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Articles by Ken Deckinger
Some of Havana's Best Art Isn't in Museums—It's on the Street
FacebookTwitterEmailLinkedInWhatsApp The desiccating walls and slumping street corners of Havana were once only decorated with slogans and portraits of Che Guevara exalting Fidel’s 1959 victory. But a spray paint revolution is brewing in the Cuban capital. You don’t need to look far to find wild creatures, dazzling birds, cannibal heads, and coded expression splashed across shutters, doors, pillars and walls.
A List of Organizations to Support Cuba in the Aftermath of Hurricane Ian
Thanks to everyone for your support crowdsourcing this list of resources to support the Cuban people. If you know of additional resources, please add them so we can share it with everyone. Hurricane Ian, the powerful storm that tore through the state of Florida in the U.S., also caused destruction to Cuba’s western province of Pinar Del Rio. Homes have been flattened and crops have been destroyed. In fact, it’s bad enough that the Cuban government has reached out to the United States for assistance.
Helen Yaffe's Cuba's Life Task Highlights The Country's Climate Lead
Dr. Helen Yaffe's new documentary presents a cautiously hopeful perspective highlighting Cuba's leadership on the subject.
3 Cuban Cemeteries to Uh... Die For
The cars, cocktails and cigars are why many go to Cuba but to get a deep sense of the island's history, you'll want to add these cemeteries to your list. Tomas Estrada Palma Santa Efigenia. Photo: Talek Nantes The cemeteries in Cuba are notable for their funerary statuary much of which is museum worthy. In fact, many visitors consider these cemeteries to be outdoor museums. Also noteworthy are the legends surrounding some of the cemeteries’ most colorful characters.
Cuba’s Jardines de la Reina Wins Top Conservation Award
The jewel in Cuba's conservation crown, the Gardens of the Queen, has been awarded a top gong by a prestigious American NGO. Gardens of the Queen, Jardines de la Reina.
Claire Boobbyer's Central Cuba Travel Itinerary
Travel journalist Claire Boobbyer makes two dozen recommendations to get you off the beaten path, and in with the locals, on your next trip. Arcos de Canasí is an hour east of Havana. Photo: MontECOrales Can you travel to Cuba? Yes, you can! Sun bathing, staying in the island’s top hotels and eating at state-run restaurants are off-limits due to US government rules. But here’s the thing, the travel American citizens can do in Cuba is more authentic, deeply immersive and way more interesting.
What Cuba Needs To Do To Put Food on the Table
Outside agropecuarios and selling directly to private restaurants and tourist facilities, the market remains a monopoly run by government-owned corporations. Christopher Baker explains... A private farmers market in Cuba. Photo: Christopher P. Baker In 1996, while motorcycling through Cuba, I overnighted at Bohio Don Pedro, a farm-motel near Jagüey Grande. An Israeli agronomist named Schlomo was the only other guest.
Did You Know There’s a Cuban Birdwatching Scene?
There's even a new magazine dedicated exclusively to Cuban birders. It's a free, bilingual digital quarterly all about this new, up-and-coming movement. A Cuban Grassquit bird. Photo: ebird It’s Cuban birdwatching and deep in a grove of words, all black and in Georgia font, Orlando Garrido reveals one of birding’s holy grails; he punts on where the last stand of the ivory-billed woodpecker might lurk.
Dogs in Cuba and Cubans’ Affection for Their Pooches
While contemporary Cuba may theoretically be a classless society, like the population as a whole some dogs are more equal than others. As comfy a spot as any, Cuba. Photo: Christopher P Baker Finally, after an interminable wait, Pinar del Río’s alfresco Rumayor cabaret began. Rumbling drums. Trilling trumpets. Whirling spotlights. And a troupe of long-legged showgirls appears. The louche espectáculo had barely begun when a dog sauntered onto the stage.
Cuba's Shortage of Vaccine Syringes: Here's How You Can Help
With your support, the Syringes for Cuba program is working to close Cuba's 30 million syringe deficit. (By Cynthia Carris Alonso and Rita McNiff, in Havana.) Nurses register people getting the Cuban vaccine. Photo credit: Ernesto Millán OZKART “This campaign might be the most important work of my life,” Bob Schwartz told me recently when talking about Syringes for Cuba.
The Cuban Coast: 3,000 Miles of Climate Change Mitigation
Cuba has more than 4,000 islets and keys in its archipelago. It is home to one of the largest coral reefs in the world. Photo: GCCA+, Mundo Latino Cuba Most readers are familiar with the 90 miles that represent the distance between Cuba and Florida. But you might not know that Cuba has over 3,000 miles of coastline and more than 4,000 islets and keys in its archipelago. It is home to one of the largest coral reefs in the world. The Cuban archipelago boasts a magnificent marine biodiversity.
21 Cuba Social Media Accounts That You Should Follow in 2021
This list of 21 Cuban and US social media accounts will keep you connected to all things happening in the space between the United States and Cuba. Photo: Startup Cuba 2020 was a bear. Our lives have been turned upside down by a global pandemic, the tourism industry has been grounded, restaurants, artists, and musicians are struggling to make ends meet, and it’s been a tough year for journalists all around.
A National Geographic Photographer’s Tips for Capturing Cuba
After more than 200 visits to Cuba over 28 years, National Geographic photojournalist Christopher P. Baker still finds memorable, double-take images on his journeys to the island. Photo credit: Christopher P. Baker I’m crouching on the floor of a humble solar (slum tenement) in Habana Vieja, hemmed into a corner with my back hard up against cheap pots and pans beneath an antique kerosene stove, as I shuffle around for the perfect angle.
A Writer's Adventures in Baracoa
Claire Boobbyer is a rebel with a cause — on the trail of Cuba’s first revolutionary in this land after centuries of isolation. Photo: Villa Paradiso Baracoa A goggle-eyed owl hovered under an arch leading to the boneyard. I tip-toed past the creature and into the cold-earth cave. Moments before, I’d been warming my limbs in the morning sun surrounded by perky coconut palms, listening to the shush of waves on the warm Atlantic in eastern Cuba.
Could Cuban MLB Players Pitch for Cuba?
The 2019 MLB roster included 23 Cuban-born players on major league teams plus 108 on minor league teams. Could these players join a 2021 Cuban Olympic team? Photo credit: Christopher P. Baker An unknowing visitor witnessing the strident histrionics of Cuban males in Havana’s tree-shaded Parque Central might be forgiven for thinking a counter-revolutionary riot is brewing. Relax! The in-your-face confrontations at ‘Esquina Caliente’ (‘Hot Corner’) are over baseball.
E.T., James Bond & Puerto Rico's Arecibo Observatory
If an asteroid is on a collision course for Earth, Puerto Rico’s Arecibo Observatory’s radio telescope is crucial for detecting it. Arecibo, Puerto Rico, USA, 12 December 2016: Information sign at Arecibo Observatory James Bond fans may feel a sense of déjà vu upon arrival at the Arecibo Observatory, deep in the heart of karst country in northwest Puerto Rico.
Edel Rodríguez and Art as Resistance
Cuban-American artist and illustrator Edel Rodríguez's work has been on the covers of Time, Newsweek, and more. He believes art is a tool for social change. Edel Rodríguez for Time. Edel Rodríguez for Communication Arts. Edel Rodríguez for Der Spiegel. Chances are, you’ve seen his work. Bold, bright colors and clean lines — his simple, straight-forward depictions of President Trump’s featureless face are instantly recognizable.
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