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Today was the Morgan State University Choir’s final day in Cuba!  Typically, our international tours have been at least ten days; however, we chose to have a shorter stay in Cuba, given the relative newness of the rekindling of American-Cuban relations. We checked out of our hotel at 9:30 a.m., hoping to see as many additional Cuban points of interest as …

In Havana, we exchanged the exterior sounds of the rooster in Santa Clara, with the sounds of cars in the busy city streets.  This morning we had time to take in the spectacular view that we had of Havana and the ocean from our hotel rooms. Havana is the capital of Cuba and the largest city, with 2.1 million residents. …

After a great night’s sleep enjoyed by the entire group, we set out for another day trip today, May 29th, this time to Matanzas, Cuba. Matanzas was a two and one half hour drive from Havana. As we have one of the largest vehicles on the narrow Cuban streets, with every time a car that approached from the opposite direction, …

Today we checked out of our Santa Clara hotel to travel to the most famous city in Cuba – Havana (Spanish: La Habana). Who would have thought that we would have had to travel to Cuba, to commune directly with animals as we did in our Santa Clara hotel.  With the huts for rooms, beautiful pool, and wonderful buffet meals …

After a full day of travel and exploring the villa of Trinidad, we arrived at our Santa Clara hotel, exhausted and ready for a good night’s sleep. As stated earlier, this hotel was on a preserve-type property that everyone in the group did not immediately embrace, but once in bed, with doors closed, most enjoyed a good night’s sleep. One …

Last night, our first concert in Cuba went extremely well. The theater’s temperature conditions, however, were less than ideal during our performance. We wore our robes for simplicity as well as to give the Cuban audience an opportunity to see authentic American choir robes, but the heat and humidity in the room made wearing them a tad uncomfortable for the …

The next morning we awoke to discover that we had a world-class view surrounding our hotel including a beautiful view of the bay.  As it would turn out, our hotel, which I understand was once owned by the Hilton family, was located next to the historic Palacio del Valle. Following a very hearty breakfast, we left to attend our cultural exchange …

For our first-ever trip to Cuba, the University sent a group of 32 MSU choir members, not the full choir contingent but typically the number we use for travel. Once on the island, we are scheduled to perform at a number of engagements. Knowing that our charter flight out of JFK in New York would be leaving at noon, we …