changes are noticeable. These changes manifest themselves by the opening to private initiative, the development of the country's Internet coverage, the extraordinary flowering of casas particulares… This island is today at a crossroads in its history facing a myriad of possibilities and choices.

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From Havana to Baracoa, I will be traveling across the island for a month mostly following the touristic routes. This journey threw this beautiful country, so unique but subjected to a gradual loss of its identity under the influence of the tourism revolution will leave me with a bittersweet feeling. The Caribbean island is both a paradox and an anomaly in today's world.