My Memoirs - Citizen of the World

many years, used to spend time. It was so much fun to see so many
photographs and paintings of one of my favorite American authors.
We spent one week, enjoying the resort, with outstanding services,
amenities and a beautiful sandy white beach, which was first class.
People that know me well understand that I cannot keep my mouth
shut; I started talking to the employees in the hotel, asking
questions about their salaries and their standard of living. They
were very open to my wife and me to a point that one of the
receptionists at the hotel, who seemed to like us so much because
we were both Portuguese/Americans and I could speak Spanish
fairly well, that she invited us to her house in a town about half an
hour from the hotel. This was a big risk for her, due to the
constant spying that goes on. She arranged for a taxi to pick us up
at the hotel to take us to her modest house, where we were invited
for dinner. That’s where we were really briefed as to the
incredibly difficult life the people have. No one owns any property
in Cuba, unless the home you live used to belong to your ancestors,
which was the case with our host. She had a very small TV. The
programs were all in Spanish and full of communist propaganda. It
was showing Richard Nixon in 1974 on top of the stairs of the
Presidential Air Force One, after resigning from his presidency.
We also watched John Lennon from the Beatles who was
assassinated in New York City, etc, etc. Every single program on
Cuban TV only serves to brainwash the peoples’ minds to prevent
anyone from seeing what it is to live in a free world and to avoid a
coup-d’état.
Even though, she owned the house that used to belong to her
parents, she had been trying to build an extra room for one of her
children. The problem she and many others have is that the salaries
in Cuba range from $20.00 to $50.00 US dollars per month. The
exchange rate was 23 Cuban pesos for one US dollar. Her husband
is a chemist and worked for the government as a food inspector.
232