0:00:00 > 0:00:03Now on BBC News - The Travel Show.
0:00:08 > 0:00:10Cuba is at a turning point.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13Decades of isolation from the USA are set to end and tourism
0:00:13 > 0:00:17is leading a new spirit of enterprise here.
0:00:17 > 0:00:19The wheels are in motion.
0:00:19 > 0:00:26But everyone is wondering exactly where is Cuba headed right now.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30The economy may benefit, but is this country in danger
0:00:30 > 0:00:33of losing its soul?
0:00:33 > 0:00:35Those precious assets that make this place, well,
0:00:35 > 0:00:40Cuba.
0:00:40 > 0:00:45On my first trip here for nearly 20 years I'm on a mission to find out.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59It may be a small island 90 miles off the coast of Florida,
0:00:59 > 0:01:03but Cuba has a unique story to tell.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06Ever since Fidel Castro and his band of revolutionaries seized control
0:01:06 > 0:01:15in 1959, the country has followed its own Socialist path.
0:01:15 > 0:01:19The USA imposed a trade embargo on Cuba in the early '60s,
0:01:19 > 0:01:24and Americans here were told to return home immediately.
0:01:34 > 0:01:35MUSIC
0:01:35 > 0:01:37MUSIC PLAYS
0:01:38 > 0:01:40Classic cars like this were left behind when the rich
0:01:40 > 0:01:45American playboys left town after the revolution.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49Now it looks like they are on their way back.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10Because relations have thawed between the two countries
0:02:10 > 0:02:18and vintage cars are a hit amongst tourists who are here already.
0:02:18 > 0:02:20You're restoring this 1958 Chevrolet Bel Air car.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23Lovely car, can I help?
0:02:23 > 0:02:27OK, come on, please.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29At the moment check it, the wipers.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31The windscreen wipers?
0:02:31 > 0:02:32Yes, check it.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34Is it turning?
0:02:34 > 0:02:35OK.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37Open.
0:02:37 > 0:02:38Is that enough?
0:02:38 > 0:02:40Open, OK.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42That's perfect. OK.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44It's incredible going inside these old cars, they are beautiful
0:02:44 > 0:02:45cars, aren't they?
0:02:45 > 0:02:49All of these wires, made in the 1940s and 50s, incredible.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53I feel like a master craftsman, even though I was doing
0:02:53 > 0:02:54this and this.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58Nonetheless, wow.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05SPEAKS SPANISH
0:03:07 > 0:03:08OK.
0:03:08 > 0:03:09And you?
0:03:09 > 0:03:13Yes?
0:03:13 > 0:03:16Julio was a taxi driver five years ago with his beloved
0:03:16 > 0:03:171955 Chevrolet Bel Air.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19Now he's taking advantage of government reforms
0:03:19 > 0:03:21and is a partner in a business that restores and hires out
0:03:21 > 0:03:24classic vehicles to tourists.
0:03:24 > 0:03:33There are now 22 cars in total under the Nostalgicar banner.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35This is such a rewarding thing to do.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38It's already getting cleaner.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41I haven't even started painting yet.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52It will be very important for us, for this business particularly.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54The business brain behind Nostalgicars is Julio's wife,
0:03:54 > 0:03:57Nidialys, who has already been invited to Washington by the US vice
0:03:57 > 0:04:01president in recognition of her entrepreneurial acumen.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05She's lucky, most Cubans can't travel.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08For us it's very important when we finish this restoration
0:04:08 > 0:04:11to get money for that work.
0:04:11 > 0:04:12So you do get more money?
0:04:12 > 0:04:15We live much better.
0:04:15 > 0:04:20We can travel, we live like capitalists, but we work a lot
0:04:20 > 0:04:24but we live better too.
0:04:24 > 0:04:25Only three in Cuba.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28Only three of them in the whole of Cuba?
0:04:28 > 0:04:29Yes, yes, yes.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33In a country where even a brain surgeon can earn only $30 a month,
0:04:33 > 0:04:35running a private enterprise like this can be
0:04:35 > 0:04:38relatively lucrative.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41It was Nidialys who was quick to see the appeal of vintage
0:04:41 > 0:04:44Chevrolets to foreigners.
0:04:44 > 0:04:45Beautiful car, beautiful.
0:04:45 > 0:04:50Can we go for a drive?
0:04:50 > 0:04:54Nidialys wasn't always a fan of these vintage vehicles.
0:04:54 > 0:05:00Now she has names for all of them, including her favourite Lola.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03At the beginning I didn't like to drive.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06But now I love to drive.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09It's very easy and it's not very common to see a woman
0:05:09 > 0:05:13driving this kind of car.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21What's happening here?
