Cuba holds a special place in Americans’ imagination. This fascination owes mainly to its having been forbidden throughout the 60-year Cold War embargo.
Melanie Tucker, owner of Rare Finds Travel Design (RFTD), will give a talk at the Acme Screening Room in Lambertville, N.J., at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 6, on what a visit to the island is like now, starting with the fact that it is still legal provided one travels “in support of the Cuban people.”
The presentation is part of Acme’s Pecha Kucha series, which tells stories using 20 slide images.
Tucker will reveal a Cuba that is unknown to most Americans. For one, the program will show how the capital city of Havana is teeming with small businesses, which only survive and thrive through the Cubans’ resourcefulness and drive.
RFTD has a built a bond with many of these business owners and Tucker’s talk will introduce the audience to some of them. They include a baker whose home doubles as the kitchen and production line for her baked goods.
“One particularly unexpected delight of a visit to Cuba is its delicious and diverse cuisine.” Tucker will describe how travelers can go into a local’s home and help prepare some traditional Cuban fare, and then sit down to dinner with their host and her family.
Tucker, who has traveled extensively in Cuba – sometimes alone – will attest to it being safe. The presence of the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) helps make street crime all but non-existent.
Many Havana streets appear run down. “Inside those crumbling walls, however, are well-kept homes occupied by warm, welcoming residents with much pride in their neighborhoods and houses.”
Tucker will accompany a group of travelers to Cuba in October. She has three other trips planned for January, February and April of 2020. To learn more, follow RareFindsTravel on Instagram, or email
melanie@rarefindstravel.com.
