Keeping Kurrent Show

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Our lives are busy. Keeping Kurrent is the place where you can listen to short, reasonably in depth interviews and presentations about a variety of issues, ideas and trends are helpful to you. You are invited to take a quick look some of the broad issues we cover by clicking on the items listed below. Or, you can also examine the details for each category by checking the statements on the right hand side of this page.

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Time in Portland, Oregon

The Changing Face of Cuba

Byline: Sara Miller Llana Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

Caracas, Venezuela -- In selecting Raul Castro as the new president of Cuba Sunday - after Fidel Castro resigned this past week after nearly 50 years at the post - Cuba's power structure chose continuity and consistency. Raul Castro has effectively held the job for the past 19 months, since his brother Fidel Castro underwent abdominal surgery, with little disruption politically or socially. Coming from the same ideological fold, Raul created the Cuban Revolution alongside his brother and has been his "right-hand man" ever since. Raul Castro is also known as a pragmatist and delegater, traits ...

For more information on this article see High Beam Research.

Along the Food Chain with Michael Olson

Where Is Cuba Libre?

( from Food Chain Radio #661)

When the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics collapsed in ruin, times got very tough for Socialist Cuba. There was very little food, and many families had to get by on one thin meal per day. Desperate, the Socialist government of Cuba allowed farmers to sell their food in free farmers markets. In a very short period of time, Cubans who had money could buy food, and lots of it. Farmers who grew that food could earn money, and lots of it. But the free markets of Cuba created a big problem for the government. Farmers did not want to sell their food to state controlled markets because the government would only pay farmers a government-dictated fair price, which never seemed to equal the free market price. Furthermore, farmers selling food at the free markets earned a lot of money, and thus created class envy in a society that is not supposed to have class envy. To overcome these two problems, Cuba is now moving to force state controls on the free farmers markets. Farmers, unwilling to work for nothing, are withholding their crops and citizens, hungry for food again, are shouting down the government officials as they police the markets. This state of affairs lead us to ask Where is Cuba Libre?

This statement came from a blog located on the Metrofarm web site. See more by checking their website.

Comment from Wayne Potter:

When visiting Cuba this last September Cubans were pleased to tell us about the farmer's markets and even the urban community gardens. However, Cuba, like China during the the Cultural Revolution, continues to requre that a large percentage of a farmer's products be given to the government. It doesn't matter if their own people rely on the rationing of basic food stuffs. Cuban authorities do think that individucals should have personal success. They must always serve the common good even if it doesn't.

Thanks to Linda Sawaya for sending this information to Keeping Kurrent's host, Wayne Potter.

The Many Faces of Cuba

Cuba is a country of many faces and contrasting views. These are some of the persons that we met as we traveled. It was wonderful to travel from Havana through Cien Fiegos to Trinidad de Cuba. We saw the Atlantic Ocean from the City of Havana and then traveled south to Trinidad to see the Caribbean Ocean.

Tourists are treated exceptionally well by Cuban citizens and are curious about where you came from. The Cuban government benefits from the 20% exchange rate on the American dollar (a smaller exchange rate for the European dollar). So, for every $100 exchanged to the Cuban CUC an American would receive 80 CUC (

Some of the conditions faced by Cuba: Food and gasoline are rationed by the government. Food is severely limited and there is no charge for the food. However, it is a very small amount of food that would not last one month. If you've managed to find other sources of income you may purchase other items.

China is providing buses and appliances (Residents reported that they broke down.) You should have seen the amount of goods coming with Cuban Americans: televisions & anything else that could be airlifted by the charter flight from Miami ( American Airlines).

Che dominates your view in many places. You definitely get the idea that the revolution continues. There are many billboards that extol the revolution and rail against USA political leaders.

Elian Gonzales' Father pointing north toward the United States. This figure is located in a small plaza immediately by the Malacon (sidewalk along the ocean front).

Elian Gonzales today.

Cantores de Cienfuego singing Shenandoah

Find out more about them on their web site. The site is in Spanish.

Hemingway's favorite Havana bar. There is a life-size bronze statue of him sitting at the bar. You can see him as you come through the front door.

 

 

 

 

There are many contemporary artists. Among them Jose Fuster. His house is decorated from the doorway to the roof top. It is truly amazing.