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A Canadian in Cuba: Havana is 'silent' as it mourns Fidel Castro

A woman holds a picture of late Fidel Castro during a rally at Revolution Plaza in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2016. AP Photo/Desmond Boylan
A woman holds a picture of late Fidel Castro during a rally at Revolution Plaza in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2016. AP Photo/Desmond Boylan

Canadian Colette Flemming considers herself less of a tourist, more of a long-time visitor of Cuba.

She’s from Calgary, Alta., has been in Cuba for about a month now, arriving in Havana on Oct. 29. Flemming says she was at a huge concert at a popular music venue, La Tropical, on Friday night when the announcement about Fidel Castro’s death was made.

“The band had just begun a song and the sound went dead. Calmly, the organizer of the concert spoke of the news and the entire venue went silent,” she told Yahoo Canada News on Thursday.

She described the mood as solemn. Some Cubans were in disbelief.

“We regrouped and filed out in such an organized fashion. It’s difficult in Cuba to ask intimate questions, such as feelings about the near future,” Flemming said.

People waves Cuban flags as, placed in a small coffin covered by a Cuban flag, the ashes of Cuban leader Fidel Castro depart from the town of Santa Clara, Cuba, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016. AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko
People waves Cuban flags as, placed in a small coffin covered by a Cuban flag, the ashes of Cuban leader Fidel Castro depart from the town of Santa Clara, Cuba, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016. AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko

The country has settled into a nine-day mourning period for Castro. A four-day funeral procession for the late leader kicked off on Wednesday. A military vehicle with his ashes will travel across Cuba to the final resting place in the eastern city of Santiago.

A state funeral will take place on Sunday, which should mark the end of the official mourning period in the country.

Flemming, who is in her 50s, says the “normal” atmosphere in Havana is that “every taxi, store, restaurant, household is blasting music. Now, nothing.”

Colette Flemming poses on the Malecón in Havana, Cuba. Photo provided by Flemming.
Colette Flemming poses on the Malecon in Havana, Cuba. Photo provided by Flemming.

“Placido Domingo, a Spanish artist, was meant to have a performance here on Saturday but that was cancelled. The contemporary ballet of Carlos Acosta has been cancelled. The largest gallery/nightclub, Fabrica de Arte Cubano, is closed. All the venues where I normally dance, popular among Cubans more than tourists, are all closed,” she said.

She says the Malecon, which is usually hopping all night with parties, is “silent.” She saw the cathedral square, Plaza de la Catedral, deserted in the evening “for the first time.”

Flemming spoke of being scolded by the landlord of the building she’s staying at for playing music on Wednesday.

“I was practicing for my dance class and I forgot. I felt very embarrassed. My landlady could have received a fine. It is not my nature to be unaware, I am very respectful of this country and their culture. My dance class needed to be relocated to a more private venue as well,” she said.

She said she avoided going to the memorial at Plaza de la Revolution where Cubans have been lining up for hours to pay their respect to Castro.

“I did not feel like it was a tourist’s place,” Flemming said.

Despite all of that plus the ban on alcohol sales and cancellation of concerts and various events during the period of mourning, Flemming says she’s not the least bit bothered by it.

The Cuban flag is seen at half mast from the rooftop of the Hotel Inglaterra in Havana on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016. Photo provided by Flemming.
The Cuban flag is seen at half mast from the rooftop of the Hotel Inglaterra in Havana on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016. Photo provided by Flemming.

“I would expect the same of any country. It is an important passage. Anyone with any degree of sensibility would be respectful and understanding,” she said.

As a Canadian in Cuba, Flemming is in good company.

Canada is by far the most important tourism market to Cuba, according to the Director of the Cuba Tourism Board in Toronto, Eloy Govea.

Around 1.3 million Canadian tourists visited the country in 2015 and that number has been increasing by 10 per cent year over year.

Colette Flemming said she attending a free concert where Silvio Rodriguez performed prior to Fidel Castro's death. Photo provided by Flemming.
Colette Flemming said she attending a free concert where Silvio Rodriguez performed prior to Fidel Castro’s death. Photo provided by Flemming.

“I know that in October of this year we reached the mark of 1 million Canadian visitors to Cuba so it’s possible that we surpassed last year’s number already,” Govea said on Thursday.

He says there have been calls of respect and condolences but no concerns from Canadian tourists hoping to make the trip to Cuba next year.

“Canadians feel so good in the country that we have been growing the market without any interruptions for the last 16 or 17 years despite incidents such as 9/11, the financial crisis, etc. So I don’t see Castro’s death as having an affect on travel,” he said.

It won’t for Flemming. She has made three separate trips to Cuba this year and is already planning her next one, since she’s set to fly home to Calgary on Dec. 3.

“I used to travel to Trinidad, but Havana is so vibrant,” she said. “I find it difficult to leave.”