0:05:21 > 0:05:24There is a Wi-Fi area in this park and they are connecting
0:05:24 > 0:05:27with the Internet.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30So it's like a hot spot where everyone comes to get online?
0:05:30 > 0:05:34Yes.
0:05:34 > 0:05:40The Internet is the revolution that passed Cuba by.
0:05:40 > 0:05:45For most, it's unaffordable and restricted.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50Take a stroll around town and you see more evidence
0:05:50 > 0:05:52of a gulf in wealth.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55Ration shops, poor housing conditions and two parallel
0:05:55 > 0:06:00currencies, one for locals and one for tourists.
0:06:00 > 0:06:01You should buy this one.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03I should buy this one?
0:06:03 > 0:06:05This market trader tried to explain it to me.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08This is what?
0:06:08 > 0:06:12This is convertible pesos and this is Cuban pesos, normal pesos.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14Why have two different types of currency?
0:06:14 > 0:06:17We have to find a way to beat the blockade.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26OK.
0:06:30 > 0:06:31Soon that will happen?
0:06:31 > 0:06:32Soon.
0:06:32 > 0:06:33When the embargo lifts?
0:06:33 > 0:06:34I hope so.
0:06:34 > 0:06:35You hope so.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38Listen, for that explanation I'm going to give you a tip.
0:06:38 > 0:06:39Thank you very much.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41There you are, you can keep that.
0:06:41 > 0:06:42You are very kind.
0:06:42 > 0:06:43Thank you very much.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45Take care.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55On the flip side, there is a strong sense of national pride here,
0:06:55 > 0:06:56of pulling through.
0:06:56 > 0:07:04And many local communities have thriving cultural scenes.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14The Callejon de Hamel, complete with murals and crazy
0:07:14 > 0:07:18artworks, is a shrine to Cuba's African roots.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21This is the voice of black Cuba.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25Raw, intense, even sometimes angry.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29But always emotional and passionate.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37The street is the brainchild of local artist Salvador.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39He encountered opposition from the authorities
0:07:39 > 0:07:44who accused him of promoting dangerous mystical beliefs.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46SPEAKS SPANISH
0:08:12 > 0:08:17And then, rather rashly perhaps, the performers let me join in.
0:08:30 > 0:08:39From the raw and passionate to the sublime.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45The Cuban National Ballet School, founded in 1962, today with some
0:08:45 > 0:08:503000 students is the biggest of its kind in the world.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57This couple are partners on and offstage.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00And they feel ballet has a unique place in the Cuban
0:09:00 > 0:09:01way of life.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32As rising stars, Anette and Dani live in a nice part of town
0:09:32 > 0:09:33with their young daughter.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36But they say there is no sense of celebrity here.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00But people recognise new you 'la calle'.
0:10:00 > 0:10:02People go, "Ah, es Dani, es Anette"?
0:10:08 > 0:10:11And as night falls in the city, Old Havana loves to
0:10:11 > 0:10:18celebrate its artistic side.
0:10:18 > 0:10:27The Gran Teatro de La Habana, a Havana landmark since 1838.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30But with the Castro government's belief in arts for all,
0:10:30 > 0:10:32it's become a theatre for the people, not
0:10:32 > 0:10:36just the privileged.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39It's a big charity gala tonight, the talk of the town,
0:10:39 > 0:10:41and choreographed by the living legend of Cuban ballet,
0:10:41 > 0:10:45Alicia Alonso.
0:10:45 > 0:10:50Dani and Anette get themselves ready.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01And so to the centrepiece of tonight'sshow.
0:11:01 > 0:11:11Anette and Dani perform a sequence from the ballet Giselle.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15It may look effortless, but this is the result of years
0:11:15 > 0:11:18of dedication and a passion that I've already noticed so many
0:11:18 > 0:11:23Cubans share.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31APPLAUSE
0:11:31 > 0:11:36UPBEAT LATIN MUSIC
0:11:40 > 0:11:44Head out of Havana and there is an awful lot more to do discover
0:11:44 > 0:11:47about the Cuban archipelago.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51My next destination is Trinidad, the sugar town, halfway along
0:11:51 > 0:12:02the coast of the main island, some 350 kilometres from the capital.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06One really cool thing I've noticed about Cuba is there's hardly any
0:12:06 > 0:12:18traffic, we've been driving down some of the main arteries
0:12:18 > 0:12:22in the island on our way to Trinidad and I feel like I haven't
0:12:22 > 0:12:22seen any cars.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26This is what perpetuates the notion that Cuba is stuck in a time warp.
