Our Guide, Anna

Anna spent 6 days with us on the road exploring Vinales, Pinar del Rio, Playa Larga, Cienfuegos, and Trinidad. She was attentive, enthusiastic, and taught us so much about Cuba. Anna is 35 years old. She is well educated and calls Havana home. Like many her age, she does not have kids. She is educated as a lawyer, yet tourism and guiding is the most lucrative business for her.

Anna worked for the the government and international affairs department when finishing school. She spent two years in Beijing, China and traveled to Lima, Peru for work. Her wages were terribly low. Many in Cuba only make 20-30 CUC per month (equivalent to 20-30 US dollars). She decided she wanted to change her career to acting and went back to school. She now supplements the small wages of a new career in the arts with guiding trips in Cuba.

Anna is lucky enough to own her own small apartment as well. Most Cubans live many generations in the same household because there is not enough money to buy new property. Her mother sold her childhood home to move into a smaller house and give Anna money for her own apartment. She feels quite lucky to share this with her longtime boyfriend.

Like most, Anna also has family members and friends that live outside of Cuba, typically in the US. As an educated woman that speaks Chinese, Spanish, English, and some French, I'm sure she could succeed anywhere. But to her, Cuba is her home, and she cannot imagine leaving her well known island, magnificent and vibrant culture.