CHESS in CUBA – Let’s call the embargo a draw
This was our fourth consecutive New Years in Cuba. This time we accompanied the U.S. Chess Center in a journey of encountering the Cuban people through the game of chess. (The U.S. Chess Center recently opened in downtown Silver Spring where it will be offering classes, tournaments, and much more.)
And what a trip is was! To see seven young people for the U.S. share their passion for chess with Cuban youth similarly enthused about the game was simply exhilarating. How wonderful it was to see the meet the Cuban chess masters and see the American organizers of the trip connect with them in the universal language of chess.
To share with the visiting adults the beauty of Cuba, its checkered history, and its current complexities was well worth the trip… And to visit the renovated Capitol in Havana, the Fabrica the Artes Cubano, the streets of Cienfuegos, the heritage of Trinidad, and the elegance of Camagüey was truly fulfilling… Want to know Cuba? Visit with its people. Stay in their homes. Listen to their stories. They need you. Please go… But, understand that you are pretty much visiting a ‘plantation’ where ultimately everything is owned by one ‘family’.
Read the full reflection HERE.
PICTURES OF PLAYERS and GROUP
- Players playing chess throughout the island (Havana, Trinidad, and Camagüey)
- Group outings, fun, dominos and more
REEMBERTO’s PICTURS (w/o players or group)
- Havana scenes, building and Miscellaneous
- Capitolio, Fabrica de Artes, and Modern Art Museum (Havana)
- On the way to Cienfuego and Trinidad scenes, building and Miscellaneous
- Camagüey scenes, building and Miscellaneous
- Pottery workshop
PERSONAL PICTURES
VIDEOS
- Chess, Dominos, and Beach
- Music and More (incl. FAC)
- Music Lesson in Camagüey
- Pottery Workshop
- A View from a Window and from a Park
Other Cuba journeys by our familia