0:12:26 > 0:12:34A perfectly preserved Spanish era colonial settlement.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36Tourism is Cuba's biggest industry and it's currently booming,
0:12:36 > 0:12:46fuelled by the rush of people anticipating the end of an era
0:12:46 > 0:12:48with the lifting of US sanctions.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51Hotel rooms in the capital especially are now very heavily
0:12:51 > 0:12:53booked, which leaves traveller on a limited budget with a very
0:12:53 > 0:12:57Cuban option of casas particulares.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59This is basically the Airbnb prototype, whereby people lease
0:12:59 > 0:13:04out their spare rooms to tourists, and for many this is a lifeline
0:13:04 > 0:13:07out of poverty.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10But where is the man who actually runs this B?
0:13:10 > 0:13:15Hola!
0:13:15 > 0:13:16How are you?
0:13:16 > 0:13:17I'm very well.
0:13:17 > 0:13:22Welcome.
0:13:22 > 0:13:23Hello, Julio.
0:13:23 > 0:13:24Nice to meet you.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26And who is this?
0:13:26 > 0:13:28Let me introduce you to Luna de Miel.
0:13:28 > 0:13:34My favourite horse.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37It turns out Julio has several strings to his bow,
0:13:37 > 0:13:39not just a hotelier, at also a horse whisperer.
0:13:39 > 0:13:44And you're going to show me exactly how to keep the horse can't
0:13:44 > 0:13:45and make her trained?
0:13:45 > 0:13:45Is that right?
0:13:45 > 0:13:47Yes, I will show you right now.
0:13:47 > 0:13:53Fantastic.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55You see she has started to be nervous?
0:13:55 > 0:13:57Is that because the neck goes up?
0:13:57 > 0:13:57Yes.
0:13:57 > 0:14:10And of course, Luna's restlessness can reveal itself in other ways.
0:14:10 > 0:14:12Oh my God!
0:14:12 > 0:14:13This is really, really nice.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15You actually talk into the air, or not?
0:14:16 > 0:14:16No, no, no.
0:14:16 > 0:14:17No whispering?
0:14:17 > 0:14:19This is the funny thing, we never whisper, we never
0:14:19 > 0:14:20whisper at all.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22What we do is first establish leadership, and then
0:14:22 > 0:14:23using the body language.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26I have a solution for you, you and me, we lose their hair.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29I know that a hair transplant can be very expensive
0:14:29 > 0:14:33but you can do this.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35CHUCKLES You see?
0:14:35 > 0:14:37Yes, you look like a heavy metal rock star.
0:14:37 > 0:14:44Which is appropriate as Julio's favourite band is Iron Maiden.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47The only thing you need is a horse and a cheap hat.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50On a more serious note, Julio and his wife who is a trained
0:14:50 > 0:14:53accountant are more proof on my trip of the entrepreneurial spirit
0:14:53 > 0:14:55that is blossoming all around the island.
0:14:55 > 0:15:03He's an ambitious man.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06What I expect, I need, because it's my way to be more
0:15:06 > 0:15:07free to do business.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11I'm not afraid of too many things because I know Cubans are smart
0:15:11 > 0:15:13enough and they won't lose the Cuban identity.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15Some Americans, because I work a lot with American people,
0:15:15 > 0:15:24they say soon you will have McDonald's.
0:15:24 > 0:15:25Starbucks.
0:15:25 > 0:15:26Yes, and things like this.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29But maybe we can have things similar but in our style,
0:15:29 > 0:15:32in our Cuban style because I like hamburgers and I like coffee,
0:15:32 > 0:15:34I like to enjoy good coffee but it will be our style.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37Julio took me on a trip around Trinidad, by horse
0:15:37 > 0:15:38and cart of course.
0:15:38 > 0:15:54On the town's cobbled streets it's the most practical way.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56Would you like to try?
0:15:56 > 0:15:58Sure, absolutely.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02It's not a Mercedes but it's really good anyway.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04You are doing very well.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06Common sense will tell you what to do.
0:16:06 > 0:16:10Common sense is everything.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14I think the trick is soft hands.
0:16:14 > 0:16:23Soft hands.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27And our man of many talents isn't finished yet.
0:16:27 > 0:16:28Julio runs photography courses for tourists too.
0:16:28 > 0:16:35Here is an interesting location, what do you like about here?
0:16:35 > 0:16:37The conception of this kind of photography is like hunting.
0:16:37 > 0:16:44Hunting but instead of using a gun or a rifle you are using the camera.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46Julio likens his style to a gunslinger, the John Wayne
0:16:46 > 0:17:07technique, he calls it.
