Cuba
Havana, Cienfuegos & Trinidad: An Exploration of Cuba for Women
Program No. 25120RJ
Alongside other Road Scholar women, immerse yourself in the cities and culture of Cuba through music, architecture and discussions with local Cubans.
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At a Glance
With a lively music and art scene and colorful Art Deco buildings, Cuba is a country bursting with vibrant culture. For eight days, experience this culture firsthand exclusively with other Road Scholar women as you converse with local Cubans and delve into their daily lives. Explore Cuban artwork like basket making and embroidery and support the artisans, religious institutions and business leaders across the island. Led by Cuban hosts, learn about women-centric studies and U.S.-Cuba relations as you explore the cities that make this country so unique. From classic cars to a private dance performance, learn with other women how a country shaped by so many outside influences could create such a strong sense of community.
Activity Level
Keep the Pace
Walking up to two miles a day on a combination of cobblestone streets and dirt paths. Getting on and off of a motorcoach. Navigating high curbs, uneven steps and stairs without railings. Travel in a tropical climate.
Small Group
Love to learn and explore in a small-group setting? These adventures offer small, personal experiences with groups of 13 to 24 participants.
Best of all, you’ll…
- Sit down with your fellow Road Scholar women and learn how to play dominoes with members of a private dominoes club.
- Enjoy a performance from a private Cuban dance company and meet with the dancers.
- Meet with members of an artist community and learn about Cuba's artistic heritage and developments in contemporary art.
General Notes
Note: This is a special women’s only learning adventure. Road Scholar offers opportunities to travel legally to Cuba under the new OFAC Regulations published June 5, 2019. Following the General License category “Support for the Cuban People,” Road Scholar programs include activities intended to strengthen civil society in Cuba. Each day's program promotes independence for the Cuban people and results in meaningful interactions with the Cuban people. Questions about traveling to Cuba? Road Scholar has your answers. Learn more: https://www.roadscholar.org/travel-tips/cuba/.
Featured Expert
All trip experts
Maritza Corrales
Maritza Corrales is a Cuban historian who has dedicated her life's work to researching the history of Jews in Cuba. Born in 1948, she is a graduate of the University of Havana and lives in Havana. She has been a consulting scholar to various research and academic institutions in Cuba and has published numerous articles on the history of Cuban Jews. She has lectured at universities in Israel, Spain, Mexico, and Cuba.
Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.
Maritza Corrales
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Maritza Corrales is a Cuban historian who has dedicated her life's work to researching the history of Jews in Cuba. Born in 1948, she is a graduate of the University of Havana and lives in Havana. She has been a consulting scholar to various research and academic institutions in Cuba and has published numerous articles on the history of Cuban Jews. She has lectured at universities in Israel, Spain, Mexico, and Cuba.
Ilen Chou
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Ilen Rodriguez is one of the many amazing Cuban leaders who works with and has been trained by Road Scholar in addition to being trained and scheduled by Havanatur, the government-run operator in Cuba. She is the Cuban expert and is responsible for relaying local knowledge, and both cultural and historical information for the places we visit throughout the program. She will answer questions pertaining to Cuba and the Cuban people.
Camilo Garcia Lopez Trigo
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Camilo García Lopez Trigo has represented Cuba at its Embassy in Canada, the United Nations in the Netherlands, and in Washington DC. He also is involved in the National Center for Sex Education (Centro Nacional de Educación Sexual, or CENESEX. He shares his experiences representing Cuba in both friendly and adversarial nations, and his views on the current and future state of US-Cuba relations. Dr. García is a professor at the University of Havana International Relations School and an expert in US political studies.
Jose Armando Diaz
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José Armando Díaz was born in La Habana, Cuba and moved to Miami at the age of six. He graduated from Florida International University with a marketing degree, then worked for Pan Am and Delta Air Lines. With his passion for travel, history, and culture, he attended the International Tour Management Institute to become a travel director. Jose’s ultimate goal was to lead programs in his homeland. He believes bringing people to see Cuba’s beauty and the warmth of its people creates a positive impact.
Vivian Antunez
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Vivian Antunez is an industrial engineer who graduated from the Technological University of Havana, CUJAE, in 2007. She completed a master's in total quality management in 2011, and a Ph.D. in economic sciences at the University of Havana in 2017. She has worked as a researcher and consultant in many Cuban organizations, including PNUD of United Nations Office in Havana and World Food Program Office in Cuba. In 2015, she completed a European diploma in management education at the ESADE Business School in Barcelona.
Suggested Reading List
(10 books)
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
Havana, Cienfuegos & Trinidad: An Exploration of Cuba for Women
Program Number: 25120
The Double Life of Fidel Castro: My 17 Years as Personal Bodyguard to El Lider Maximo
In The Double Life of Fidel Castro, one of Castro's soldiers of 17 years breaks his silence and shares his memoir of years of service, and eventual imprisonment and torture for displeasing the notorious dictator, and his dramatic escape from Cuba.
Moon Cuba
A practical guide in the Moon series, packed not only with travel necessities (hotels, restaurants, sights), but also with a good overview of history and destinations throughout Cuba.
Our Man in Havana
The classic story of a British vacuum cleaner salesman who gets accidentally drawn into Cold War espionage with disastrous results.
Dreaming in Cuban
A short, poetic novel of three generations of Cuban women, their reaction to the revolution and the complex relation between those who remained in Cuba and those who settled in the United States. Excellent reading.
Cuba Map
A detailed, double-sided laminated map at a scale of 1:1,000,000.
Cuba
With full-page photographs, introductory essays on history, architecture, music, food and more, this oversized, illustrated paperback by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Francois Missen and photographer Pierre Hausherr captures the spirit of Cuba, its people, nature and culture.
The Distant Marvels
A life-affirming tale of love set during a hurricane in 1960s, post-revolutionary Cuba. To keep hope alive amongst the evacuees, Maria Sirena tells the incredible story of her childhood during Cuba's Third War of Independence.
Cuba, A History in Art
This slim, yet comprehensive survey of Cuban art between 1725 and 1959 explains the development of artists’ styles and how developments in Cuba (and especially Havana) changed their work.
Cuba, What Everyone Needs to Know
Director for Latin America Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, Julia Sweig traces the geography, history and identity of Cuba in this admirably succinct portrait of the island nation and its role in world affairs.
Hemingway's Boat
Focusing on the years 1934 to 1961, from Hemingway's pinnacle as the reigning monarch of American letters until his suicide, Paul Hendrickson traces the writer's life through the story of his beloved boat, Pilar. On display at Hemingway's Finca La Vigia in San Francisco de Paula, east of Havana, it is easy to see how this sleek craft attracted Hemingway, the setting for so much of what the writer loved and the leitmotif of Hendrickson's supple elegy.