| On our first full day in Havana
we visited the Ciudad Libertad, a former fortress built by
Fulgencio Batista. Now, its buildings serve as schools for
students from pre-school level through university
level.
The building on the left is the
teachers' college of the University of Havana. The sign on top
of the building espouses that "to be educated is to be
free." |
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Our first meeting in the Ciudad Libertad was at a daycare center named after the daughter of Libyan leader, Momar Alkadaffi.
The top photo shows a group of elementary schoolchildren who sang a song for us.
The bottom photo shows pre-school children at play in the schoolyard.
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| Many of the streets in the
Ciudad Libertad are closed to vehicles, so the children can
walk and play outside without worry. |
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At the Ciudad Escuela Libertad,
most of the schoolchildren loved to have their photos
taken.
They were really great
kids!
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| Besides the Ciudad Escuela
Libertad, there are other schools around Havana. These
children were playing outside of their school at the end of
the school day. |
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While we were in Cuba, the
passion that most Cubans felt over the custody battle for
Elián Gonzalez was apparent.
Many people decorated their cars
with signs and wore t-shirts that urged the return of
Elián.
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| This is another example of the
importance of Elián not only to adults, but also to children
in Cuba.
Children in this classroom in the
Ciudad Escuela Libertad had drawn their own pictures of Elián
and hung them up. |
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After visiting the daycare
center and the elementary school in the Ciudad Escuela
Libertad, we visited the Museum of the Campaign for Literacy.
The campaign was set up by
Castro's government after the revolution as a way of enabling
almost all Cubans to read and write. By sending students to
live temporarily with illiterate families, the government
improved the literacy rate in Cuba to
97%.
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| Our final visit in the Ciudad
Escuela Libertad was to a round table discussion with students
at the teacher's college of the University of Havana.
We talked about education,
politics, and the future of Cuba after Fidel Castro, with the
help of our guide, Ernesto, who translated for many of
us. |
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After the discussion with the
teacher' college students, some of us joined them at a salsa
pool party at the University of Havana.
While we spoke with more
students, people danced next to the
pool.
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| We went out to eat at a
restaurant in Havana that was located directly across the
street from the Havana Libre Hotel.
During the meal, three men, who
were amazing musicians, performed traditional Cuban
songs. |
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Go to day 1 | Go to day 3
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