0:17:07 > 0:17:09In the cowboy movies before shooting they do this with their fingers.
0:17:09 > 0:17:10Yes.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12This is the feel you should have, feel the adrenaline.
0:17:12 > 0:17:13Feel the adrenaline?
0:17:13 > 0:17:16The adrenaline and the movements, this is the way to keep the camera.
0:17:16 > 0:17:17The move is like this.
0:17:17 > 0:17:18Very good.
0:17:18 > 0:17:26Julio finds his perfect shot.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29The beautiful tower is the symbol of Trinidad, so I will shoot
0:17:29 > 0:17:36when it reaches that point.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38OK, show me.
0:17:38 > 0:17:39One shot is enough. Wow.
0:17:39 > 0:17:46Bang. He's a roll here.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49Don't chase the picture, the picture will come to you.
0:17:49 > 0:17:59You love who?
0:17:59 > 0:18:00Iron Maiden.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02CHUCKLES
0:18:02 > 0:18:03What's your favourite song by Iron Maiden?
0:18:03 > 0:18:08I think all of them, but Run To The Hills.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10Run To The Hills, remind me how that goes again.
0:18:10 > 0:18:15# Run to the hills.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17# Run for your life #
0:18:17 > 0:18:18Run to the hills.
0:18:18 > 0:18:19Like that, yeah?
0:18:19 > 0:18:20Yes, that was wonderful.
0:18:20 > 0:18:29And Fear of the Dark.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40Just down the coast and about 180 kilometres south-east of Havana
0:18:40 > 0:18:41is Cienaga de Zapata.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44This is where you find the historically significant Bay
0:18:44 > 0:18:47of Pigs, the scene of the failed invasion by Cuban opponents
0:18:47 > 0:18:49to Castro in 1961, which was backed by the US government.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52Any invasion these days is from a new rush of tourists
0:18:52 > 0:18:54to sample the island's nature, which potentially itself creates
0:18:54 > 0:18:55a new problem.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57Because, up until now Cuba has been fiercely protective
0:18:57 > 0:18:59of its environment and wildlife.
0:18:59 > 0:19:09And that includes protecting this fellow.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11The critically endangered Cuban crocodile.
0:19:11 > 0:19:43This breeding farm was created at the behest of Fidel Castro in 1962.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46There are some 4000 crocs here in total, separated by age
0:19:46 > 0:19:47and then the size.
0:19:47 > 0:19:52Wow, check this out.
0:19:52 > 0:19:53Obviously they can't bite it now.
0:19:53 > 0:19:54Yes.
0:19:54 > 0:19:56But the markings, are they distinctive?
0:19:56 > 0:20:04The colours and the markings of the skin?
0:20:04 > 0:20:07Yes it's one of the characteristics of the Cuban crocodile.
0:20:07 > 0:20:14That makes them unique.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16One of the differences between Cuban and American.
0:20:16 > 0:20:17Look at that, one movement from me.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20When they get bigger I'll be the one that's jumping.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22Crossbreeding with the thriving American crocodile is the biggest
0:20:22 > 0:20:28current threat from the Cuban croc's survival.
0:20:28 > 0:20:29This area we prepared for re-population.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32They need the area for warmth, for the sun and for shade.
0:20:32 > 0:20:38They need water and land.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41And this is what makes the Cuban crocodile so unique.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45They jump for their food.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47They can jump this high using the tail.
0:20:47 > 0:20:51And all this is to protect the species of the Cuban crocodile?
0:20:51 > 0:20:54Yes.
0:20:54 > 0:21:04And to stop it from being overrun by American crocodiles.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07Do you think there is something symbolic here?
0:21:07 > 0:21:16I don't know. Maybe!
0:21:16 > 0:21:20My time in Cuba is about to end.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22But sunrise the next morning gives me one more special glimpse
0:21:23 > 0:21:31of this island's wildlife.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33This is Salinas de Brito, the biggest swampland
0:21:33 > 0:21:34in the Caribbean.
0:21:34 > 0:21:39It's also home to 33 kinds of aquatic birds,
0:21:39 > 0:21:42including one of the most glamorous, the pink flamingo who come and go
0:21:42 > 0:21:54as they please.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57Not all residents of Cuba enjoy that kind of freedom, of course,
0:21:57 > 0:22:05and certainly not over how the country is run.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08But who knows where the current path of reform and change may lead?
0:22:08 > 0:22:12There is no turning back now for Cuba and the rest of the world
0:22:12 > 0:22:15will watch with keen interest to see how this feisty proud island
0:22:15 > 0:22:25negotiates its journey into the unknown.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48Hello there.