On the road in Cuba, tales of woe and yearning
April 11, 2012
Kevin G. Hall, The Miami Herald
ON THE CARRETERA CENTRAL, Cuba — "Subanse," climb aboard, I said repeatedly, pulling the right wheels of my eight-seat van off the dangerous two-lane highway that snakes hundreds of miles across an island considered off limits to most Americans.
Ostensibly, I was in Cuba to cover Pope Benedict XVI's visit. But over the week and across the length of the Ohio-sized country, I gave more than five dozen Cubans a "botella" — in Cuban slang, a ride.
My riders gave an unvarnished view of the country. They were farmers, housewives and doctors. They were school kids, half a baseball team, an economist and even a judge, who proclaimed herself to be a huge fan of Jack Bauer in the American TV thriller series "24."...
