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By Betty Press
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During the hot summer days there are few places to go to cool off. There is very little air conditioning and no swimming pools. Swimming in the river provides the next best way to cool off and is a fun family outing. Near Trinidad, Cuba
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Cuba has made great strides in education. Day care centers are provided for women who are working. The children get an early start on their education. Naptime is time for rest but not necessarily to sleep. Trinidad, Cuba
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Cuba has an excellent ballet school and the lessons are free if your child is a talented dancer. These girls continue to practice on the front steps of the school as they waited to be picked up by their parents. Havana, Cuba
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The lunch counters in old Havana have that 50ís look, just emptier. Only a few things are on the menu, maybe a weak cup of coffee and some bread or cakes, if you are lucky. This is typical of the government owned businesses.
Havana, Cuba
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During a tropical storm, I ducked into an open doorway. Inside a band was practicing for Carnival. I was told it was a very popular band. The sounds were loud, reverberating around the small room. Seated along one wall was the brass section. With the low light due to the rainstorm outside, the player's movements blurred like the sound in this enclosed area. Havana, Cuba
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Nightclubs are very popular entertainment spots among the young in the evenings and on weekends. This group of young women had just emerged from a Sunday performance at a popular nightclub downtown. Havana, Cuba
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In downtown there is a unique cultural center dedicated to the SanterÌa religion, an amalgam of Catholic and Yoruba beliefs. A whole block is painted and decorated with the symbols of this Afro-Cuban religion. This small boy was fascinated with one of the altars. On the alter a poem says "tengo me proprio camino". (I have my own road or way in life). Havana, Cuba
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One of my favorite places in old Havana was the promenade. And the most interesting place on the promenade was the wedding palace. There were always groups of people watching the wedding parties come and go in old vintage cars, horns blaring. Havana, Cuba
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This is one of the oldest houses in old Havana. It is literally falling down around the people who live there. These boys live on the top floor. They had made their way down a very rickety iron staircase to take their puppy for a walk.
Havana, Cuba
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